Coping strategies employed by public psychiatric healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Gauteng, South Africa

Loneliness and social isolation: exploring the experiences of older women during the pandemic in terms of social connection, feeling of loneliness, and the impact on mental health and wellbeing

Objectives

To investigate the unique challenges faced by older women during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding social connection, feelings of loneliness, and their subsequent impact on mental health and well-being.

Method

A qualitative research methodology is used to examine how older women experienced loneliness, social relationships, and mental health consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results

The results are discussed in terms of two main themes each with their sub-themes; 1. Social Connection amidst Physical Distancing Measures, 2. Impact on Mental Health and Well-being.

Conclusion

The study highlights the significant impact of loneliness and social isolation on the mental health of older women during the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions and support systems.

Brief Coping Scale TCS-9: Optimising the Assessment of Coping Strategies. The case of Health Care Workers

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the focus on mental health, particularly on the coping strategies of healthcare workers who have faced unparalleled stress due to their pivotal role in addressing health disparities and determinants of health. Constantly operating in high-risk environments and managing the surge of critically ill patients, these professionals' psychological resilience has been sternly tested, necessitating robust assessment tools.

Aim

This study aims to refine the extensive 54-item Toulouse Coping Scale into a more pragmatic and less time-consuming instrument while preserving its statistical integrity, to support the mental well-being of healthcare workers.

Setting

The setting for this study was amongst healthcare workers in Greece, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period marked by significant psychological demands on medical staff.

Methods

We conducted an unbiased exploratory factor analysis on the Toulouse Coping Scale's 54 items, drawing from a sample of 144 healthcare workers, adhering to strict methodological criteria.

Results

Data completeness was achieved across the sample, which comprised 40 (28%) males and 104 (72%) females, predominantly aged between 31 and 50 years. The final instrument, encapsulating two domains with a total of nine questions, demonstrated strong internal consistency, with an eigenvalue of 3.438 for the first domain and 1.478 for the second, validated by a scree plot.

Conclusion

The streamlined TCS-9 scale facilitates a more rapid assessment of coping strategies while reducing redundancy. The two-domain structure ensures that the revised scale retains the original's thoroughness in a more concise form.

Contribution

By enabling quicker and more efficient evaluations, the TCS-9 enhances the practicality of assessing coping mechanisms in healthcare settings, thereby contributing to the sustenance of health systems and the promotion of health equity.

Psychosocial stress, adult suicidal ideation, and the mediating effect of poor sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

OBJECTIVES

South Africa instituted one of the world's strictest lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, which generated heightened conditions of psychosocial stress and posed widespread mental health risks. Despite the elevated burdens of suicidal behaviors and risk of psychiatric disease in the country, few studies have examined the impacts of psychosocial stress from the pandemic on suicidal ideation in South Africa. This study examined the association between psychosocial stress experienced under the COVID-19 pandemic and adult suicidal ideation, as well as degree to which sleep quality and duration mediated this relationship.

METHODS

An online survey assessed experiences of COVID-19 psychosocial stress, sleep quality and duration, and suicidal ideation in a sample of 189 South African adults during the second and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. A causal inference framework for mediation analysis was used to assess the degree to which sleep quality and duration explained the association between COVID-19 psychosocial stress and suicidal ideation.

RESULTS

Suicidal ideation was reported in 21% of adults. Adults described having moderate sleep quality and an average of 6.9 hours of sleep per night. COVID-19 psychosocial stress significantly predicted adult suicidal ideation in fully adjusted models. Sleep quality, but not sleep duration, significantly mediated the association between COVID-19 psychosocial stress and suicidal ideation, accounting for 25.9% of the total effect.

CONCLUSIONS

Poor sleep quality may play an important role in exacerbating the alarming stress-induced mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further research is necessary to understand the underlying sleep dynamics and associated psychological and neurobiological processes that perpetuate adult suicidal ideation.