How COVID-19 Affected Healthcare Workers in the Hospital Locked Down due to Early COVID-19 Cases in Korea

The Effect of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Job Satisfaction, Work Stress and Burnout of Healthcare Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

We aimed to examine the job satisfaction (JS), work stress (WS) and burnout (B) levels of healthcare workers (HCWs), who are at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic process, which negatively affects the whole world, by meta-analysis.

Methods

Articles, theses and papers in the literature before the COVID-19 (2014-2019) and during COVID-19 (2020-2022) were systematically reviewed. The sample size of 54 studies conducted from 13 countries was 49.139. Data analysis was performed with the Comprehensive Meta-analysis (CMA) 3.0 Version program.

Results

According to the random effect model analysis result, a negative, significant and low-level relationship was found between WS and JS, before and during COVID-19. There was a negative, significant and medium level relationship between JS and B. It was found positive, significant and high-level relationship between WS and B. Human development level (HDL) has a moderating effect on WS and B. In addition, sample size has moderating effect on WS and JS.

Conclusion

During the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, HCWs have experienced more burnout due to strict isolation, working conditions requiring overtime, fatigue, insomnia and concerns about virus transmission. Intense work tempo, inadequate health equipment, patient deaths, and low wages are the factors that decrease JS and increase WS and B. It is recommended to improve working conditions globally and provide financial support and mental health protection for HCWs.

It Is Not the Virus Exposure: Differentiating Job Demands and Resources That Account for Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Health Sector Workers

A cross-sectional study of 3860 health-sector workers across two data collections was conducted to identify the predictive power of different job demands and job resources during the COVID-19 pandemic based on four indicators of distress (COVID-19 traumatic stress, burnout, generalised anxiety, and depression) among health-sector workers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, measurement invariance checks, and structural equation models were used to evaluate the dimensionality and the effect of the job demands and resources on distress indictors. The identified job demands were workload, confinement, loss, and virus exposure, while the identified job resources were self-efficacy, momentary recuperation, and meaning making. Loss and workload predicted the distress indicators best, while confinement and virus exposure mainly predicted COVID-19 traumatic stress and were less important for the other distress outcomes. Self-efficacy and meaning making negatively predicted distress, while momentary recuperation, controlled for the other demands and resources, was positively related to the distress indicators. Of the typical pandemic-related demands and resources, the experience of loss due to COVID-19 infection was the most important predictor of distress outcomes. Confinement, and especially the awareness of virus exposure, were far less important predictors.

Assessment of Anxiety, Depression, Work-Related Stress, and Burnout in Health Care Workers (HCWs) Affected by COVID-19: Results of a Case–Control Study in Italy

This study aims to investigate whether HCWs infected with COVID-19 may experience potential psychological consequences and a higher incidence of depression, anxiety, work-related stress, and burnout compared to non-infected HCWs. A case–control study with 774 participants was conducted comparing COVID-19-infected HCWs (cases) and non-infected HCWs (controls) from the Occupational Medicine Unit at the Teaching Hospital Policlinico Umberto I, who were administered the same questionnaire including Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and Karasek’s Job Content Questionnaire. No differences in the levels of burnout and decision latitude were found between the two groups. Cases showed higher level of anxiety and job demand compared to controls. In contrast, levels of depression in the case group were significantly lower compared to the control group. The results are indicating the need for workplace health promotion activities based on stress and burnout management and prevention. Multiple organizational and work-related interventions can lower the impact of mental health-related issues in the COVID-19 pandemics, including the improvement of workplace infrastructures, as well as the adoption of correct and shared anti-contagion measures, which must include regular personal protective equipment supply, and the adoption of training programs that deal with mental health-related issues.

Difficulties of healthcare workers encountered under cohort isolation in a psychiatric hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study

This study examined the experiences of healthcare workers who were quarantined within the psychiatric wards due to COVID-19 and analyzed those experiences with a consensual qualitative research method. Participants experienced (a) difficulties due to the specificity of a mental hospital, including a lack of protocols, noncompliance with quarantine guidelines among patients with severe mental illness, and a shortage of institutions capable of containing confirmed COVID-19 patients with severe mental illness. Furthermore, (b) difficulties related to isolation of the cohort itself included a workforce shortage, physical problems, fear of infection, limited facilities, guilt toward newly confirmed cases, exhaustion, and distress caused by separation from family. The participants also described (c) difficulties related to external factors, including administrative orders and the perceived stigma, and (d) positive experiences. Appropriate support is needed during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the difficulties among healthcare workers in psychiatric hospitals. This includes preparation for future scenarios, facilities, and workers in response to outbreaks of infection in psychiatric hospitals that cause unique risks and challenges among those workers.

Perceived Physical and Mental Health and Healthy Eating Habits During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Korea

BACKGROUND

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted the lives of people around the world since 2020. This study aims to reveal perceived impact of the coronavirus pandemic on physical and mental health and eating behaviors among people with disabilities and without disabilities in South Korea, as compared to other countries.

METHODS

A secondary analysis of a prospective cross-sectional study which was conducted with a web-based global survey.

RESULTS

Among the 3,550 responses from 65 countries, 2,621 responses with nation information were set as full data, 189 for South Korea and 2,432 for other countries. In Korea, there was no significant difference in healthy lifestyle behaviors between people with and without disabilities before the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceived physical and mental health and changes in eating habits during the COVID-19 pandemic showed no significant difference between people with and without disabilities in Korea. There were significant differences in physical health and dietary habits, but no differences in its effect on mental health between people living in Korea and other countries in both people with and without disabilities groups. In other words, more than 60% of people in all groups (disability vs. non-disability, Korea vs. non-Korea) reported worse mental health than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

CONCLUSION

In Korea and other countries, mental health showed a tendency to deteriorate regardless of the presence or absence of disability during the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of healthy eating habits, Koreans were relatively less affected than people from other countries.

Complications of Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Safe Procedures for COVID-19 Testing Based on Anatomical Knowledge

Nasopharyngeal swabs have been widely to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing is a generally safe and well-tolerated procedure, but numerous complications have been reported in the media. Therefore, the present study aimed to review and document adverse events and suggest procedural references to minimize preventable but often underestimated risks. A total of 27 articles were selected for the review of 842 related documents in PubMed, Embase, and KoreaMed. The complications related to nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing were reported to be rarely happened, ranging from 0.0012 to 0.026%. Frequently documented adverse events were retained swabs, epistaxis, and cerebrospinal fluid leakage, often associated with high-risk factors, including severe septal deviations, pre-existing skull base defects, and previous sinus or transsphenoidal pituitary surgery. Appropriate techniques based on sufficient anatomical knowledge are mandatory for clinicians to perform nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing. The nasal floor can be predicted by the line between the nostril and external ear canal. For safe testing, the angle of swab insertion in the nasal passage should remain within 30° of the nasal floor. The swab was gently inserted along the nasal septum just above the nasal floor to the nasopharynx and remained on the nasopharynx for several seconds before removal. Forceful insertion should be attempted, and alternative examinations should be considered, especially in vulnerable patients. In conclusion, patients and clinicians should be aware of rare but possible complications and associated high-risk factors. The suggested procedural pearls enable more comfortable and safe nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing for both clinicians and patients.

The Mediating Effect of Reassurance-Seeking Behavior on the Influence of Viral Anxiety and Depression on COVID-19 Obsession Among Medical Students

OBJECTIVES

Healthcare workers experienced great psychological burden due to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, medical healthcare workers experienced greater instances of insomnia, anxiety, depression, somatization, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms than the general population. This study aimed to explore the association between viral anxiety and obsession with COVID-19 among medical students with reassurance-seeking behavior as a mediator.

METHODS

In October 2021, an online survey was conducted among medical students at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine. The clinical characteristics of 162 participants and their responses to rating scales, including stress and anxiety to viral Epidemics-6 items (SAVE-6), Coronavirus Reassurance-Seeking Behaviors Scale (CRBS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items (PHQ-9), and Obsession with COVID-19 scale were collected.

RESULTS

Medical students' obsession with COVID-19 was based on the PHQ-9 (β = 0.15, p = 0.01), SAVE-6 (β = 0.43, p < 0.001), and CRBS (β = 0.38, p < 0.001) scores (adjusted R² = 0.49, F = 39.9, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis showed that medical students' viral anxiety and depression directly influenced their obsession with COVID-19, and their reassurance-seeking behavior partially mediated the effects of depression or viral anxiety on obsession with COVID-19.

CONCLUSIONS

Medical students' viral anxiety and depression may affect their obsession with COVID-19, and reassurance-seeking behaviors may mediate this. Therefore, medical students should adopt adaptive coping strategies to prevent high levels of viral anxiety and recurrent reassurance-seeking behavior.