Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers (HW) have faced an extremely difficult work environment, with an increased workload and traumatic events. Our study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on HW’s mental wellbeing. We analyzed the correlations between levels of burnout and other mental health disorders and we searched for the presence of specific risk factors of post-traumatic symptomatology related to the pandemic. A structured an on-line questionnaire and validated instruments were completed by a sample of HW from some hospitals in Genoa, Italy. Anxious, depressive, post-traumatic and other psychological symptoms were assessed and risk factors, related to the pandemic, were considered. Then, we investigated the correlation between levels of burnout and the risk of developing psychopathology. A total of 731 HW were screened, and we found increased levels of anxiety (61%), depression (62%), PTSD (34%) and high levels of burnout; especially emotional exhaustion (37%). A statistically significant association between burnout and insomnia, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic symptoms was demonstrated. This study indicates that during the COVID-19 pandemic, HW showed high levels of psychological distress and that burnout is an important predictor of sufferance. These findings support the idea to provide psychological and psychiatric support for HW.
Highlights
During the first Italian peak, in spring 2020, many major cities in our country faced overloaded intensive care units and emergency departments due to a high hospitalization for Sars-CoV2 disease
The aim of our study is to investigate the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), insomnia, anxiety, and depression on a population of healthcare workers (HW) highly involved in the pandemic emergency, and to evaluate if these disorders are correlated to specific COVID-19 risk factors, to better understand their specific trajectories, development, and duration in this population
We found that male gender was a protective factor in developing PTSD, having a negative association with post-traumatic symptomatology (Std. β = −0.28, p = 0.006); seniority over 30 years had a negative association with depressive symptoms (Std. β = −0.02, p = 0.046)
Summary
During the first Italian peak, in spring 2020, many major cities in our country faced overloaded intensive care units and emergency departments due to a high hospitalization for Sars-CoV2 disease. In Genoa, a city of almost 600,000 inhabitants, with 27.2% of the population over sixty-five years old, the daily hospitalization reached the peak of 719, 13% of those were admitted to intensive care units [1]. 663 deaths because of COVID-19 disease: the death rate of the city, compared with the mean rates of the previous five years, increased by 56.1% in March 2020 and by 71.6% in. From mid-March 2020, most of the main hospitals in Genoa were converted by the regional government into “COVID-19 hospitals”, where many wards were turned into areas dedicated to the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
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