Abstract
Aims and objectivesThis study aimed to examine the psychosocial impact and identify risk factors for poor psychosocial outcomes in healthcare professionals during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic in Cyprus.BackgroundHealthcare professionals are in the forefront of the COVID‐19 pandemic facing an unprecedented global health crisis, which can have consequences on their psychosocial health. There is a need to identify risk factors for poor psychosocial outcomes to inform the design of tailored psychological interventions.DesignCross‐sectional online study.MethodsA total of 1071 healthcare professionals completed self‐report questionnaires. Measures included sociodemographic information, COVID‐19‐related characteristics, quality of life (Brief World Health Organization Quality of Life; WHOQOL‐Bref), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder‐7; GAD‐7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire‐8; PHQ‐8), occupational burnout (Copenhagen Burnout Inventory; CBI), and coping (Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced; Brief COPE). This article follows the STROBE reporting guidelines.ResultsThe prevalence of moderate to severe anxiety and clinically significant depression was 27.6% and 26.8%, respectively. Significant risk factors for poor psychological outcomes included being female, being a nurse or doctor (vs non‐medical professional), working in frontline units (inpatient, intensive care), perceptions of inadequate workplace preparation to deal with the pandemic, and using avoidance coping. Depression and occupational burnout were significant risk factors for poor quality of life.ConclusionThe findings suggest several individual, psychosocial, and organisational risk factors for the adverse psychological outcomes observed in healthcare professionals during the COVID‐19 pandemic.Relevance to clinical practiceThis study highlights the urgent need for screening for anxiety and depression and psychological interventions to combat an imminent mental health crisis in healthcare professionals during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Pandemic response protocols and public health initiatives aiming to improve and prevent mental health problems in healthcare professionals during the current and future health crises, need to account for the various factors at play.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in December 2019
Organisational changes were made to cope with the pandemic emergency situation, whereby an entire hospital was converted into a COVID-19 treatment centre suspending most other services, many clinics within hospitals were converted to COVID-19 wards, healthcare professionals from various departments were assigned to the treatment of COVID-19 patients, and non-essential outpatient appointments and non-emergency surgeries were postponed (Press & Information Office, 2020a)
Risk factors for poor Quality of Life (QoL), anxiety, depression, and occupational burnout include female gender, being a nurse or doctor, working in frontline units, inadequate workplace preparation to deal with the pandemic, and engaging in avoidance coping, while the presence of depression and occupational burnout further impedes QoL in healthcare professionals
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in December 2019. The Republic of Cyprus is facing an unprecedented situation like many other countries around the world, with 36,786 cases of COVID-19 and 236 deaths until March 9, 2021 (Epidemiological Surveillance Unit of the Ministry of Health, 2021). A significant proportion (21.4%) of the 873 confirmed cases in Cyprus between March and May 2020 were healthcare professionals, of which approximately 50% were nurses (Quattrocchi et al, 2020). Several factors have been reported to increase the risk for psychological symptoms in healthcare workers, including being a nurse, female gender, and frontline work (Muller et al, 2020; Pappa et al, 2020). The increased workload and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic can further decrease work engagement in frontline nurses potentially influencing the provision of quality of care (Zhang et al, 2021). There is limited evidence on the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on healthcare professionals in Cyprus, a country that has no extensive experience in dealing with pandemics of this scale and lacks psychological support services tailored to the needs of healthcare professionals
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