Coping Mechanisms: Exploring Strategies Utilized by Japanese Healthcare Workers to Reduce Stress and Improve Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Kayoko Takahashi,Yuki Mashizume,Masatoshi Tahara

doi:10.3390/ijerph18010131

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major problem affecting the mental health of millions of people, including healthcare workers. In this study, we analyzed risk factors and coping mechanisms that could reduce the risk of poor mental health among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. A cross-sectional survey was conducted for 7 days from 30 April 2020 using a web-based questionnaire. The survey assessed various outcome measures, including the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), health status, satisfaction with daily life activities, work, leisure, and new activities, and anxiety over COVID-19. Data from 661 participants were analyzed, and 440 participants (66.6%) showed poor mental health (GHQ-12 ≥ 4). Also, our result showed that female gender, lower levels of communication with friends, and high anxiety were associated with poorer mental health. In contrast, good health status, high work satisfaction, and high satisfaction from new activities were associated with buffering mental health problem. Most participants chose an escape-avoidance coping strategy, and participants with worse mental health were more likely to adopt seeking social support as a coping strategy. These results may support healthcare workers to cope with mental health problems associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Highlights

In December 2019, a new type of viral pneumonia began to spread in Wuhan, China [1], and in January 2020, the disease began to extend across Japan as well [2]
Healthcare workers have been especially affected by this pandemic, which has led to serious mental health problems [5,6]
Our results indicate that in Japan, as in other countries, substantial mental health problems have developed among healthcare workers since implementing COVID-19 infection control measures [5,32]

Summary

Introduction

In December 2019, a new type of viral pneumonia began to spread in Wuhan, China [1], and in January 2020, the disease began to extend across Japan as well [2]. The number of confirmed infected people in Japan surged to more than 2500 by late March [2], and the number of potentially infected people was expected to be higher. Under these circumstances, the Japanese government issued an emergency declaration for all prefectures in Japan on 7 April 2020, and designated 13 prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka, as ‘special alert’ regions [4]. The Japanese government issued an emergency declaration for all prefectures in Japan on 7 April 2020, and designated 13 prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka, as ‘special alert’ regions [4] Deterioration of people’s mental health has been a problem in past pandemics of widespread infectious

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Discussion

Conclusion