Abstract
Healthcare staff have been at the centre of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, facing diverse work-related stressors. Building upon studies from various countries, we aimed to investigate (1) the prevalence of various work-related stressors among healthcare professionals in Germany specific to the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) the psychological effects of these stressors in terms of clinical symptoms, and (3) the healthcare professionals' help-seeking behaviour. To this end, N = 300 healthcare professionals completed an online survey including the ICD-10 Symptom Rating checklist (ISR), event-sampling questions on pandemic-related stressors and self-formulated questions on help-seeking behaviour. Participants were recruited between 22 May and 22 July 2020. Findings were analysed using t tests, regressions and comparisons to large clinical and non-clinical samples assessed before and during the pandemic. Results show that healthcare professionals were most affected by protective measures at their workplace and changes in work procedures. Psychological symptoms, particularly anxiety and depression, were significantly more severe than in a non-clinical pre-pandemic sample and in the general population during the pandemic. At the same time, most professionals indicated that they would not seek help for psychological concerns. These findings indicate that healthcare employers need to pay greater attention to the mental health of their staff.
Highlights
Healthcare workers are at the centre of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic
In contrast to most previous studies in Germany, our study aimed to focus on healthcare professionals and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their mental health
In contrast to Zerbini et al [34], who focused on a single hospital, we aimed to investigate the mental health of healthcare professionals across professions and German states
Summary
Healthcare workers are at the centre of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. While many employees started working from home or were even barred from attending their workplace, employees in the healthcare sector were affected in a dual sense: were they required to continue working, they were exposed to increased risks due to the nature of their jobs. This twofold burden has had a global economic and medical impact, while increasing psychological strain on the affected workers [2]. The well-being of this target group is of high concern, as health systems depend on their workforces and a collapse would have severe consequences for the general public
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