Abstract
Few studies have been conducted on civil volunteers and their emotional conditions concerning the current COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 emergency on the mental health (general well-being, depression level, and post-traumatic distress), coping strategies, and training needs in an Italian sample of 331 Civil Protection volunteers of the L’Aquila province, during the first nationwide “lockdown” (8 March–3 June 2020). The rate of respondents to the online survey was limited (11.5%), presumably because displaying distress would be considered a sign of “weakness”, making volunteers unable to do their jobs. More than 90% of the volunteers showed good mental health conditions and a wide utilization of positive coping strategies, with the less experienced displaying better emotional conditions compared to colleagues with 10 or more years of experience. The type of emergency, the relatively few cases of contagion and mortality in the territory compared to the rest of Italy, and the sense of helping the community, together with the awareness of their group identity, could have contributed to the reported well-being. These results may help to identify the needs of volunteers related to this new “urban” emergency to improve both their technical and emotional skills.
Highlights
In Italy about six and a half million people (12.6% of the population) volunteer in an organized way (7.9%) or individually, based on the Italian National Statistics Institute, ISTAT, data [1]
This study aimed to evaluate the impact on the mental health of the emergency caused by COVID-19 in an Italian sample of 331 Civil Protection volunteers of the L’Aquila province territory, during the first nationwide “lockdown” (8 March–3 June 2020)
The study was conducted following the agreement signed on 23 June 2020, between the research group coordinated by R.R., belonging to the University of L’Aquila, and the voluntary associations of the Regional Civil Protection system: the Civil Emergency Voluntary Intervention (PIVEC) of L’Aquila, and the Civil Protection Nucleo Operativo Volontari (NOVPC) of Tagliacozzo (L’Aquila)
Summary
In Italy about six and a half million people (12.6% of the population) volunteer in an organized way (7.9%) or individually, based on the Italian National Statistics Institute, ISTAT, data [1]. Volunteers represent an important resource in disaster responses [3] and what appears to move them to act seems to be the result of a shared values set and a responsibility culture towards one’s community and society. This is not enough to face emergencies functionally: in addition to these values, the skill of solving problems collectively, experience, training, and knowledge are needed [4]. This could have been the main reason for the implementation of Civil.
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