Insulating frontline COVID warriors from moral and mental distress during COVID pandemic- An Evidence based review

Abstract

The commencement of Covid-19 pandemic has bothered moral and mental health of frontline Covid warriors. Scarcity of personal protective equipments, protracted working hours, improper hydration, hostile healthcare system, unprecedented settings and hurdles in provision of quality care have constituted a deterioration of mental health in healthcare workers. Frontline health care workers often experience burnout, anxiety, depression, insomnia and stress-related disorders. Moral distress rearing from baffl ing decisions regarding issuance of scarce resources and care to Covid-19 positive patients further amplify to strain health worker loads. Therefore, it is vital to admonish mental health of health care workers consistently using collaborative strategies at individual, system and organisational level. This article reviews the moral distress and mental health problems confronted by frontline health care workers and explores various strategies which ought to be executed to cope with them.