Longitudinal Change of Psychological Distress among Healthcare Professionals with and without Psychological First Aid Training Experience during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Hiroki Asaoka,Yuichi Koido,Yuki Miyamoto,Miki Ikeda,Yuzuru Kawashima,Daisuke Nishi

doi:10.3390/ijerph182312474

Abstract

This study aimed to compare longitudinal change of the psychological distress of a group with psychological first aid (PFA) experience and a group without PFA experience among physicians and other healthcare professionals from before the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic to during the pandemic. The baseline survey was conducted in January 2020 (T1). The respondents in T1 were invited to participate in March (T2) and November 2020 (T3). Psychological distress was assessed by the Kessler 6 Scale. Participants were divided into two categories: a group with and a group without PFA experience. Participants were further divided between physicians and healthcare professionals other than physicians, because physicians are more likely to experience morally injurious events. A mixed-model repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted as an indicator of the group differences. In T1, 398 healthcare professionals participated. The longitudinal analysis of healthcare professionals other than physicians showed that psychological distress was significantly greater in the group without PFA experience than in the group with PFA experience (T1 vs. T3). This study showed psychological distress among healthcare professionals other than physicians was significantly greater in the group without PFA experience than in the group with PFA experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the results were not consistent among physicians.

Highlights

Since early 2020, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread throughout the world
Psychological distress was not significantly different between the group with psychological first aid (PFA) training experience and the group without PFA training experience in the adjusted model (T1 vs. T2, T3). The result of this longitudinal analysis showed that psychological distress among healthcare professionals other than physicians increased from January (T1)
To April (T2) 2020, but decreased in the group with PFA training experience and increased in the group without PFA training experience from April (T2) to November (T3), and psychological distress was significantly greater in the group without PFA training experience than in the group with PFA training experience (T1 vs. T3)

Summary

Introduction

Since early 2020, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread throughout the world. Mental health problems have been reported among healthcare professionals responding to COVID-19 [1,2,3,4]. A systematic review reported an increased risk of mental health outcomes among healthcare professionals working in hospitals during a COVID-19 outbreak, with the prevalence of mental health problems being anxiety (23.2%), depression (22.8%), and insomnia (38.9%) [5]. Mental health problems have been reported to be associated with job performance, absenteeism, and turnover among healthcare professionals [6]. Prevention and countermeasures for mental health problems among healthcare professionals are important to maintain the healthcare system during COVID-19 outbreaks.

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Conclusion