Abstract
Background: The study aimed to compare psychopathological expressions during the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, as declared on March 11th 2020 by the World Health Organization, with respect to which institutional variables might distinguish the impact of COVID-19 in medical and non-medical professionals. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed nationwide between 16th March and the 26th April 2020 in Poland. A total of 2039 respondents representing all healthcare providers (59.8%) as well as other professionals filled in the sociodemographic section, the General Health Questionnaire-28 and the author’s questionnaire with questions related to exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, the availability of protective measures, quarantine, change of working hours and place of employment during the pandemic, as well as feelings associated with the state of the pandemic. Results: Medical professionals more often presented with relevant psychopathological symptoms (GHQ-28 (General Health Questionnaire-28) total score >24) than the non-medical group (60.8% vs. 48.0%, respectively) such as anxiety, insomnia and somatic symptoms even after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Male sex, older age and appropriate protective equipment were associated with significantly lower GHQ-28 total scores in medical professionals, whereas among non-medical professionals, male sex was associated with significantly lower GHQ-28 total scores. Conclusions: Somatic and anxiety symptoms as well as insomnia are more prevalent among medical staff than workers in other professions. Targeting the determinants of these differences should be included in interventions aimed at restoring psychological well-being in this specific population. Apparently, there are present gender differences in psychological responses that are independent of profession.
Highlights
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and attributed to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection
Epidemics of infectious diseases have always had their place in history, this time, globalization has facilitated the spread of SARS-CoV-2, causing a pandemic, which was announced on March 11, 2020, by the World Health Organization (WHO)
This group of participants was more likely to report an urban place of residence, caring for a disabled person, major changes in private life, working on a shift schedule, contact with a COVID-19 patient without personal protective equipment, contact with COVID-19 patients at work, work experience of death due to COVID-19 and too few employees compared to the workload
Summary
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and attributed to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The study aimed to compare psychopathological expressions during the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, as declared on March 11th 2020 by the World Health Organization, with respect to which institutional variables might distinguish the impact of COVID-19 in medical and non-medical professionals. A total of 2039 respondents representing all healthcare providers (59.8%) as well as other professionals filled, the General Health Questionnaire-28 and the author’s questionnaire with questions related to exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, the availability of protective measures, quarantine, change of working hours and place of employment during the pandemic, as well as feelings associated with the state of the pandemic. There are present gender differences in psychological responses that are independent of profession
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