Abstract
Working as healthcare workers (HCWs) and emergency workers (EWs) during the first wave of COVID-19 has been associated with high levels of stress and burnout, while hardiness, coping strategies and resilience have emerged as protective factors. No studies have so far investigated these psychological factors during the second wave. We aimed to verify the trend of stress levels, burnout, coping strategies and resilience during the pandemic in Italian healthcare and emergency workers by comparing a first sample recruited from the first COVID-19 wave (N = 240) with a second sample relating to the second wave (N = 260). Through an online platform we administered questionnaires to measure stress, burnout, resilience, hardiness and coping strategies. The results showed that in the two waves the total stress levels of HCWs and EWs did not differ, while the physical stress and hardiness scores in the second wave were greater. No differences were found in the coping strategies used. An analysis of burnout levels in the second wave sample found that stress showed a high predictive power in the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization scales. Hardiness and resilience emerged as protective factors in reducing stress. The implications for the need to provide support and to improve hardiness for HCWs and EWs are discussed.
Highlights
The epidemic COVID-19 scenario in Italy can be summarized in three phases
The main objective was to identify the predictive effect of the levels of stress and the resilience capacity on burnout in Italian healthcare workers (HCWs) and emergency workers (EWs) involved during the second wave of the pandemic
The assumption of the two studies was that stress levels remained stable leading to a reduction in personal well-being, and that if coping strategies remained constant over time, a greater use of resilient resources would protect from burnout
Summary
The epidemic COVID-19 scenario in Italy can be summarized in three phases. The period from February to the end of May 2020 (first wave) was characterized by a very rapid spread of cases and deaths in a strongly territorial concentration mainly in the north of. From June to mid-September (transition phase), the spread was initially very limited. As of the end of September 2020 (second wave), the cases again increased rapidly until the first half of November, and decreased. Compared to the first epidemic wave, the second epidemic wave in Italy changed both in terms of the quantity and geographic distribution. The effects of this wave on mortality continue in
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