Psychological Impact among Healthcare Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19, is a disease which has put entire world in a panic state. This disease is considered as public health emergency of International concern on 30th January 2020 by World Health Organization [1],. It has a high transmission rate and affects people of all the age groups. Case fatality rate is high among people in the age group more than 70yrs and those with co-morbid conditions.[2,3] The rate of infection among front line heath care workers is considerably high and they are more prone to develop psychological illness.[4,5,6] Among health care workers psychological wellbeing is as important as physical health. Hence at this present situation we need to address the gap among health care workers and should provide timely psychological support as well as manage the consequences arising due to COVID-19 effectively.Health care workers are at risk of contracting the disease as they provide direct care for the patients affected with COVID-19. Rapid spread, severity of illness, uncertainty about the treatment, shortage of resources like personal protective equipments which can aggravate the fear of acquiring the disease.[4,5,7,8] The Psychosocial and economic factors like feeling of inadequate support, possibility of transmitting disease to the family, job loss, stigma, economic slowdown can lead to concern and worries.[8] Places of recreation is important for better quality of life. But these non-essential services has been restricted to use as lock down was implemented to contain the spread of infection. [4,5,] All these factors can act as a major stressor among health care workers.