Abstract
Background: The psychosocial impact of COVID-19 is greater among healthcare workers (HCWs) than the general population. This study aims to identify psychosocial problems faced by HCWs in Vietnam during the national partial lockdown between 1 and 22 April 2020 and to identify risk factors associated with psychosocial issues among this population.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the second week of April 2020 during the national lockdown in Vietnam. Snowball sampling technique was used to recruit participants through web-based surveys. The Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used to assess the impact of COVID-19 on HCWs through online surveys.Results: Of the 349 HCWs, we found 22.6% reported psychosocial problems. Most of participants reported having exposure to COVID-19 daily (48.7%). The majority of them also felt that their job put them at risk of SARS-CoV-2 infections (90.3%) and expressed fear of potential infection (85.7%). Despite COVID-19 risks, 95.4% of participants, however, expressed their willingness to continue working at their current health facility. In addition, 94.8% of participants believed if they or their family members had been infected, their agency leaders would have provided them with appropriate medical care. Lastly, HCWs who worked in the internal medicine department who did not take care of COVID-19 patients or expressed fear of becoming infected were more likely to have higher total IES-R scores.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the support of healthcare leaders and assurance of care might be helpful in mitigating the psychological effects of COVID-19 among HCWs in Vietnam. These resources should be tailored to HCWs who are working in different areas of health services, including staff who are not working directly with COVID-19 patients. In addition, psychosocial health resources should be provided for not only physicians but also nursing staff.
Highlights
The present coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in widespread reports of worsening mental health [1,2,3,4]
We examined the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers (HCWs) during the first national lockdown in the history of Vietnam in April 2020
We aim to identify rates of psychosocial disorders among HCWs in Vietnam, trends contributing to these rates, and opportunities to improve the psychosocial health of this population
Summary
The present coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in widespread reports of worsening mental health [1,2,3,4]. The institution of public health measures, such as stay-athome orders, has played a crucial role in delaying the spread of infections and alleviating pressure on healthcare systems in low-to-middle income countries (LMICs), such as Vietnam, where critical care resources are already limited. The stringent social distancing measures, combined with the stress of working in high-risk, resource-poor settings have put people, healthcare workers (HCWs) at risk of developing psychosocial disorders [7]. These issues have been further compounded by the absence of mental health resources for HCWs—in particular interventions to combat stress, burnout, and PTSD during early stages of the outbreak [8]. This study aims to identify psychosocial problems faced by HCWs in Vietnam during the national partial lockdown between 1 and 22 April 2020 and to identify risk factors associated with psychosocial issues among this population
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