Psychosocial interventions for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: rapid review and meta-analysis.

Abstract

This rapid review was conducted by following apredefined protocol developed by the Cochrane Rapid Reviews Methods Group. Atotal of 172potential reviews and 167primary studies of interest were found. AMSTARII was used to assess the quality of the included reviews and the JBI Checklist for Randomized Controlled Trials for primary studies. Overall, four studies were included in this review. The study quality ranged from 5 to 12out of 13possible stars. No robust evidence was found that psychosocial interventions can reduce psychological distress. No significant effect could be found regarding post-traumatic stress. Two studies on anxiety were identified, one which showed an effect and another which did not. The psychosocial intervention had no beneficial effect on burnout and depression, whereas providing amindfulness- or relaxation-based intervention resulted in asignificant improvement in sleep quality. By considering the secondary results and results of previous reviews, acombination of training and mindfulness seems to be beneficial for decreasing anxiety and stress in home care workers. In summary, the evidence-based recommendations are still limited and, therefore, more evidence is needed to make ageneral statement of high certainty about the effects.