Abstract
Stress during the pandemic has had an impact on the mental health of healthcare professionals (HCPs). However, little is known about coping and “maladaptive” coping behaviours of this population. This study investigates “maladaptive” coping behaviours and their correlation with stress, anxiety and insomnia of Italian HCPs during the pandemic. It reports on a cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational study based on a survey of 1955 Italian HCPs. Overall participants reported increases in cigarette smoking, time spent online and video playing. Overall reported alcohol consumption decreased but increased in those reporting drinking more than once a week. Those reporting starting smoking during the pandemic were found to have higher SAS and PSS scores. Those reporting being online for 3 or more hours were found to have higher ISS scores. Doctors who reported playing video games were found to have higher PSS, ISS and SAS scores whilst nurses who reported playing video games were found to have higher ISS scores. Doctors who reported playing for longer than one hour had higher PSS scores. Online behaviours may be a coping behaviour of HCPs affected by the pandemic. However, this is an underexplored area for the wellbeing of HCPs. These deficits need to be addressed going forward.
Highlights
Background to This StudyDealing with epidemics has been positively correlated with high rates of alcohol and other substance use among healthcare professionals (HCPs) [17]
This paper reports on a survey of Italian HCPs’ alcohol consumption, smoking, gambling, hours spent online and videogaming behaviour conducted during the first wave of the pandemic between the 25 April and 3 June 2020
Our results for stress, anxiety and insomnia can be seen as a normal response to what was being observed through the media and experienced at the bedside; this could suggest expanding on studies relating to the cognitive regulation of emotional processes [33,34,35]
Summary
Background to This StudyDealing with epidemics has been positively correlated with high rates of alcohol and other substance use among HCPs [17]. A study of the impact of the pandemic on the well-being of 695 Italian medical doctors found that 14.2% of the participants reported an increase in alcohol consumption and 43.6% of doctors reported an increase in the number of cigarettes smoked during the day [16]. Three comparative domains of behaviour that have not been studied in healthcare workers during the pandemic are gambling, videogaming and time spent online, especially if associated to maladaptive coping (for example, smoking and alcohol consumption). There are many cognitive neuroscience studies to support this hypothesis [23,24,25]. Garofalo and colleagues suggest that individual differences in learning style and cognitive abilities (i.e., working memory capacity) play a role in the predisposition
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