The Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers and Recommendations for the Prevention of Loss of Work Efficiency

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the mental health conditions of healthcare workers and raise awareness regarding the measures to be taken in this regard. Materials and Methods: A group of total 435 healthcare professionals, including 52.2% women, who worked in the pandemic clinics, were enrolled. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was administered using a web-based questionnaire system. We divided the healthcare workers into the following three groups: physicians, nurses, and other auxiliary healthcare workers, and compared their HADS-A and HADS-D scores. We grouped the healthcare workers as per their departments and years of professional experience and compared the HADS-A and HADS-D scores of the groups. Results: The mean patient age was 34.34±8.34 y. Further, 25.7% had received professional mental support, and 18.6% started undergoing professional psychological therapy for the first time in their lives owing to the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic process. Healthcare workers were assessed for anxiety and depression using the HADS;43.4% of them had anxiety and 65.1% had depression. Conclusion: The present study stated that <50% of healthcare workers with mental disorders who were serving as frontline healthcare providers for COVID-19 patients receive professional mental support. The authorities should take precautions to prevent healthcare services from being interrupted and the negative impacts on healthcare workers' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Erciyes Medical Journal / Erciyes Tip Dergisi is the property of KARE Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)