The Unspoken Wounds: Understanding the Psychological Impact on Healthcare Professionals Fighting COVID-19 in Pakistan

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital staff faced numerous mental health challenges. However, limited research focused on anxiety and stress specifically among hospital workers during this time. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the anxiety levels of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A multidimensional, cross-sectional survey was distributed to healthcare workers and staff at hospitals, COVID-19 laboratories, and healthcare settings. The survey included a total of 625 frontline healthcare workers, with 445 (71.2%) being male and 180 (28.8%) female. There were 405 (64.8%) lab professionals, 90 (14.0%) doctors, and 130 (20.8%) others, including nursing staff, administrative personnel, and supporting staff crucial to the functioning of healthcare settings. Among the lab professionals, 37.0% reported moderate depression levels and 16.0% reported severe depression levels during the pandemic. For doctors, 22.2% experienced mild depression and 33.33% experienced severe depression. Several factors were significantly associated with depression and anxiety among frontline healthcare workers, including physiological and social factors, fear of infection, risk of infecting family members and colleagues, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), long working hours, untrained staff, social issues, and cooperation problems. These factors collectively contributed to reduced work efficacy during the pandemic. Frontline health workers played a critical role in the fight against COVID-19. The findings from this study have important implications for developing strategies to improve the mental health of healthcare workers during the pandemic and implementing policies that enhance work efficacy, ultimately leading to the improved outcomes.