Stress In Healthcare Professionals Research Articles

Through the eyes of healthcare professionals: Compassion fatigue and earthquake stress coping strategies of healthcare professionals in the disaster region following the Kahramanmaras centered earthquakes: A case-control study.

Healthcare professionals serving in the earthquake zone may experience mental problems due to the traumatic events they witnessed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of working in earthquake-affected areas on compassion fatigue and coping strategies for earthquake stress in healthcare professionals compared to a control group. This descriptive and correlational study was conducted in three provinces in the northern region of Türkiye. The sample of the study consisted of 146 healthcare professionals working in earthquake-affected regions and 143 healthcare professionals not working in earthquake-affected regions. Data were collected using the 'Descriptive Information Form', 'Compassion Fatigue Short Scale (CF-SS)', and 'Coping with Earthquake Stress Scale (CESS)'. Descriptive statistics, t-test for independent samples, Pearson correlation analysis and binary logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Statistically significant differences were found between healthcare professionals working in earthquake-affected regions and healthcare professionals not working in these regions in terms of CF-SS total scores, 'occupational burnout' sub-dimension mean scores and 'seeking social support' mean scores among CESS sub-dimension mean scores (p < .05). However, no statistically significant difference was found between the mean scores of 'secondary trauma' sub-dimension of CF-SS and total-CESS, 'religious coping', and 'positive reappraisal' (p > .05). A high and positive correlation (r = .805; r = .847; r = .847; r = .695, p < .001) was found between total CF-SS scores and total religious coping, positive reappraisal and seeking social support scores of the participants. In addition, working in the earthquake zone negatively affects positive reappraisal and positively affects seeking social support as a significant predictor (β = .081, OR = 0.922, p < .05; β = .111, OR = 1.117, p < .05). A significant positive relationship was observed between compassion fatigue and coping with earthquake stress. At the same time, it was determined that having worked in the regions affected by earthquakes had a strong positive effect on coping strategies with earthquake stress.

The impact of negative affects on the high prevalence of anxiety, depression and stress in healthcare professionals.

Psychiatric disorders are the conditions that most contribute to incapacity worldwide. While many healthcare professionals adapt in dealing with various demands, others do not. How much of these conditions is associated with affective experience needs to be studied. Assess the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and stress while investigating the relationship between the presence of positive and negative affect in healthcare professionals. This study's convenience sample consisted of 975 providers (including nursing, physicians, and multidisciplinary team) and administrative professionals (service and supervision teams) working at a general private hospital in Brazil. Data were collected in 2019 through a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS-X). The results are shown through multinomial regression with odds ratio, 95% confidence interval, and P-value. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was 49.4%, 46.1%, and 49.8%, respectively, showing high prevalence. It was observed that a high presence of negative affect is associated with a greater likelihood of developing anxiety, depression, and stress, while a high presence of positive affect is associated with a lower likelihood of depression and stress prevalence. The high prevalence of anxiety, depression and stress in healthcare professionals is associated with the presence of negative affects. Mental disorders should be measured, and practices adopted to ensure well-being and job performance.

Positive vaccine beliefs linked to reduced mental stress in healthcare professionals during COVID-19: a retrospective study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant adverse effect on the mental health of healthcare professionals. This study aims to assess the effects of the prolonged pandemic on burnout and mood disorders and to evaluate the influence of positive vaccination beliefs on these factors at a medical center during the extended COVID-19 pandemic. This retrospective study analyzed the results of an online questionnaire survey including burnout status and mood disorders from 2020 to 2022. The factors related to mood moderate/severe disorders and the impact of the positive vaccine belief were also explored. The initial analysis revealed that healthcare professionals continued to experience significant levels of personal and work-related burnout, along with mood disorders. However, the scores and the percentage of moderate to severe burnout gradually decreased. Notably, the percentage of individuals with moderate to severe mood disorders also gradually declined (2020: 13.4%, 2021: 12.3%, 2022: 11.1%). The number of participants who need professional interventions decreased from 56.2% in 2020 to 45.9% in 2021, and 46% in 2022. Multivariate analysis revealed a positive vaccine belief was associated with a lower risk of moderate/severe mood disorders, with odd ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of 0.38 (0.28 - 0.52) and 0.41 (0.30 - 0.52) in the 2021 and 2022 cohorts, respectively. Further investigation revealed that age over 50 was linked to a positive vaccine belief in 2021 and 2022. Within the 2022 cohort, working as nurses was identified as the independent factor associated with a less positive belief, with the OR and 95% CI of 0.49 (0.27 - 0.90). The findings of the present study suggest burnout and mood disorders are still significant during the pandemic. A positive vaccine belief may mitigate pandemic-related mental distress. Further interventions to enhance the belief combined with other supporting measures are important in a long fight against the pandemic.

Occupational Stress in Healthcare Professionals in Spain: A Multicenter Study.

Introduction: Occupational stress significantly impacts healthcare professionals in the Spanish public hospital system. This study, conducted from April to June 2022, focuses on analyzing stress levels using the Nursing Stress Scale through an online survey. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out using an online survey from April to June 2022 in four hospitals. The Nursing Stress Scale was used to comprehensively assess stress levels among healthcare professionals. Results: The findings revealed a substantial contrast in stress outcomes based on personal circumstances. Healthcare professionals in stable partnerships and with children exhibited lower stress levels, acting as protective factors during the pandemic. Conversely, those engaged in rotating shifts, especially those working over 60 h per week, showed a sevenfold increase in high-stress probability (p < 0.05). Temporary contract holders and those with heightened exposure to COVID-19 reported elevated stress levels, highlighting the complex dynamics impacting the mental well-being of healthcare workers. Conclusions: Findings emphasize the necessity for targeted interventions to safeguard healthcare professionals' well-being, focusing on the psychological consequences of factors like rotating shifts and extended working hours. Protective elements such as stable partnerships and parenthood could serve as a foundation for initiatives supporting work-life balance, potentially involving government policies and hospital management.

Measuring Workload Among Family Medicine Health Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The global COVID-19 pandemic presented a period of considerable stress for healthcare professionals on a global scale. The strain on healthcare facilities nationwide has resulted in profound implications for the well-being of numerous healthcare practitioners. A heightened demand for extended working hours emerged, potentially amplifying the workload for these professionals. This study aims to scrutinize the workload levels experienced by healthcare professionals specializing in family medicine at a tertiary medical center. Our findings reveal a persistent escalation in workload over the course of the study. Notably, the overall mean workload index score exhibited a substantial increase from phase one to phase two (48.07 compared to66.36). Recognizing the impact of workload variations according to professional roles is crucial for devising effective solutions. Consequently, comprehending the nuances of workload distribution among healthcare professionals is imperative for the successful implementation of targeted interventions.

How to manage work-related stress in healthcare professionals: organizational and individual interventions.

IntroductionWorkplaces can be source of significant stress for employees, leading to a series of mental health problems, such as burnout syndrome. Healthcare professionals and other helping professions are especially vulnerable to work-related stress.ObjectivesThe aim of the present review is to assess available intervention aiming at improving work-related stress symptoms.MethodsWe conducted a thorough search of relevant articles on PubMed, APA PsycInfo, and Scopus databases, using specific keywords such as “occupational stress,” “stress,” “anxiety,” “depression,” “health personnel,” “health care facilities, manpower and services,” “prevention,” and “control.”Results Although significant methodological heterogeneity has been found among studies, regarding assessment tools, target population, and intervention types, we can still draw some satisfactory results. Healthcare professionals have access to various interventions to manage work-related stress symptoms, which can be classified into three categories: 1) individual cognitive-behavioral therapy approaches, 2) relaxation techniques at the individual level, and 3) organizational-level interventions. Mindfulness techniques, relaxation techniques, emotional freedom techniques, and integrated interventions have demonstrated effectiveness in alleviating work-related stress.ConclusionsTo prevent work-related stress among healthcare professionals, interventions should be targeted towards specific categories of healthcare workers based on factors such as age, tasks, and patient types. Well-structured and reliable randomized controlled trials focusing on the most promising interventions, such as mindfulness, need to be carried out in larger samples and with a solid methodology in order to confirm these evidences.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Family presence during resuscitation.

Patients and their relatives often expect to be actively involved in decisions of treatment. Even during resuscitation and acute medical care, patients may want to have their relatives nearby, and relatives may want to be present if offered the possibility.The principle of family presence during resuscitation (FPDR) is a triangular relationship where the intervention of family presence affects the healthcare professionals, the relatives present, and the care of the patient involved. All needs and well-being must be balanced in the context of FPDR as the actions involving all three groups can impact the others. The primary aim of this review was to investigate how offering relatives the option to be present during resuscitation of patients affects the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related symptoms in the relatives. The secondary aim was to investigate how offering relatives the option to be present during resuscitation of patients affects the occurrence of other psychological outcomes in the relatives and what effect family presence compared to no family presence during resuscitation of patients has on patient morbidity and mortality. We also wanted to investigate the effect of FPDR on medical treatment and care during resuscitation. Furthermore, we wanted to investigate and report the personal stress seen in healthcare professionals and if possible describe their attitudes toward the FPDR initiative. We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL from inception to 22 March 2022without any language limits. We also checked references and citations of eligible studies usingScopus, and searched for relevant systematic reviews using Epistomonikos. Furthermore, we searched ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO ICTRP, and ISRCTN registry for ongoing trials; OpenGrey for grey literature; and Google Scholar for additional trials (all on 22 March 2022). We included randomized controlled trials of adults who have witnessed a resuscitation attempt of a patient (who was their relative) at the emergency department or in the pre-hospital emergency medical service. The participants of this review included relatives, patients, and healthcare professionals during resuscitation. We included relatives aged 18 years or older who have witnessed a resuscitation attempt of a patient (who is their relative) in the emergency department or pre-hospital. We defined relatives as siblings, parents, spouses, children, or close friends of the patient, or any other descriptions used by the study authors. There were no limitations on adult age or gender. We defined patient as a patient with cardiac arrest in need of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), a patient with a critical medical or traumatic life-threatening condition, an unconscious patient, or a patient in any other way at risk of sudden death. We included all types of healthcare professionals as described in the included studies. There were no limitations on age or gender. We checked titles and abstracts of studies identified by the search, and obtained the full reports of those studies deemed potentially relevant. Two review authors independently extracted data. As it was not possible to conduct meta-analyses, we synthesized data narratively. The electronic searches yielded a total of 7292records after deduplication. Weincluded 2 trials (3 papers) involving a total of 595 participants:a cluster-randomized trial from 2013involving pre-hospital emergency medical services units in France, comparing systematic offer for a relative to witness CPR with the traditional practice, and its 1-year assessment;and a small pilot study from 1998 of FPDR in an emergency department in the UK. Participants were19to 78years old, and between 56% and 64% were women. PTSD was measured with theImpact of Event Scale, and the median score ranged from 0 to 21(range 0 to 75; higher scores correspond to more severe disease).In thetrial that accounted formost of the included participants (570/595), the frequency of PTSD-related symptoms was significantly higher in the control group after 3 and 12 months,andin the per-protocol analysesa significant statistical difference was found in favor of FPDR when looking at PTSD, anxiety and depression, and complicated grief after 1 year. One of the included studies also measured duration of patient resuscitation and personal stress in healthcare professionals during FPDR and found no difference between groups. Both studies had high risk of bias, and the evidence for all outcomes except one was assessed as very low certainty. There was insufficient evidence to draw any firm conclusions on the effectsof FPDRon relatives' psychological outcomes. Sufficiently powered and well-designed randomized controlled trials may change the conclusions of the review in future.

Ability of Emotional Regulation and Control as a Stress Predictor in Healthcare Professionals.

Emotional Regulation and Control implies a person’s ability to respond to stressful demands and emotional experiences in a socially acceptable and adaptive way. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the contribution of the ability of emotional regulation and control in the prediction of workplace stress in healthcare professionals. The study included 203 healthcare professionals employed at a hospital in the Republic of Croatia. Data were collected using two validated questionnaires: Questionnaire on Workplace Stressors for Hospital Professionals and Emotional Regulation and Control Questionnaire (ERC). Most respondents (64%) experienced stress in Workplace Organization and Financial Issues factor, while 52.7% experienced stress in Public Criticism factor. The respondents assessed their ability of emotional regulation and control to be low (mean = 55; range = 20−100). The level of experienced stress was significantly higher if the ability of emotional regulation and control was low (Spearman’s Rho = 0.308; p < 0.001). The multivariate regression model (11.2% explained variances; p = 0.001) indicated a greater possibility of severe stress in respondents who have stronger Memory of Emotionally Saturated Content (odds ratio = 1.18; 95% CI = 1.07−1.30). The results of this study signify the need to establish effective institutional support aimed at objectifying stress and strengthening emotional intelligence and empathy in healthcare professionals.

Does mindfulness reduce perceived stress in healthcare professionals?

BackgroundHealthcare professionals (HCPs) are exposed to multiple psychosocial risks that may lead to high levels of stress and low levels of life satisfaction and well-being. Mindfulness, defined as the awareness that arises by intentionally paying attention in the present moment and in a non-judgmental way, seems to be a moderator in the causal association between life stressors and well-being. AimsThe aim of the present study was to test the model of relationships between self-reported mindfulness, perceived stress, well-being index and life satisfaction in a sample of Tunisian HCPs. MethodsWe performed a correlational cross-sectional study on a sample of HCPs at Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Tunisia. We used validated self-reporting instruments: the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the World Health Organisation Well-Being Index (WHO-5) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). For data analysis, the SPSS version 23 program was used. ResultsParticipants (n=297) included staff nurses (49.2%), medical technicians (19.2%) and doctors (31.6%). The overall model revealed that reduced perceived stress (β=−0.30, P<0.000) and high levels of well-being (β=0.13, P=0.03) were associated with mindfulness, explaining 14% of the variance. Individually, perceived stress significantly predicted mindfulness explaining 13% of the variance. ConclusionThe study explores a variety of elements that can support the development of mindfulness interventions for stress prevention, staff well-being, and improvement of services as a whole.

Mindfulness as a tool for reducing stress in healthcare professionals: An umbrella review.

Health care providers (HCPs) and health care students experience a huge amount of stress due to high workloads and pressure to perform and are likely to develop anxiety, depression and burnout. The objective was to carry out an umbrella review of systematic and narrative reviews on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in reducing stress and improving well-being in HCPs and health care students. Systematic and narrative reviews that examined the impact of mindfulness-based interventions on HCPs and healthcare students' perceived stress were identified through a systematic search of three electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. Fifteen articles were included in the analysis: eleven systematic and four narrative reviews. Studies' quality varied from critically low to high. The different interventions showed positive results in reducing stress in both HCPs and students, with mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course having the major impact. MBSR techniques and other mindfulness based interventions resulted to be potentially effective in reducing stress. However, despite the vast amount of data collected by the studies and the promising results, several limitations affected the validity of the studies. Therefore, more research that considers the critical aspects of this field is required, in order to provide more reliable results.

Guided imagery: Harnessing the power of imagination to combat workplace stress for health care professionals

In these unprecedented times, health care professionals have experienced new levels of stress, creating a greater risk for burnout, poor physical and mental health, and unhealthy coping behaviors. Guided Imagery offers an effective, low cost method to quickly counteract the stress response and turn on the relaxation response, even with a brief practice. Guided Imagery uses descriptive language to evoke a pleasant, relaxing multi-sensory experience to improve mood, cognition, and physical comfort. Guided imagery recordings from respected health institutions abound, often free of charge, and when health care professionals have access to these resources and the support of their health care settings to engage in these abbreviated practices, they can feel restored and revitalized after just a few minutes of Guided Imagery.

Perceived Social Support and Psychological Distress among Healthcare Professionals during COVID-19

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has brought an array of problems affecting people everywhere. Healthcare professionals were under immense work and emotional pressure since the advent of COVID-19 outbreak which exposed them to physical and psychological vulnerabilities. Current study was designed to investigate social support and psychological distress defined as depression, anxiety and stress in healthcare professionals serving during COVID-19. Sample comprised 321 healthcare professionals including male (n=57%) and female (n= 42%) professionals from various healthcare facilities. Majority of the participants had poor social support. Depression mean score (11.86, SD= 5.81) was in mild severity range, whereas mean score of anxiety (11.81, SD=5.76) indicated moderate severity. Mean score on stress (14.01, SD= 7.37) was towards the high side of the normal range. Data revealed gender differences in terms of mean scores on depression, anxiety, stress (p&lt;0.05) and social support (p&gt;0.05). Female healthcare professionals scored significantly lower (p&lt;0.05) on all components of psychological distress namely depression, anxiety and stress than males. Those with high scores on any of the three dimensions of psychological distress also showed to have poor social support. Healthcare professionals noted to have experienced mild to moderate levels of psychological distress and showed differences in level of psychological distress based on relative exposure to patients, perceived social support and gender.

Coaching and mentoring skills: a complement to the professional midwifery advocate role

Workload pressures within midwifery have magnified because of the global pandemic, causing anxiety and stress for healthcare professionals across all settings. The prediction of the retirement time bomb, combined with midwives leaving the profession as a result of burnout, is having a considerable impact on maternity service provision. There is additional recognition of stress factors caused by the changing landscape within maternity services, one of which has been identified as the national implementation of the continuity of care model. The support framework for midwives and student midwives and the continuous improvement process that the advocating for education and quality improvement model is designed to achieve is needed now more than ever in what have become known as unprecedented times. The author is passionate regarding support for student midwives and prior to lockdown, commenced a postgraduate course in coaching and mentoring. The rationale for undertaking this qualification was to enhance professional midwifery advocate skills further. This proved to be beneficial to the development of the professional midwifery advocate services.

Mental stress in health care professionals during COVID-19 outbreak.

BackgroundIn December 2019, an outbreak of novel corona virus pneumonia occurred in Wuhan City, China, and spread throughout the whole of country in a short period. Figures from China’s National Health Commission show that more than 3300 health care workers have been infected as of early March. In Italy, 20% of responding health care professionals was infected, and some have died. Health care professionals are exposed to different types of stress both physical and psychological in response to this serious infectious public health event.Research aimsThe aim of this study is to measure the degree of mental stress among front line health care workers dealing with COVID-19 patients.MethodsWe conducted the study through online survey questionnaire after obtaining the ethics approval from the Research Ethics Committee of Galway University Hospital in Ireland (Ref: C.A. 2355). All personal information of the medical staff involved in the survey has been kept confidential.ResultsThree hundred nine health care members (209 male and 97 female) have agreed to participate in our survey from different hospitals and different specialties all over the world. Overall PSS Score: mean 19.42 (Standard Deviation ± 5.876, range 1–33). Frontline health care workers working in University Hospitals and tertiary referral centres had lower levels of stress compared to those working in peripheral hospitals (P = 0.007, Kruskal Wallis).ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most stressful events that a health care worker may face during his life time. Most of the participants in the survey developed a moderate degree of stress.

Psychological Consequences of COVID-19 on Health Care Workers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated significant symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression among health care workers, which can negatively affect the health and well-being of individuals. Although the WHO stressed the importance of nurturing mental health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a more significant response focused on this area was still lacking in most countries. The aim of the study was to examine the differences in the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress in healthcare professionals in relation to exposure to contact with COVID-19 positive patients, as well as to examine the differences and correlation of sociodemographic characteristics of health workers in the experience of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. The research included 266 respondents, and it used a socio-demographic questionnaire and the DASS-21 scale. Mann-Whitney U tests, Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman correlation coefficient were used in data processing. The prevalence of high to extremely high symptoms of depression was reported in 45.49% of employees, anxiety 63.91% and stress 23.22%. Those who have been in continuous contact with COVID-19 positive patients, or 27.07%, report experiencing high or extremely high symptoms of depression, 36.60%, high to extremely high symptoms of anxiety, and 22.18% high to extremely high symptoms of stress. The degree of self-care and family care, education level, and work experience were found to be a statistically significant factor in experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Workers who were more in contact with COVID19 patients reported a higher degree of symptom on the DASS-21 scale. Those employees with more work experience had previously encountered similar situations of uncertainty and pressure, had better developed defense mechanisms, and showed less pronounced symptoms. A higher level of education often implies a higher degree of involvement in active treatment around each patient, which results in more responsibility and pressure in a given situation. High levels of stress, anxiety and depression in healthcare workers can lead to repercussions in their work with patients. Therefore, the mental health of health workers should be put in focus, as a very important part of the public health problem during the COVID19 pandemic.

Professional Quality of Life and Occupational Stress in Healthcare Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Greece.

Background:Health professionals (HPs) coping with the coronavirus pandemic are at risk of working under stressful conditions impacting their professional well-being. The aim of this paper was to explore HP’s professional quality of life and occupational stress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece.Method:A cross-sectional study was conducted (from October to December 2020) in a COVID-19 reference hospital, one of the biggest in Attica. The method of convenience sampling has been used. Data collection was carried out through an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire including, apart from HPs’ demographic and occupational characteristics, Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQoL) and Job Stress Measure. A total of 250 questionnaires were distributed to physicians and nurses. One hundred eighty-six questionnaires were fully completed (response rate = 78.8%). The analysis was based on descriptive and inductive statistics, using SPSS v25.Results:Participants’ mean age was 41.5 ± 10.4 years; 75.3% were women and 62.4% was nursing staff. ProQoL analysis showed that the majority had moderate compassion satisfaction (74.2%) and burnout (78.5%), while 48.8% had moderate level of secondary post-traumatic stress. The mean value of occupational stress was estimated at 2.76, showing a moderate level of stress. HPs’ demographic and occupational characteristics seemed to affect both work stress and ProQoL (P ⩽ .05). Occupational stress was positively correlated with both burnout (r = 0.461, P = .001) and secondary post-traumatic stress (r = 0.596, P = .001), indicating that an increase in health professionals’ stress at work corresponds to a simultaneous increase in ProQoL.Conclusions:HPs’ professional quality of life and occupational stress seemed to be moderate during the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece. In order to achieve an improvement in HPs’ overall professional well-being, priority should be given to the strengthening of the capacity of the healthcare system as well as to supporting HPs in both stress management and psychological resilience.

Psychological Inflexibility and Loneliness Mediate the Impact of Stress on Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Healthcare Students and Early-Career Professionals During COVID-19.

Background: The current mental health state of healthcare professionals and students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador remains understudied and how to improve their mental health is a challenge.Objective: This study aimed to explore the anxiety and depressive symptomatology among healthcare students and professionals in Ecuador and to examine the role of psychological inflexibility, loneliness, and psychological stress as predictors of anxiety and depression symptoms.Methods: A total of 191 undergraduate and graduate healthcare students in clinical practice (early-career healthcare professionals) in Ecuador were surveyed between January and March 2021 using standardized measures of psychological stress (PSS), psychological inflexibility (AAQ), loneliness (UCLA), alcohol consumption (AUDIT-C), and anxiety and depressive symptomatology (PHQ). Macro Process for SPSS (models 4 and 7) were used to test mediation effects.Results: Alcohol consumption varied between men and women and anxiety and depression symptomatology was generally low among the sample. Psychological inflexibility and loneliness mediated the impact of stress on anxiety and depressive mood in participants, regardless of gender and previous personal history of COVID-19.Discussion: Implications of psychological inflexibility and the prevention and coping with stress in healthcare professionals during COVID-19 are further discussed.

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus using an alternative molecular method and evaluation of biochemical, hematological, inflammatory, and oxidative stress in healthcare professionals

In early December 2019, an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by a new strain of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), occurred in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. Since then, frontline healthcare professionals have been experiencing extremely stressful situations and damage to their physical and mental health. These adverse conditions cause stress and biochemical, hematological, and inflammatory changes, as well as oxidative damage, and could be potentially detrimental to the health of the individual. The study population consisted of frontline health professionals working in BHU in a city in southern Brazil. Among the 45 participants, two were infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and were diagnosed using immunochromatographic tests such as salivary RT-LAMP and qRT-PCR. We also evaluated biochemical, hematological, inflammatory, and oxidative stress markers in the participants. The infected professionals (CoV-2-Prof) showed a significant increase in the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), cholesterol, lactic dehydrogenase, lymphocytes, and monocytes. In this group, the levels of uric acid, triglycerides, leukocytes, neutrophils, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelets decreased. In the group of uninfected professionals (NoCoV-2-Prof), significant increase in HDL levels and the percentages of eosinophils and monocytes, was observed. Further, in this group, uric acid, LDH, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels, and the hematocrit count and mean corpuscular volume were significantly reduced. Both groups showed significant inflammatory activity with changes in the levels of C-reactive protein and mucoprotein. The NoCoV-2-Prof group showed significantly elevated plasma cortisol levels. To our kowledge, this study is the first to report the use of the RT-LAMP method with the saliva samples of health professionals, to evalute of SARS-CoV-2.

Mental Health Among Medical Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Eight European Countries: Cross-sectional Survey Study.

BackgroundThe death toll of COVID-19 topped 170,000 in Europe by the end of May 2020. COVID-19 has caused an immense psychological burden on the population, especially among doctors and nurses who are faced with high infection risks and increased workload.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to compare the mental health of medical professionals with nonmedical professionals in different European countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that medical professionals, particularly those exposed to COVID-19 at work, would have higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. We also aimed to determine their main stressors and most frequently used coping strategies during the crisis.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was conducted during peak COVID-19 months in 8 European countries. The questionnaire included demographic data and inquired whether the participants were exposed to COVID-19 at work or not. Mental health was assessed via the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales32 (23.53)–21 (DASS-21). A 12-item checklist on preferred coping strategies and another 23-item questionnaire on major stressors were completed by medical professionals.ResultsThe sample (N=609) consisted of 189 doctors, 165 nurses, and 255 nonmedical professionals. Participants from France and the United Kingdom reported experiencing severe/extremely severe depression, anxiety, and stress more often compared to those from the other countries. Nonmedical professionals had significantly higher scores for depression and anxiety. Among medical professionals, no significant link was reported between direct contact with patients with COVID-19 at work and anxiety, depression, or stress. “Uncertainty about when the epidemic will be under control” caused the most amount of stress for health care professionals while “taking protective measures” was the most frequently used coping strategy among all participants.ConclusionsCOVID-19 poses a major challenge to the mental health of working professionals as a considerable proportion of our participants showed high values for depression, anxiety, and stress. Even though medical professionals exhibited less mental stress than nonmedical professionals, sufficient help should be offered to all occupational groups with an emphasis on effective coping strategies.

Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Occupational Stress of Health Care Professionals: A Letter to the Editor

Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Occupational Stress of Health Care Professionals: A Letter to the Editor