Stress In Healthcare Workers Research Articles

Effects of an 8-week intervention of anulom vilom pranayama combined with heartfulness meditation on psychological stress, autonomic function, inflammatory biomarkers, and oxidative stress in healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic: a randomized controlled trial.

Health care workers were exposed to huge stress during COVID-19 pandemic affecting their physical and mental health. Practice of anulom vilom pranayama andheartfulness meditation (AVPHFN) can improve mental and physical health and counter stress. The present study explored the effect of 8-week AVPHFN intervention on autonomic functions, emotional stress, oxidative stress, andinflammation markers in the nurse group of health-care givers. This was a randomized controlled trial where 50 nurses underwent AVPHFN and 50 participated as controls. At baseline and after 8week intervention of AVPHFN anthropometric parameters, cardiovascular parameters, autonomic function including time and frequency domain parameters, biochemical parameters, and psychological stress using the questionnaire were assessed. Forty nurses in AVPHFN group and 46 in control group completed the study. AVPHFN intervention resulted ina significant reduction in cardiovascular parameters heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure and rate pressure product (p<0.001,p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, and p<0.001, respectively), perceived stress score and depression, anxiety, andstress scale psychological variables of depression, andstress compared to the control group. Total power, ratioof low frequency to high frequency and change in successive normal sinus (NN) intervals exceeds 50 ms (p<0.01, p=0.05, and p<0.01 respectively) suggesting parasympathodominance due to higher vagal efferent activity. Serum cortisol, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6 and telomerase significantly decreased in AVPHFN group post intervention. Eighty-week intervention of AVPHFN improved psychophysiological, autonomic and biochemistry profile of nurse group of health-care workers. AVPHFN module may be beneficial for curtailing stress and improving well-being.

Comparing the effectiveness of mind–body practices (MBPs) and various psychological methods on occupational stress among healthcare workers: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of mind–body practices (MBPs) and multiple psychological methods, and identify the optimal method for relieving work-related stress among healthcare workers (HCWs) by network meta-analysis (NMA).MethodsWe applied six electronic databases, namely PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure to identify relevant RCTs from inception to September 16, 2023, and implemented a search strategy based on the PICOS principles. Data selection, extraction, and analysis of bias were carried out independently and in duplicate by separate researchers. State 16.0 was used to conduct NMA for comparing the effectiveness of various therapies.ResultsWe identified 23 studies including MBPs and three different psychological therapies, namely mindfulness-related therapy (MRT), psychoeducational therapy (PT), and comprehensive therapy (CT), which were divided into eleven specific techniques, namely yoga, meditation techniques (MT), Qigong, muscle relaxation(MR), biofeedback therapy (BT), mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), modified mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR-M), mindfulness-based interventions combined with others (MBIs-C), mindfulness-based awareness(MBA), PT and CT. Our NMA results of MBPs and three psychological therapies showed MBPs (SMD = -0.90, CrI:-1.26, -0.05, SUCRA = 99%) were effective for occupational stress in HCWs, followed by MRT(SMD = -0.48, CrI:-0.87, -0.08, SUCRA = 66.5%). NMA results of eleven specific techniques showed yoga (SMD = 1.36, CrI:0.91, 1.81, SUCRA = 97.5%) was the most effective technique in relieving the stress of HCWs, followed by MR (SMD = 1.36, CrI:0.91, 1.81, SUCRA = 87.3%).ConclusionsOur study suggested MBPs may be the most effective intervention to improve the occupational stress of HCWs. Furthermore, yoga is likely to be the most optimal of MBPs. Hospital managers should attach importance to yoga in addressing occupational stress among medical workers.

Conservation of resources perspective on authentic leadership and employee well-being: The influence of job stress and emotional intelligence.

Health care industries must consider their sustainable development, and employee well-being is a crucial environmental, social, and governance indicator that should be prioritized. During events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, information transparency is a concern for health care workers. Authentic leaders can build trust by openly sharing their thoughts and feelings. Understanding how authentic leadership affects employee well-being through job stress and how emotional intelligence reduces job stress is essential for health care workers. This study investigated the effect of authentic leadership on employee well-being and considered the mediating role of job stress and moderating role of emotional intelligence in this effect. A time-lagged survey of 452 full-time health care workers (comprising nurses, allied health professionals, and administrative workers) from a general hospital in Taiwan was conducted. Authentic leadership was positively associated with employee well-being, and job stress mediated the effects of authentic leadership on employee well-being. Among the employees who perceived leadership to be authentic, those with higher emotional intelligence felt less job stress. From the perspective of conservation of resources theory, authentic leadership was identified as a crucial factor influencing how health care workers reduce job stress and improve their well-being. Emotional intelligence was identified as essential in enhancing the effects of authentic leadership on reducing the job stress of health care workers. Organizations should promote authentic interactions between leaders and followers and provide training for developing authentic leadership. They should also provide training to improve their employees' emotional intelligence.

Comparison of the Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare Workers between 2022 and 2023 in a Romanian COVID-19 Hub Hospital

We assessed depression, anxiety, and stress in healthcare workers (HCWs) in 2023 and the evolution of depression in 2023 compared with 2022. In September–November 2023, 181 HCWs from the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, completed the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress 21 Scale (DASS-21 R), the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). The prevalence of moderate-to-severe levels was 13.8% for DASS-Depression, 18.8% for DASS-Anxiety, 16.1% for DASS-Stress, 19.9% for PHQ-9, and 18.2% for HAM-A. Moderate-to-severe PHQ-9 depression was significantly lower in the 2023 study group (19.9%, N = 181) compared with 2022 (30.6%, N = 114) (p = 0.04), also within the 2022–2023 follow-up participants (N = 88) (p = 0.03). We did not find significant statistical differences between those infected vs. non-infected, vaccinated vs. non-vaccinated, or working with vs. not working with SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. Males were significantly more stressed (p = 0.02) and anxious (p = 0.03), and physicians in training had the highest prevalence of moderate-to-severe depression (31.6%), followed by physicians (25.6%). In 2023, depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms decreased but remained within a concerning range. By addressing these psychological issues, we may reduce the possibility of medical errors and prevent professional crises in the healthcare system.

Comparison of two audit and feedback approaches: descriptive analysis of personal and contextual dynamics.

Audit and feedback (A&F) is a systematic intervention that can be used to improve the quality of health care. The EASY-NET Network Project proposes an innovative A&F model. This study aimed to describe the newly proposed A&F model. An analysis was conducted, examining the participants' attitudes and their individual and interpersonal mechanisms to understand how they influence the work context and vice versa. Two A&F models were compared, involving emergency and rehabilitation health workers, who were divided into two groups. The classic A&F model was compared with a new model, using a desk audit followed by interactive feedback. Communication training was provided to the audit team by psychologists before commencement of the project. The experimental group underwent psychological screening using two standardized tools (COPE-NVI and ProQoL) to evaluate personal and relational dynamics using the context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) paradigm. The exchange of ideas among health professionals is more effective when using face-to-face feedback than written feedback. The COPE-NVI and ProQoL questionnaires highlighted the difficulties experienced by health care professionals in implementing effective coping strategies to deal with stressful events. Identifying signs of stress in health care workers is essential for improvement strategies to be implemented and for establishing new, optimal conditions. Remote feedback makes it possible to overcome logistical barriers and, in the future, this method can be used for inter-organizational collaboration. http://links.lww.com/IJEBH/A203.

The Sense of Resilience of health care professionals in Latvia measured by Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence Scale

IntroductionIn this research work the sense of resilience was studied, which is an essential factor in reducing the stress of health care workers, it also helps to maintain the sustainability of the work of medical specialists and prevents the burnout syndrome. Aaron Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence scale was used in this study, which helps to determine how health care professionals are able to preserve their mental and physical health.ObjectivesThis study is aimed to determine the differences in components of Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence scale for various health care specialists and to describe the factor structure of Coherence scale for health care specialists in Latvia, that forms the sense of resilience for health care specialists.Methods The questionnaire used in the study is Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence scale’s (Antonovsky, 1987) Latvian version, that was translated into Latvian and adapted in the research work of A. Veylande, N. Bahmačova (2000). 202 respondents who are representatives of medical professions took part in this study. The obtained data were entered into the MS Excel computer program and were statistically processed using the SPSS 22 computer program.Results Looking at the obtained results of this study, it can be stated that Medical Doctors- Specialists have statistically significantly higher Comprehensibility scores than Medical Orderlies (p = 0.01, r = 0.24), while Medical Doctors- Specialists and Medical Doctors- Residents have statistically significantly higher Manageability scores than Medical Orderlies (p= 0.04, r=0.21). Based on the analysis of the results, it has been determined that Doctors-Specialists (p=0.00, r=0.32) and Doctors-Residents (p=0.00, r=0.34) have statistically significantly higher Meaningfulness indicators than Medical Orderlies, as well as Doctors-Specialists (p=0.00, r=0.29) and Doctors-Residents (p=0.00, r=0.31) have statistically significantly higher Meaningfulness scores than Medical Nurses.ConclusionsHigher scores of the three components of Antonovsky’s scale for Medical Doctors-Specialists and Medical Doctors-Residents compared to Medical Orderlies and Medical Nurses could be explained by a lower overall time that Doctors spend in the department with patients. Higher education helps to overcome stress at work and to become aware of possible strategies for improving the joy of life, ways to reduce stress at work and to relax from work.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Post-traumatic stress in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

IntroductionDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals worked under critical care conditions and had to adapt quickly to extreme work situations. They were confronted with several occupational stressors.ObjectivesTo determine the prevalence and factors associated with post-traumatic stress symptoms among healthcare personnel at Farhat Hached Hospital in Sousse during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThis was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among care staff at the Farhat Hached University Hospital in Sousse over a 3-month period during the 4th wave of COVID-19. Data were collected using a questionnaire covering socio-professional and medical data. Post-traumatic stress symptoms were assessed using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS.23 software.ResultsOur study included 326 health professionals from the CHU Farhat Hached. The mean age of our population was 36.38 ±10.19 years. The sex ratio was 0.23. Most healthcare staff were married (61.3%) and had dependent children (60.4%). Nurses were the most represented at 32.2%, followed by health technicians (22.7%) and medical residents (18.4%). Average job tenure was 10.62±10.69 years, with extremes ranging from 1 to 39 years. The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder was 32.5%. Paramedics were more likely to develop post-traumatic stress symptoms (OR=2.3 (IC95%: 1.4-3.8), p=0.001). Leisure activities were protective factors against post-traumatic stress symptoms (OR=0.4 (IC95%: 0.2-0.8), p=0.018). The multivariate analytical study revealed that being a paramedic and having a personal history of COVID19 infection were independently associated with post-traumatic stress symptoms.ConclusionsOur results demonstrated the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare personnel. Lessons learned from this pandemic should help in the development of context-specific strategies to support healthcare workers and promote the protection of their mental health.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Risk and protection factors of mental stress among medical staff in the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic placed an extraordinary burden on health care workers (HCW), who are reported to suffer from great mental stress. The current study investigates the mental health of HCW in the later phases of the pandemic. HCW completed the following questionnaires online (06/2021-02/2022, N=159): demographics (age, gender, profession, ward), Impact of Event Scale (IES-R, posttraumatic stress), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S, state anxiety), stress-coping questionnaire (SVF-78), and bespoke corona-specific stress and protective-factor questions (5 items each). We used factor analysis to test scale properties and regression-type methods (t-tests, ANOVA, multiple regression) for hypothesis tests and effect-size estimation. Mental stress in HCW is influenced by similar factors as described for earlier phases. However, differences to earlier phases were found in ward affiliation which is no longer a variable of concern for explaining differences in mental health of HCW. Further, even if nurses are the occupational group with the highest mental stress as in prior research, detailed analysis shows that medical specialists with close proximity to patients with a high-level of responsibility are the most burdened sub-group. Unlike nurses, they suffer from high levels of anxiety in addition to high levels of post-traumatic and COVID-specific stress. Analyses showed further that COVID-specific stress is the strongest predictor of mental stress, wherein COVID-specific stress factors remain the same as reported in literature on the early pandemic phases. HCW showed to use still more positive than negative coping strategies. Negative strategies increased as expected mental stress, whereas positive strategies alleviated only anxiety. Additionally, we found that doctors benefited from many protective factors while nurses had access to fewer protective factors like earlier waves. Data show that HCW still suffer from mental stress in the third year of the pandemic. HCW of all hospital wards may be affected by mental stress and need attention and protective measures. Medical specialists are the most burdened subgroup. Detailed analyses show that properties other than occupation, gender, or ward affiliation are more appropriate to evaluate mental stress of HCW. The findings have implications for developing specialized protection strategies for the post-pandemic phase and future pandemics.

Endocannabinoids, endocannabinoid-like compounds and cortisone in head hair of health care workers as markers of stress and resilience during the early COVID-19 pandemic

The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 impacted health systems globally, creating increased workload and mental stress upon health care workers (HCW). During the first pandemic wave (March to May 2020) in southern Germany, we investigated the impact of stress and the resilience to stress in HCW by measuring changes in hair concentrations of endocannabinoids, endocannabinoid-like compounds and cortisone. HCW (n = 178) recruited from multiple occupation and worksites in the LMU-University-Hospital in Munich were interviewed at four interval visits to evaluate mental stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. A strand of hair of up to 6 cm in length was sampled once in May 2020, which enabled retrospective individual stress hormone quantifications during that aforementioned time period. Perceived anxiety and impact on mental health were demonstrated to be higher at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and decreased significantly thereafter. Resilience was stable over time, but noted to be lower in women than in men. The concentrations of the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA) and the structural congeners N-palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), N-oleoylethanolamide (OEA) and N-stearoylethanolamide (SEA) were noted to have decreased significantly over the course of the pandemic. In contrast, the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) levels increased significantly and were found to be higher in nurses, laboratory staff and hospital administration than in physicians. PEA was significantly higher in subjects with a higher resilience but lower in subjects with anxiety. SEA was also noted to be reduced in subjects with anxiety. Nurses had significantly higher cortisone levels than physicians, while female subjects had significant lower cortisone levels than males. Hair samples provided temporal and measurable objective psychophysiological-hormonal information. The hair endocannabinoids/endocannabinoid-like compounds and cortisone correlated to each other and to professions, age and sex quite differentially, relative to specific periods of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Addressing Burnout inthe Primary Care Setting: The Impact ofan Evidence-Based Mindfulness Toolkit.

Burnout is insidious and manifests over prolonged, repeated exposure to occupational stressors. There is a growing crisis among health care workers (HCWs) due to high levels of burnout and associated adverse outcomes. Identifying and addressing burnout can be problematic due to extensive variances of perceived occupational stressors across HCWs. Mindfulness-based training can enhance individual HCWs' abilities to perceive and constructively respond to stresses endemic in the health care environment. It can reduce the prevalence of burnout in the primary care setting. An evidence-based multimodal Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction toolkit (MBSR TK) was designed, implemented, and evaluated for its impact on HCWs' self-reported stress levels (SRSL). A pre-post-program evaluation explored the impact of a multimodal toolkit program on HCW SRSL with the Mini-Z burnout survey (MZBS). The MBSR TK program, consisting of a 45 minute introduction and 4 biweekly 15 minute mindfulness sessions offering acupressure, meditation, journaling for gratitude, and self-compassion was designed, delivered, and evaluated with HCWs across 2 military primary care clinics in South Texas. All HCWs across 2 Air Force family practice clinics were invited to participate in all toolkit components. Seventy percent of all HCWs (N = 90) attended the introduction session. Thirty-seven (41%) HCWs completed pre and post MZBSs, and these responses are included in the data analysis section. The most represented HCWs were registered nurses, physician assistants, and technicians, respectively, at 24%, 21%, and 18%. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test examined changes in HCWs' SRSL after participation in the MBSR TK program. HCWs who attended the introduction plus one biweekly session showed statistically significant decreases in self-reported stress (P = 0.018) and burnout (P = 0.045) and a significant increase in electronic health record proficiency (P = 0.033). Multimodal mindfulness toolkits to address SRSL burnout are practical, accessible, easily implemented, adaptive to any environment, and can decrease burnout with participation with just one 15 minute session. This MBSR TK implementation effectively lowered self-reported stress in HCWs who are repeatedly challenged to adapt to various settings around the world during peacetime, wars, natural disasters, humanitarian crises, and now, pandemics.

Moderate physical activity is associated with lower depression, anxiety and stress in health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

ObjectiveHealth-care workers are in high risk for COVID-19 and may experience associated mental health disturbances. Although physical activity (PA) has positive effects on mental disturbances, it has not been fully investigated in health-team during COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we analyzed depression, anxiety and stress in health-care workers, and their relationship with PA before and during a COVID-19 peak. MethodsRetrospective cohort study. PA (IPAQ short-form) evaluated and associated with depression, anxiety and stress (DAAS-21) at the beginning of COVID-19 first wave in Mexico (April 2020) in 1146 workers of a tertiary-care hospital, and in a subsequent occasion at the first wave peak (July–August/2020) in 311 workers (from the first ones). Data collected from routine surveillance. ResultsDepression increased 9%, anxiety 15%, and stress 10% at the pandemic peak. Subjects with higher frequency of baseline moderate PA showed lower severity of depression, anxiety and stress at the peak (p < 0.05). At the pandemic peak, female sex (OR = 2.42, 95%CI 1.14–5.13), diabetes (OR = 21.9, 95%CI 2.09–221) and baseline depression (OR = 8.86, 95%CI 4.30–18.2) predicted depression; baseline anxiety (OR = 5.52, 95%CI 3.01–10.1), working in COVID-19 area (OR = 4.14, 95%CI 1.99–8.64), and baseline moderate PA (OR = 0.35, 95%CI 0.16–0.73) predicted anxiety; and baseline stress (OR = 8.64, 95%CI 4.11–18.2), and moderate PA (OR = 0.35, 95%CI 0.15–0.82) predicted stress. ConclusionDepression, stress, and particularly anxiety, increased in health-care workers from the beginning to the COVID-19 pandemic peak, and were predicted by the presence of the corresponding baseline mental alterations, and in the case of anxiety and stress, by the lower frequency of moderate PA.

The effects of workplace violence on the job stress of health care workers: buffering effects of wellbeing HRM practices

Contemporary research has focused on antecedents, incidences, and consequences of workplace violence in the healthcare sector. However, little is known about the role of HRM in supporting healthcare workers to cope with negative emotions arising from workplace violence. Grounded in the conservation of resources theory, this study examines the moderating effects of wellbeing HRM practices (WBHRM) on the relationship between workplace violence and job stress. We also examine the mediation effects of job stress on the relationship between workplace violence and quality of care. Data were gathered from 254 and 225 (Study 1) aged care workers (nurses and personal care assistants) in Australia and 136 healthcare workers (doctors and nurses) in China (Study 2) across multiple waves. We use a new measure of WBHRM in this paper to test our hypotheses. Results show that the presence of WBHRM practices moderated the relationship between workplace violence and job stress. We also found that job stress mediates the relationship between workplace violence and quality of care. The findings contribute to the HRM literature by providing an innovative WBHRM approach to support health care workers to cope with job stress after they experience workplace violence.

Do individual-level interventions focusing attention on or away from stress experience help reduce occupational stress in healthcare workers?

Do individual-level interventions focusing attention on or away from stress experience help reduce occupational stress in healthcare workers?

Stress levels among healthcare workers and adult population during the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic in a metropolitan city

Introduction: The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on public health has been widespread with clinically diverse manifestations ranging from asymptomatic presentation to critical illness. COVID-19 might influence different aspects of the stress process on the general population and healthcare workers (HCWs).&#x0D; Objectives: To examine the relationship of demographic variables with depression, anxiety, and stress and to compare stress levels in HCWs and the general population.&#x0D; Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted. A sample of 1,063 participants was collected based on two groups. The first group comprised of HCWs who were directly looking after COVID-19 confirmed or suspected patients and working in any primary, secondary, or tertiary care hospitals. The second group comprised of participants working in public-dealing departments or businesses. Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-42 (DASS-42) was administered to assess depression, anxiety, and stress.&#x0D; Result: Young people, females, and people having less work experience and without civil defense or disaster management training were more depressed, anxious, and stressed. Participants who had no access to scientific journals were more stressed. Average time spent on social media on COVID-19-related information, history of psychological illnesses, and use of sedatives after the COVID-19 pandemic positively predicted anxiety, depression, and stress. There was no significant difference in the scores of depression, anxiety, and stress for HCWs and the general population. &#x0D; Conclusion: The anxiety levels were comparable among HCWs and adults, with vulnerable groups being female gender, young adults, and those who had a previous history of depression or substance abuse. Special consideration must be given to mental health, and protocols must be designed to provide psychological and emotional support to susceptible individuals.

Analysis of Risk of Burn Out at Workers in the Field ff Social Services and Health Care

Aim. The aim of the research was to analyse the burnout rate of these social workers and nurses, as well as to determine the relationship between burnout syndrome and other important factors, including lifestyle, stress, resistance to stress and other selected demographic indicators. Methods. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to collect burnout data in 2021 during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The research sample consisted of 623 women aged 35-55 who work in social services facilities for the elderly and nurses working in the geriatrics department at a hospital in the western part of Slovakia. Results. Research has shown that lifestyle has a significant impact on the development of burnout syndrome in connection with the quality of work and personal relationships, which can help eliminate feelings of frustration, exhaustion and personal failure in the workplace. Burnout affects social workers regardless of age and education, but with older age and length of practice in the same facility, the risk of manifestations of burnout increases. Significant differences in burnout rates between social workers and nurses in the individual dimensions of exhaustion, depersonalisation and professional attitudes were confirmed. High levels of exhaustion have even shown an increased risk of alcohol consumption among these workers. Conclusion. The development of chronic stress in health care workers can put them at risk of burnout, which is characterized by emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP) in interactions with patients and social clients, and low levels of personal accomplishment (PA) in social work and health care.

Stress Is Associated with Quality of Life Reduction among Health Professionals in Vietnam: A Multisite Survey

Stress in healthcare workers is increasingly common in recent times. Stress can have negative effects on the mental health and quality of life of healthcare workers. This study is aimed at measuring the quality of life and determining the relationship between quality of life and stress of health professionals in some hospitals in Vietnam. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 520 health professionals working at Hanoi Medical University Hospital and Thai Binh Medical University Hospital. The World Health Organization Quality-of-Life Scale (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 Items (DASS-21) scale were used to assess the quality of life and the stress status of healthcare workers. Multivariate regression was performed to measure the relationships between stress and quality of life. Results showed that the level of stress of health workers according to the DASS-21 scale at mild, moderate, severe, and very severe was 10.7%, 8.7%, 5.6%, and 2.9%, respectively. The mean score of overall quality of life was 60.97 ± 11.39 . Health workers under stress had a decrease in quality of life scores in physical, mental, social, and environmental domains. Stressed health workers had a reduced quality of life. Attention should be paid to providing appropriate interventions to reduce stress and improve the quality of life in healthcare workers.

Self-Compassion Interventions to Target Secondary Traumatic Stress in Healthcare Workers: A Systematic Review

Healthcare professionals’ wellbeing can be adversely affected by the intense demands of, and the secondary traumatic stress associated with, their job. Self-compassion is associated with positive wellbeing outcomes across a variety of workforce populations and is potentially an important skill for healthcare workers, as it offers a way of meeting one’s own distress with kindness and understanding. This systematic review aimed to synthesise and evaluate the utility of self-compassion interventions in reducing secondary traumatic stress in a healthcare worker population. Eligible articles were identified from research databases, including ProQuest, PsycINFO, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and EBSCO. The quality of non-randomised and randomised trials was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. The literature search yielded 234 titles, from which 6 studies met the inclusion criteria. Four studies reported promising effects of self-compassion training for secondary traumatic stress in a healthcare population, although these did not use controls. The methodological quality of these studies was medium. This highlights a research gap in this area. Three of these four studies recruited workers from Western countries and one recruited from a non-Western country. The Professional Quality of Life Scale was used to evaluate secondary traumatic stress in all studies. The findings show preliminary evidence that self-compassion training may improve secondary traumatic stress in healthcare professional populations; however, there is a need for greater methodological quality in this field and controlled trials. The findings also show that the majority of research was conducted in Western countries. Future research should focus on a broader range of geographical locations to include non-Western countries.

Individual-level interventions for reducing occupational stress in healthcare workers.

Individual-level interventions for reducing occupational stress in healthcare workers.

Frequency of Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Health Care Workers Serving in COVID-19 Wards

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lifestyles of millions of individuals worldwide and is likely to cause psychological health issues in those who work in Covid-19 wards. To find out the Frequency of depression, anxiety and stress in health care workers serving in Covid-19 wards. &#x0D; Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, data were gathered from various hospitals in Lahore and 280 participants were recruited using a non-probability convenient sampling technique. The study included both male and female health care professionals, in particular doctors, nurses, and paramedics, working in Covid wards for at least one month in both the public and private sectors. Participants with experience of less than 1 month and lab workers were excluded from the study. Depression Anxiety and Stress scale was used to collect data. Data was collected by distributing questionnaires to the participants and analyzed their response by using SPSS version 21.0 statistical software.&#x0D; Findings: The results showed that mean ±S.D of participants were 26.55±3.367. Among all participants 148 participants were female and 132 were males. Among 89 doctors 10 felt severe stress, 2 found moderate and 65 doctors were normal.136 Nurses participated in study and 15 felt severe stress, 53 found moderate stress working in COVID-19 wards. Among 55 paramedics, 7 participants felt severe stress, 13 found moderate stress working in COVID-19 wards. Among 89 doctor participants 17 found moderate depression, 77 nurses and 50 paramedics found moderate depression working in COVID-19 wards.&#x0D; Recommendations: It was concluded from the study high levels of stress and burnout, and moderate depression were found in Nurses', then paramedics were affected and least stress, depression and anxiety were found in doctors.

COVID-19-induced Stress in Health-care Workers: Effect of 8-week Common Yoga Protocol on Autonomic Function and Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress Markers.

COVID-19 pandemic posed a huge stress on health-care givers affecting their physical and mental health. Wellness strategies like yoga can improve flexibility, resilience, and outlook. The present study explored the effect of 8-week standard common yoga protocol (CYP) intervention on autonomic functions, emotional stress, oxidative stress, and inflammation markers in the nurse group of health-care givers. It is a randomized controlled trial where 50 nurses underwent CYP and 50 participated as controls. Anthropometric parameters, cardiovascular parameters, autonomic function including time and frequency domain parameters, biochemical parameters, and psychological stress using the questionnaire were assessed before and after 8-week CYP. Total 88 nurses completed the study with 42 and 46 participants, respectively, in the CYP and control groups. CYP intervention resulted in a significant reduction in cardiovascular parameters systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, pulse pressure, and rate pressure product (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, and P = 0.002, respectively), perceived stress score and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale psychological variables of depression, anxiety, and stress, and serum lipid parameters compared to the control group. CYP significantly increased total power, low frequency, high frequency, root mean square of successive differences between adjacent NN intervals, change in successive normal sinus (NN) intervals exceeds 50 ms, and pNN50% (P < 0.001, P = 0.006, P = 0.006, P = 0.039, P < 0.001, and P = 0.013, respectively) suggesting improved resting autonomic modulation and parasympathodominance due to higher vagal efferent activity. There were significant reductions in serum cortisol, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1, and IL-6 in both the groups. Serum telomerase significantly reduced (P = 0.024) and total antioxidant capacity (P = 0.036) increased in the CYP group post intervention. CYP intervention was beneficial in improving psychophysiological, autonomic, and biochemical profile of the nurse group of health-care workers.