TY - JOUR
T1 - 2020s Heroes Are Not Fearless: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Wellbeing and Emotions of Italian Health Care Workers During Italy Phase 1.
T2 - Frontiers in psychology
AU - Marton, Giulia
AU - Vergani, Laura
AU - Mazzocco, Ketti
AU - Garassino, Marina Chiara
AU - Pravettoni, Gabriella
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate the mental health and emotional reaction of physicians working during phase 1 of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. METHODS: A total of 458 Italian Health Care Workers (HCWs) working during phases 1 of the COVID-19 outbreak were voluntarily enlisted in the study and recruited with the snowball technique through an online survey. We examined our variables with the General Health Questionnaire - 12 and with Visual Analog Scales. RESULTS: The sample has a high level of psychological distress 21.26 (SD = 4.46), the emotional reaction was characterized by high level of fear for family members and cohabitants (M = 77.67, SD = 27.16) and patients (M = 67.16, SD = 27.71). Perceived control, fear for patients, and for family members and cohabitants, feeling alone and anger all contribute to a decreased mental health in Italian physicians (R (2) = 0.285, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Italian HCWs' mental health and emotional reaction have to be considered to prevent high risk of burnout and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It becomes pivotal in the next months to implement a tailored psychological intervention to take care of HCWs and to prevent costly consequences for them, patients, and the healthcare system.
AB - OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate the mental health and emotional reaction of physicians working during phase 1 of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. METHODS: A total of 458 Italian Health Care Workers (HCWs) working during phases 1 of the COVID-19 outbreak were voluntarily enlisted in the study and recruited with the snowball technique through an online survey. We examined our variables with the General Health Questionnaire - 12 and with Visual Analog Scales. RESULTS: The sample has a high level of psychological distress 21.26 (SD = 4.46), the emotional reaction was characterized by high level of fear for family members and cohabitants (M = 77.67, SD = 27.16) and patients (M = 67.16, SD = 27.71). Perceived control, fear for patients, and for family members and cohabitants, feeling alone and anger all contribute to a decreased mental health in Italian physicians (R (2) = 0.285, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Italian HCWs' mental health and emotional reaction have to be considered to prevent high risk of burnout and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It becomes pivotal in the next months to implement a tailored psychological intervention to take care of HCWs and to prevent costly consequences for them, patients, and the healthcare system.
KW - COVID-19
KW - distress
KW - emotional reaction
KW - health care workers
KW - health care workers wellbeing
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.588762
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.588762
M3 - Article
VL - 11
JO - Front. Psychol.
JF - Front. Psychol.
SN - 1664-1078
ER -