ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to significantly affect the mental health of healthcare workers, who stand in the frontline of this crisis. Insomnia is often related to exposure to stressful situations, such as the current health crisis, as well as other mental disorders, physical conditions and work-related problems. The objectives of this systematic review were: 1) to examine the impact of the current health pandemic produced by COVID-19 on insomnia and sleep quality of health professionals, and 2) to identify risk factors associated with insomnia. After a literature search in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO, 18 relevant studies were identified. The prevalence of insomnia estimated by random effects meta-analysis was 38% (95%CI = 37 to 39%), being slightly higher in women (29%, 95%CI = 27% to 30%) than in men (24%, 95%CI = 21 to 27%). The main risk factor associated with insomnia was working in a high-risk environment, followed by female sex and having a lower educational level. The high figures of self-reported insomnia and poor sleep quality observed indicate the need to develop interventions aimed at mitigating and caring for the mental health of healthcare workers fighting against this pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This study aimed at examining the impact of providing healthcare during health emergencies caused by viral epidemic outbreaks on healthcare workers' (HCWs) mental health; to identify factors associated with worse impact, and; to assess the available evidence base regarding interventions to reduce such impact. METHOD: Rapid systematic review. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO (inception to August 2020). We pooled data using random-effects meta-analyses to estimate the prevalence of specific mental health problems, and used GRADE to ascertain the certainty of evidence. RESULTS: We included 117 studies. The pooled prevalence was higher for acute stress disorder (40% (95%CI 39 to 41%)), followed by anxiety (30%, (30 to 31%)), burnout (28% (26 to 31%)), depression (24% (24 to 25%)), and post-traumatic stress disorder (13% (13 to 14%)). We identified factors associated with the likelihood of developing those problems, including sociodemographic (younger age and female gender), social (lack of social support, stigmatization), and occupational (working in a high-risk environment, specific occupational roles, and lower levels of specialised training and job experience) factors. Four studies reported interventions for frontline HCW: two educational interventions increased confidence in pandemic self-efficacy and in interpersonal problems solving (very low certainty), whereas one multifaceted intervention improved anxiety, depression, and sleep quality (very low certainty). LIMITATIONS: We only searched three databases, and the initial screening was undertaken by a single reviewer. CONCLUSION: Given the very limited evidence regarding the impact of interventions to tackle mental health problems in HCWs, the risk factors identified represent important targets for future interventions.