ABSTRACT
The emergence, spread, and development of COVID-19 has become a serious challenge and a test of the professional, organizational, and technological capabilities of the global medical community. The specific nature of the profession puts health workers at the forefront of responding to a COVID-19 outbreak and exposes them to a particularly high risk of infection. Hazards include contact with the pathogen, long work hours, psychological distress, fatigue, occupational burnout, and several others. Simultaneously, as members of society, health workers are also exposed to the general risks and influences of a difficult epidemiological situation (e.g., anxiety from uncertainty, lack of information, and general social and economic problems and constraints). As professionals, health workers must demonstrate the unity of opinion, attitude, and action and act as experts for patients on various issues, implementing the state's health care policy. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.