COVID-19 exposure, pandemic-related appraisals, coping strategies, and psychological symptoms among the frontline medical staff and gender differences in coping processes.

This study sought to explore the effects of COVID-19 exposure, pandemic-related appraisals and coping strategies on psychological symptoms among the front-line healthcare workers based on the transactional theory of stress and coping. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a Wuhan hospital designated for inpatients with COVID-19, assessing COVID-19 exposure (whether or not exposed to confirmed patients at workplace), psychological symptoms, appraisals, and coping strategies in 311 participants. Results revealed that the pandemic markedly affected healthcare workers' mental well-being through appraisal and coping, with 38.9% reporting high levels of psychological symptoms. Primary appraisal related closely with COVID-19 exposure, especially in female, while secondary appraisal was associated with problem-focused coping. Both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping had a protective effect against psychological symptoms, but also showed gender differences in its relations with other variables. These findings could potentially benefit to enrich relevant theories, and to develop psychological programs for future epidemics.

Supporting Health-Care Workers and Patients in Quarantine Wards: Evidence From a Survey of Frontline Health-Care Workers and Inpatients With COVID-19 in Wuhan, China.

Objective: Frontline health-care workers and patients with COVID-19 have been identified as high-risk groups for psychological problems. Experience of working or staying in quarantine wards generated psychological stressors for health-care workers and patients with COVID-19. The present study aimed to investigate the psychological symptoms of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and the health-care workers treating them during the outbreak period, examine the effects of psychological stressors on mental health in both populations and perceived coping resources for both sides. Methods: Three hundred and eleven health-care workers working in a COVID-19 designated hospital in Wuhan, China, and 148 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in the same hospital participated in this cross-sectional survey conducted in February 2020. Psychological symptoms, psychological stressors, and perceived coping resources were reported by both groups. Results: Thirty-three percent of health-care workers and 35.2% of patients with COVID-19 had significant psychological symptoms that were indicative of a high risk for psychological disorders. Pandemic-related psychological stressors contributed to psychological symptoms for both populations. Concern about patients was one aspect of psychological stressors of frontline health-care workers and both groups perceived support from the opposite side as an important external coping resource. Conclusion: The results shed light on the need to provide psychological support to both frontline health-care workers and patients with COVID-19 and suggest enhancing the treatment alliance might be effective to improve mental health for both populations during the crisis.

Perceived organizational support and PTSD symptoms of frontline healthcare workers in the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan: The mediating effects of self-efficacy and coping strategies.

The present study aimed to examine the effect of perceived organizational support on the PTSD symptoms of frontline healthcare workers, and to examine the mediating effects of coping self-efficacy and coping strategies in this relationship. A short-term longitudinal study design was used to conduct two waves of online surveys in March and April 2020. Participants comprised 107 medical staff in both waves of investigation. Self-efficacy, coping strategies, and perceived organizational support were reported at Wave 1, and PTSD symptoms were reported at Wave 2. Results indicated that (1) The prevalence of probable PTSD was 9.3% and 4.7% on the Chinese version of the Impact of Events Scale-Revised of 33 and 35, respectively. Local healthcare workers had greater risks of PTSD than the members of medical rescue teams. Doctors reported higher PTSD symptoms than nurses. (2) Perceived organizational support had a significant indirect effect on PTSD symptoms through the mediation of problem-focused coping strategies and the sequential mediating effect of coping self-efficacy and problem-focused coping strategies. The findings highlight the importance of providing adequate organizational support to reduce PTSD symptoms in frontline medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.