Mental health impact of COVID-19 in frontline healthcare workers in a Belgian Tertiary care hospital: a prospective longitudinal study.
Acta Clin Belg
; 77(3): 533-540, 2022 Jun.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1153045
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
A prospective longitudinal single-centre study to assess the mental health impact of COVID-19 on nurses working in the frontline during the first wave of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Belgium, 2020. PATIENTS ANDMETHODS:
The study was performed between April 1st and 30 June 2020. Nurses who were actively and daily involved in the care of COVID-19 patients on selected intensive care units (ICU) and non-ICU wards were included. Depression, somatization, anxiety and distress scores were calculated using the Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire (4DSQ). The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and Brief-COPE questionnaires were used to assess respectively the psychological impact and coping strategies. Participants were asked to fill in the questionnaire at the start of inclusion, 4 weeks later and 8 weeks later.RESULTS:
In total, 39/42 included nurses participated in the study. 4DSQ results showed low rates of depression, anxiety and somatization with a declining trend over time. Distress scores however were high throughout the study period. A past history of stress symptoms was significantly associated with higher distress scores at the inclusion and one month follow-up. As major psychological impact, more participants experienced 'intrusion' compared to 'avoidance' specifically among nurses working on ICU. In 10% of participants, IES-R-scores were predictive for post-traumatic stress disorder.CONCLUSION:
Healthcare workers dealing with COVID-19 patients during the pandemic reported high and enduring distress scores and experienced a major impact on mental health, especially when employed at ICU. These results highlight the importance of psychological support and proper long-term follow-up to mitigate this impact.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Acta Clin Belg
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
17843286.2021.1903660
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