EMOTIONAL DISTRESS AND COPING STRATEGIES OF HEALTH CARE WORKERS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

ABSTRACT

Stress is perceived as a common, almost inevitable problem that most people face on a daily basis on all levels. In this field, a special sector, due to the multiple implications, is the occupational stress. Despite the theoretical or practical applicative development approached by specialists from various fields over time, the issue of stress still offers, perhaps today more than ever, the possibility and need of new analytical and investigative openings leading to more effective control of it. Mental health puts its mark on the medical act and implicitly on the patients, on their personality. Research demonstrates the many implications of emotional stress in the etiology of various mental and emotional disorders and imbalances that affect the professional performance of health care workers. The new coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 is an extremely contagious infectious disease which was declared pandemic by the World Health Organization on the 11th of March, this year. Ever since, during outbursts, health care workers are submitted to an enormous emotional load as they must balance the fundamental principles of their duty to treat patients with their duties to family and loved ones. The aims of our study were to evaluate the levels of stress, emotional distress, and the coping strategies among medical sta., during this public health emergency times.