Psychological consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. A study carried out on the psychiatric medical staff

ABSTRACT

Motivation for the choice of topic The covid-19 pandemic has restructured the entire health care system. As systems of care were overwhelmed, many health professionals in related professional areas became increasingly involved in providing medical aid. The present paper aims to highlight a comparative analysis between two psychiatric wards of the same hospital, with qualified medical staff, with similar levels of competence, one of the wards caring for patients exclusively with major psychiatric pathologies, and the other patients with associated SARS-COV2 infection. The objective is to highlight links between different variables, such as motivation versus amotivation, anxiety and/or burnout, work experience, and resilience, all of which also relate to decisions to accept and provide quality medical care to this particular category of patients. Methodology Application of specific questionnaires and scales on a group of 60 medical workers in two psychiatric wards, one of which was declared a ward working with psychiatric patients with covid. Results: Resident doctors, then nurses, followed by hospital attendants, attending physicians and lastly psychologists, cope in descending order with professional stress related to covid-19 anxiety. This is high and correlates positively with depression and burn-out - which, in the case of young people, risks demotivating them to the point of destroying their future plans and the hope of successful professional self-esteem. Conclusions: The covid-19 pandemic in a psychiatric hospital has raised anxieties even among medical staff, who have moved from somatic to psychiatric care over the years, and the comorbidity of mental illness and SARS-COV2 infection has raised particular problems. Among staff, anxiety, risk of depression, burnout, with depletion of compensatory resources have increased. Resilience calls for the use of mature defence mechanisms and professional experience protects against anxiety and burnout.