Dataset Information

Mental Health Outcomes in Australian Healthcare and Aged-Care Workers during the Second Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

the COVID-19 pandemic has incurred psychological risks for healthcare workers (HCWs). We established a Victorian HCW cohort (the Coronavirus in Victorian Healthcare and Aged-Care Workers (COVIC-HA) cohort study) to examine COVID-19 impacts on HCWs and assess organisational responses over time.

Methods

mixed-methods cohort study, with baseline data collected via an online survey (7 May-18 July 2021) across four healthcare settings: ambulance, hospitals, primary care, and residential aged-care. Outcomes included self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress (PTS), wellbeing, burnout, and resilience, measured using validated tools. Work and home-related COVID-19 impacts and perceptions of workplace responses were also captured.

Results

among 984 HCWs, symptoms of clinically significant depression, anxiety, and PTS were reported by 22.5%, 14.0%, and 20.4%, respectively, highest among paramedics and nurses. Emotional exhaustion reflecting moderate-severe burnout was reported by 65.1%. Concerns about contracting COVID-19 at work and transmitting COVID-19 were common, but 91.2% felt well-informed on workplace changes and 78.3% reported that support services were available.

Conclusions

Australian HCWs employed during 2021 experienced adverse mental health outcomes, with prevalence differences observed according to occupation. Longitudinal evidence is needed to inform workplace strategies that support the physical and mental wellbeing of HCWs at organisational and state policy levels.

SUBMITTER: McGuinness SL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9103405 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Mental Health Outcomes in Australian Healthcare and Aged-Care Workers during the Second Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

McGuinness Sarah L SL Johnson Josphin J Eades Owen O Cameron Peter A PA Forbes Andrew A Fisher Jane J Grantham Kelsey K Hodgson Carol C Hunter Peter P Kasza Jessica J Kelsall Helen L HL Kirkman Maggie M Russell Grant G Russo Philip L PL Sim Malcolm R MR Singh Kasha P KP Skouteris Helen H Smith Karen L KL Stuart Rhonda L RL Teede Helena J HJ Trauer James M JM Udy Andrew A Zoungas Sophia S Leder Karin K

International journal of environmental research and public health 20220419 9

<h4>Objective</h4>the COVID-19 pandemic has incurred psychological risks for healthcare workers (HCWs). We established a Victorian HCW cohort (the Coronavirus in Victorian Healthcare and Aged-Care Workers (COVIC-HA) cohort study) to examine COVID-19 impacts on HCWs and assess organisational responses over time.<h4>Methods</h4>mixed-methods cohort study, with baseline data collected via an online survey (7 May-18 July 2021) across four healthcare settings: ambulance, hospitals, primary care, and ...[more]

PMID: 35564351

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Project description:ObjectivesThis study aimed to measure the prevalence of burnout syndrome, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic disorders (PTSD), as well as examine their associated factors among Thai healthcare workers (HCWs) during COVID-19 outbreak.MethodWe employed a multiple-method design at a tertiary-care hospital in Bangkok between May 22, 2021 and June 30, 2021 by using an online survey. The information included demographic characteristics, work details, perceived support, PTSD symptoms, Maslach Burnout Inventory: General Survey (MBI-GS), General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2 and PHQ-9), and narrative response to an open-ended question. The associated factors of mental health problems were analysed by multiple logistic regression analyses. The qualitative data were analysed by the content analysis method.ResultsA total of 986 HCWs (89.1% female; mean age = 34.89 ± 11.05 years) responded to the survey. 16.3%,16%, and 53.5% of respondents had a high level of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and diminished personal achievement, respectively. 33.1%, 13.8%, and 2.3% of respondents had anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Risk factors of emotional exhaustion were male sex (ORadj = 2.29), nurses (ORadj = 3.04), doctors (ORadj = 4.29), working at COVID-19 inpatient unit (ORadj = 2.97), and working at COVID-19 intensive care unit (ORadj = 3.00). Additionally, preexisting mental illness was associated with anxiety (ORadj = 2.89), depression (ORadj = 3.47), and PTSD (ORadj = 4.06). From qualitative analysis, participants reported that these factors would improve their mental health: supportive and respectful colleagues, appropriate financial compensation, reduced workload, clarity of policy and communication channel, and adequate personal protective equipment.ConclusionsThai HCWs experienced negative mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic substantially. This issue needs attention and actions should be implemented to support them.

Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic strained healthcare workers but the individual challenges varied in relation to actual work and changes in work. We investigated changes in healthcare workers' mental health under prolonging COVID-19 pandemic conditions, and heterogeneity in the mental-health trajectories.MethodsA monthly survey over a full year was conducted for employees of the HUS Helsinki University Hospital (n = 4804) between 4th June 2020 to 28th May 2021. Pandemic-related potentially traumatic events (PTEs), work characteristics (e.g., contact to COVID-19 patients), local COVID-19 incidence, and demographic covariates were used to predict Mental Health Index-5 (MHI-5) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) in generalized multilevel and latent-class mixed model regressions.ResultsLocal COVID-19 log-incidence (odds ratio, OR = 1.21, with 95% CI = 1.10-1.60), directly caring for COVID-19 patients (OR = 1.33, CI = 1.10-1.60) and PTEs (OR = 4.57, CI = 3.85-5.43) were all independently associated with psychological distress, when (additionally) adjusting for age, sex, profession, and calendar time. Effects of COVID-19 incidence on mental health were dissociable from calendar time (i.e., evolved in time) whereas those on sleep were not. Latent mental-health trajectories were characterized by a large class of "stable mental health" (62% of employees) and minority classes for "early shock, improving" (14%) and "early resilience, deteriorating" mental health (24%). The minority classes, especially "early shock, improving", were more likely to live alone and be exposed to PTEs than the others.ConclusionsHealthcare workers faced changing and heterogeneous mental-health challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic prolonged. Adversity and mental ill-being may have accumulated in some employees, and factors like living arrangements may have played a role. Knowledge on employees' demographic and socioeconomic background, as well as further research on the factors affecting employees' resilience, may help in maintaining healthy and efficient workforce in the face of a prolonging pandemic.

Project description:BackgroundHealthcare workers are at increased risk of adverse mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies are warranted that examine socio-ecological factors associated with these outcomes to inform interventions that support healthcare workers during future disease outbreaks.MethodsWe conducted an online cross-sectional study of healthcare workers during May 2020 to assess the socio-ecological predictors of mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. We assessed factors at four socio-ecological levels: individual (e.g., gender), interpersonal (e.g., social support), institutional (e.g., personal protective equipment availability), and community (e.g., healthcare worker stigma). The Personal Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Primary Care Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Concise scales assessed probable major depression (MD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and alcohol use disorder (AUD), respectively. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess unadjusted and adjusted associations between socio-ecological factors and mental health outcomes.ResultsOf the 1,092 participants, 72.0% were female, 51.9% were frontline workers, and the mean age was 40.4 years (standard deviation = 11.5). Based on cut-off scores, 13.9%, 15.6%, 22.8%, and 42.8% had probable MD, GAD, PTSD, and AUD, respectively. In the multivariable adjusted models, needing more social support was associated with significantly higher odds of probable MD, GAD, PTSD, and AUD. The significance of other factors varied across the outcomes. For example, at the individual level, female gender was associated with probable PTSD. At the institutional level, lower team cohesion was associated with probable PTSD, and difficulty following hospital policies with probable MD. At the community level, higher healthcare worker stigma was associated with probable PTSD and AUD, decreased satisfaction with the national government response with probable GAD, and higher media exposure with probable GAD and PTSD.ConclusionsThese findings can inform targeted interventions that promote healthcare workers' psychological resilience during disease outbreaks.

Project description:Background: The Grand Hôpital de Charleroi is a large non-academic Belgian hospital that treated a large number of COVID-19 inpatients. In the context of this pandemic, all professions-combined healthcare workers (HCWs), and not only direct caregivers, are a frontline workforce in contact with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases and seem to be a high-risk group for exposure. The aim of our study was to estimate the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in HCWs in our hospital after the first and second pandemic waves and to characterize the distribution of this seroprevalence in relation to various criteria. Methods: At the end of the two recruitment periods, a total of 4008 serological tests were performed in this single-center cross-sectional study. After completing a questionnaire including demographic and personal data, possible previous COVID-19 diagnostic test results and/or the presence of symptoms potentially related to COVID-19, the study participants underwent blood sampling and serological testing using DiaSorin's LIAISON® SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 IgG test for the first phase and LIAISON® SARS-CoV-2 TrimericS IgG test for the second phase of this study. Results: In total, 302 study participants (10.72%) in the first round of the study and 404 (33.92%) in the second round were positive for SARS-CoV-2-IgG antibodies. The prevalence of seropositivity observed after the second wave was 3.16 times higher than after the first wave. We confirmed that direct, prolonged, and repeated contact with patients or their environment was a predominant seroconversion factor, but more unexpectedly, that this was the case for all HCWs and not only caregivers. Finally, the notion of high-risk contact seemed more readily identifiable in one's workplace than in one's private life. Conclusions: Our study confirmed that HCWs are at a significantly higher risk of contracting COVID-19 than the general population, and suggests that repeated contacts with at-risk patients, regardless of the HCWs' professions, represents the most important risk factor for seroconversion (Clinicaltrials.gov number, NCT04723290).

Project description:ObjectiveTo identify the prevalence and predictors of (a) thoughts of suicide or self-harm among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and (b) help-seeking among those healthcare workers with thoughts of suicide or self-harm.MethodAnalysis of data from the Australian COVID-19 Frontline Healthcare Workers Study, an online survey of healthcare workers conducted during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Outcomes of interest were thoughts of suicide or self-harm as measured through the Patient Health Questionnaire for depression and help-seeking behaviours.ResultsOverall, 819 (10.5%) of 7795 healthcare workers reported thoughts of suicide or self-harm over a 2-week period. Healthcare workers with these thoughts experienced higher rates of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and burnout than their peers. In multivariable models, the odds of suicide or self-harm thoughts were higher among workers who had friends or family infected with COVID-19 (odds ratio = 1.24, 95% confidence interval = [1.06, 1.47]), were living alone (odds ratio = 1.32, 95% confidence interval = [1.06, 1.64]), younger (⩽30 years cf. >50 years; odds ratio = 1.70, 95% confidence interval = 1.36-2.13), male (odds ratio = 1.81, 95% confidence interval = [1.49, 2.20]), had increased alcohol use (odds ratio = 1.58, 95% confidence interval = [1.35, 1.86]), poor physical health (odds ratio = 1.62, 95% confidence interval = [1.36, 1.92]), increased income worries (odds ratio = 1.81, 95% confidence interval = [1.54, 2.12]) or prior mental illness (odds ratio = 3.27, 95% confidence interval = [2.80, 3.82]). Having dependent children was protective (odds ratio = 0.75, 95% confidence interval = [0.61, 0.92]). Fewer than half (388/819) of the healthcare workers who reported thoughts of suicide or self-harm sought professional support. Healthcare workers with thoughts of suicide or self-harm were more likely to seek support if they were younger (⩽30 years cf. >50 years; odds ratio = 1.78, 95% confidence interval = [1.13, 2.82]) or had prior mental health concerns (odds ratio = 4.47, 95% confidence interval = [3.25, 6.14]).ConclusionOne in 10 Australian healthcare workers reported thoughts of suicide or self-harm during the pandemic, with certain groups being more vulnerable. Most healthcare workers with thoughts of suicide or self-harm did not seek professional help. Strong and sustained action to protect the safety of healthcare workers, and provide meaningful support, is urgently needed.

Dataset Information

Mental Health Outcomes in Australian Healthcare and Aged-Care Workers during the Second Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Mental Health Outcomes in Australian Healthcare and Aged-Care Workers during the Second Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

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