Psychological impact of COVID-19 on health care workers

Abstract

Background: Entire world witnessed unusual situations during COVID-19 pandemic. Along with physical health, mental health was also recognized at stake due to uncertainty, fear and lack of knowledge. When general population was advised to stay at home, health workers were required to serve sick by stepping out of their homes. This added mental pressure on them. Hence it was desired to assess psychological impact on health care workers who had been posted at COVID-19 outdoor and indoor centres. Methodology: An online survey was conducted on medical and paramedical staff of a tertiary health care centre. Impact of Event– Revised (IES-R) Scale was applied to measure mild, moderate or severe psychological impact. Stress coping behavior scale was used to assess coping strategies of study participants. Epi Info software version 7.2.2.6 was used for statistical analysis. Result: 249 eligible staff participated in current study after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. Various grades of psychological impact (IES-R score more than 23) were seen in 35.34% of study participants. Younger age and female gender were significantly associated with presence of psychological impact. Use of adaptive coping strategy was more than maladaptive strategies. Conclusion: Psychological impact was observed in about one third of participated health workers which is quite high as compared to general population. As female health workers showed significantly higher impact than males, they need more psychological support. Mental health needs equal attention in current pandemic especially among health workers.