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Mental health of medical workers in Japan during COVID-19: Relationships with loneliness, hope and self-compassion

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Yasuhiro Kotera at University of Nottingham
Yasuhiro Kotera
Akihiko Ozaki at Fukushima Medical University
Akihiko Ozaki
Hirotomo Miyatake
Hirotomo Miyatake
Hirotomo Miyatake
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Chie Tsunetoshi
Chie Tsunetoshi
Chie Tsunetoshi
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
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Abstract and Figures

The current pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has negatively impacted medical workers’ mental health in many countries including Japan. Although research identified poor mental health of medical workers in COVID-19, protective factors for their mental health remain to be appraised. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate relationships between mental health problems, loneliness, hope and self-compassion among Japanese medical workers, and compare with the general population. Online self-report measures regarding those four constructs were completed by 142 medical workers and 138 individuals in the general population. T-tests and multiple regression analysis were performed. Medical workers had higher levels of mental health problems and loneliness, and lower levels of hope and self-compassion than the general population. Loneliness was the strongest predictor of mental health problems in the medical workers. Findings suggest that Japanese medical workplaces may benefit from targeting workplace loneliness to prevent mental health problems among the medical staff.
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Accepted Manuscript:
Mental Health of Medical Workers in Japan during COVID-19: Relationships with
Loneliness, Hope and Self-Compassion.
Citation
Kotera, Y., Ozaki, A., Miyatake, H., Tsunetoshi, C., Nishikawa, Y. & Tanimoto, T. (2021).
Mental health of medical workers in Japan during COVID-19: Relationships with loneliness,
hope and self-compassion. Current Psychology.
2
Mental Health of Medical Workers in Japan during COVID-19: Relationships with
Loneliness, Hope and Self-Compassion.
Abstract
The current pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has negatively impacted
medical workers’ mental health in many countries including Japan. Although research
identified poor mental health of medical workers in COVID-19, protective factors for their
mental health remain to be appraised. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate
relationships between mental health problems, loneliness, hope and self-compassion among
Japanese medical workers, and compare with the general population. Online self-report
measures regarding those four constructs were completed by 142 medical workers and 138
individuals in the general population. T-tests and multiple regression analysis were
performed. Medical workers had higher levels of mental health problems and loneliness, and
lower levels of hope and self-compassion than the general population. Loneliness was the
strongest predictor of mental health problems in the medical workers. Findings suggest that
Japanese medical workplaces may benefit from targeting workplace loneliness to prevent
mental health problems among the medical staff.
Keywords: Japan; medical workers; mental health; loneliness; COVID-19
3
Introduction
Poor psychological status among medical workers can limit the quality and quantity
of the medical workforce, leading to poor clinical outcomes of patients. This is particularly
relevant to the current pandemic of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as it can
cause negative impacts on mental health of medical workers (Matsuo et al., 2020; Moreno et
al., 2020; Spoorthy, 2020). Considering strong stigma attached to mental illnesses among
Japanese medical professionals (Ando et al., 2013), directly engaging with mental health
problems may not be effective as it can stimulate their stigma (AUTHOR, 2020a). Previous
studies elucidated the prevalence and levels of mental distress in medical workers during
COVID-19 (Matsuo et al., 2020; Moreno et al., 2020; Spoorthy, 2020), however protective
factors for their mental health were not evaluated. Healthful factors of mental health need to
be appraised to identify effective interventions (Choi et al., 2020). Accordingly, we examined
the relationships between mental health problems (depression and anxiety), loneliness
(feeling alienated from others; Sekhon & Srivastava, 2019), hope (positive motivational
construct, helpful during a crisis; Bernardo & Mendoza, 2020), and self-compassion
(kindness towards oneself, associated with wellbeing; Sinclair et al., 2017) during the
COVID-19 pandemic in medical workers in Japan to appraise protective factors of mental
health that are unique to this population, and suggest effective approaches.
Methods
We aimed to contextualise the psychological status of medical workers by comparing
with that of the general population in Japan. Online survey was distributed to Facebook
groups formed by medical workers and the general population in June 2020, to which
opportunity samples of 160 medical workers and 164 individuals in the general population
agreed to participate. Participants had to (i) be 18 years old or older, (ii) be living in Japan at
4
the time of the study, and (iii) have at least three years of experience living in Japan. To
reduce the workload of participants, following four short scales were included in the survey:
The Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (Löwe et al., 2010), Three-Item Loneliness Scale
(Hughes et al., 2004), Adult State Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1996), and Self-Compassion
Scale-Short Form (Raes et al., 2011). Of the agreed participants, 142 medical workers (28
doctors, 34 nurses, 29 pharmacists, 27 rehabilitation workers, and the remaining 24 included
social workers and radiographers) and 138 individuals from the general population (85 full-
time employees, 29 self-employed workers, 11 part-timers, and the remaining 13 included
unemployed and homemakers) completed the survey. Both groups satisfied the required
sample size per as power calculation (119: Effect size f2 = 0.15, α = 0.05, Power = 0.95; (Faul
et al., 2009). Once data was screened for outliers and normalities, t-tests and multiple
regression analysis were conducted. Ethical approval was obtained from the university
research ethics committee. This study followed the Strengthening the Reporting of
Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) reporting guideline.
Results
Our t-tests revealed that medical workers had high levels of mental health problems (p
= 0.004, t = 2.88) and loneliness (p = 0.043, t = 2.04), and low levels of hope (p = 0.010, t = -
2.62) and self-compassion (p = 0.004, t = -2.89), relative to the general population.
[Please insert Table 1 here]
In multiple regression, first, gender and age were entered to adjust for their effects
(Step 1), then, loneliness, hope and self-compassion scores were entered (Step 2).
Multicollinearity was of no concern (Variance Inflation Factors < 10). Loneliness (p < 0.001,
β = 0.39), hope (p < 0.001, β = -0.28) and self-compassion (p = 0.007, β = -0.22) were
significant predictors of mental health problems in medical workers, where loneliness was the
5
strongest, and self-compassion was the weakest predictor; whereas hope was the strongest in
the general population (p = 0.003, β = -0.27) (Table 1). The three predictors predicted a
greater variance of mental health problems in medical workers than in the general population
(44% > 30%).
[Please insert Table 2 here]
Discussion
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, our analyses identified (i) poor mental
health and weakened psychological resources of medical staff, and (ii) the importance of
loneliness, hope and self-compassion to their mental health, particularly the strongest impact
of loneliness. These findings suggest that the medical workforce in Japan can benefit from
targeting loneliness in the workplace. As increasingly uncovered in occupational psychology,
workplace loneliness is associated with limited job performance (Ozcelik & Barsade, 2018).
Among the loneliness interventions, re-appraising maladaptive social cognitions of lonelier
workers, conducted regularly, was found most effective (Masi et al., 2011), translating self-
criticism into self-compassion. A caution is required as a concept of loneliness differs
between individualistic and collective cultures, and these studies were primarily conducted in
the Western individualistic contexts, different from the Japanese collectivism (Heu et al.,
2019). Moreover, our study used (a) self-report measures, susceptible to response biases
(AUTHOR, 2020b) and (b) a cross-sectional design, unable to elucidate causality of the
variables—longitudinal studies should be conducted. Still, our findings would help identify
practical interventions to be employed by Japanese medical teams during COVID-19. As the
third wave has arrived in Japan in November 2020 (Kami, 2020), Japanese medical workers
need to protect their mental health to continue to offer quality care for ever-increasing
patients suffering from this fatal disease.
6
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9
Table 1. Participants Characteristics and Psychological Variables
Medical Workers (n=142)
General Population (n=138)
M
SD
M
Characteristics
Gender
F: 73% (n=104), M= 27% (n=38)
F: 61% (n=84), M: 39% (n=54)
Age
39.90
12.10
46.39**
Job Role /
Employment Status
Doctors
28
Full-Time Employees
Nurses
34
Part-Timers
Pharmacists
29
Self-Employed incl.
Employers
Rehabilitation Workers
27
Homemakers
Social Workers
5
Unemployed
Others incl. Nutritionists,
Radiographers
19
Others incl. Students
Psychological Variables
Mental Health Problems
(measured by PHQ-4)
3.27**
2.78
2.37
Loneliness
4.73*
1.7
4.33
Hope
29.85
8.46
32.35**
Self-Compassion
3.13
0.58
3.34**
*p<.05, **p<.01 Significant difference between the two groups (noted on the higher value).
10
Table 2. Multiple Regression Analysis for Mental Health Problems
Medical Workers
General Population
B
SEB
β
95.0% CI for B
B
SEB
β
95.0% CI for B
Step 1
Lower
Upper
Lower
Upper
Gender
0.03
0.17
0.02
-0.31
0.37
-0.18
0.14
-0.11
-0.45
0.09
Age
-0.01
0.01
-0.13
-0.02
0.00
-0.01
0.01
-0.12
-0.02
0.00
Adj. R2
0.30%
1%
Step 2
Gender
0.09
0.13
0.05
-0.17
0.35
-0.11
0.12
-0.07
-0.34
0.12
Age
0.01
0.01
0.09
0.00
0.02
0.00
0.01
-0.03
-0.02
0.01
Loneliness
0.92
0.17
0.39***
0.58
1.25
0.50
0.25
0.20*
0.01
0.99
Hope
-0.31
0.08
-0.28***
-0.47
-0.14
-0.33
0.11
-0.27**
-0.54
-0.11
Self-Compassion
-1.17
0.42
-0.22**
-2.01
-0.33
-1.06
0.49
-0.21*
-2.04
-0.09
△"Adj. R2
44%
30%
Outcome variable = Mental Health Problems. B = Unstandardized Coefficients, SEB = Standard Error of the
Coefficient, β = Standardized Coefficients. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001
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Full-text available
  • Jan 2024
Research has suggested an increase in loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, but much of this work has been cross-sectional, making causal inferences difficult. In the present research, we employed a longitudinal design to identify loneliness trajectories within a period of twelve months during the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium (N = 2106). We were particularly interested in the potential protective role of self-compassion in these temporal dynamics. Using a group-based trajectory modelling approach, we identified trajectory groups of individuals following low (11.0%), moderate-low (22.4%), moderate (25.7%), moderate-high (31.3%), and high (9.6%) levels of loneliness. Findings indicated that younger people, women, and individuals with poor quality relationships, high levels of health anxiety, and stress related to COVID-19, all had a higher probability of belonging to the highest loneliness trajectory groups. Importantly, we also found that people high in two of the three facets of self-compassion (self-kindness and common humanity) had a lower probability of belonging to the highest loneliness trajectory groups. Ultimately, we demonstrated that trajectory groups reflecting higher levels of loneliness were associated with lower life satisfaction and greater depressive symptoms. We discuss the possibility that increasing self-compassion may be used to promote better mental health in similarly challenging situations.
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... Deterioration of the psychological states of healthcare professionals may impact the quality and quantity of healthcare provided to patients, potentially leading to poor treatment outcomes 1) . Brunner et al. studied the economic impact of productivity loss due to stress felt on the job. ...
Association between reasons for employment and burnout tendencies among rehabilitation technology professionals
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 2023
Purpose] The deterioration in the psychological states of healthcare workers may impact the quality and quantity of medical care provided to patients, leading to unfavorable treatment outcomes. Thus, we aimed to investigate the relationship between reasons for employment and the mental health status of rehabilitation technology professionals in Japan. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a questionnaire to gather relevant data. [Participants and Methods] Data from 112 rehabilitation technology professionals, including physical and occupational therapists as well as speech-language pathologists, were analyzed. Questionnaires were utilized to collect data on participant characteristics, reasons for employment, virtual competence, self-esteem, burnout levels, self-compassion responses, subjective health assessments, and feelings of isolation. [Results] Multiple regression analysis indicated that the regression coefficients of the Lubben Social Network Scale-6, the World Health Organization-five well-being index, the virtual ability scale, the self-esteem scale, and the reasons for employment scale scores were −0.168, −0.191, −0.273, −0.197, and −0.329, respectively. Additionally, structural equation modeling was used to verify the goodness-of-fit indices. The burnout scale scores exhibited a satisfactory fit with the Lubben Social Network Scale-6, the World Health Organization-five well-being index, the virtual ability scale, the self-esteem scale, and the reasons for employment, as indicated by all goodness-of-fit indices. [Conclusion] This study revealed a significant association between the reason for employment and burnout tendency, which was found to be the strongest. Therefore, it is important to know the reason for employment to ascertain burnout tendencies. Conversely, as associations were also found for several adjustment variables, it is necessary to consider not only the reasons for employment but also other factors when assessing burnout tendencies.
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The role of empowering leadership in reducing loneliness in the workplace -An analytical study of the opinions of a sample of employees at Al-Qasim Green University A R T I C L E I N F O
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2023
The current research sought to diagnose the level of possible leadership practice at Al-Qasim Green University (under study) and to determine the level of loneliness in the workplace, as well as to test the effect between the two variables. The research stemmed from a realistic problem represented by the weakness of social communication and the feeling of emotional deprivation among some of the workers in the researched university. The research adopted the descriptive analytical approach by providing an intellectual explanation for the variables of the research, and then designing a questionnaire to collect the necessary information about the main and sub-research variables. If the questionnaire included (29) items distributed among the research variables by (16) items for the independent variable, the empowering leadership, and (14) for the loneliness in the workplace. Al-Qasim Green University represented a field for the applied side of the research by selecting a random sample of the administrative cadres, whose number was (145). The research adopted the SMART pls statistical program to test its hypotheses. The research found that there is a relative awareness of the importance of possible leadership practices, in addition to that relying on these practices in their general form reduces cases of loneliness at work among university employees. However, after confidence in high performance does not contribute to reducing cases of loneliness in the workplace.
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Mental Health in Swiss Veterinary Medicine Students: Variables Associated with D epression Scores
Article
  • Jan 2024
Mental health and wellbeing in veterinary students have become an important area of study, given the high levels of mental distress compared to other professions. Although research has identified poor mental health of veterinary students, few studies have examined positive factors such as self-compassion, which can have a favorable effect on mental health. The aim of this study was to examine self-reported symptoms of depression and factors influencing this construct, such as loneliness, self-compassion, and various demographic aspects in Swiss veterinary students. A sample of 374 Swiss veterinary students completed online measures including a demographic questionnaire, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale-Revised (CESD-R), a short form of the University of California Loneliness Scale (UCLA-9), and the short form of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS-SF). Results showed that 54.3% of the students were above the CESD-R cut-off score for depression, indicating a higher likelihood to suffer from depression. Results from the backward selection linear regression showed loneliness to be a risk factor, while self-compassion and rural upbringing were protective of depression. Findings suggest that Swiss veterinary students are highly burdened and may benefit from interventions aimed at reducing loneliness and improving self-compassion.
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Positive Psychology for Mental Wellbeing of UK Therapeutic Students: Relationships with Engagement, Motivation, Resilience, and Self-Compassion
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2022
  • Int J Ment Health Addiction
This study aimed to examine the relationships between mental wellbeing and positive psychological constructs in therapeutic students (psychotherapy and occupational therapy students). The number of therapeutic students has increased recently, however they suffer from poor mental health, which may be improved by potentiating their positive psychological constructs, bypassing mental health shame. Therapeutic students (n=145) completed measures regarding positive psychological constructs, namely mental wellbeing, engagement, motivation, resilience, and self-compassion. Resilience and self-compassion predicted mental wellbeing, explaining a large effect. Self-compassion partially mediated the relationship between resilience and mental wellbeing. This study highlights the importance of positive psychological constructs, especially resilience and self-compassion, for mental wellbeing of therapeutic students.
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Prevalence of Health Care Worker Burnout During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic in Japan
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2020
This cross-sectional study evaluates the prevalence of and factors associated with burnout among frontline health care workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Japan.
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Measuring hope during the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines: development and validation of the state locus-of-Hope scale short form in Filipino
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2021
  • CURR PSYCHOL
Various adaptations of the Dispositional Hope Scale have been validated and used for specific research and applied purposes. The Locus-of-Hope Scale was developed as a cultural adaptation that measures internal and external aspects of agency related to goal-pursuit that are typical in collectivist cultures. The scale has been used to account for variations in well-being-related factors in collectivist societies but still assumes that hope-related thoughts are dispositional. A State Locus-of-Hope Scale was developed to assess hope-related thinking concerning ongoing events and experience during the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines in March 2020. The 16-item scale in Filipino was adapted from a short version of Locus-of-Hope Scale. Using data from 3128 respondents, confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit between the four-factor model (compared to one-factor and two-factor models), supporting the scale’s structural validity. There was also good evidence for the subscales’ convergent and discriminant validity. Preliminary evidence for construct criterion validity was demonstrated by examining associations with well-being and anxiety. The results indicate the viability of the State Locus-of-Hope scale for assessing temporal hope-related thoughts that can inform efforts to understand how individuals engage in goal-related processes and maintain well-being in specific personal and social situations.
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Cross-cultural comparison of mental health between Japanese and Dutch workers: Relationships with mental health shame, self-compassion, work engagement and motivation
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2020
Purpose: The primary purpose of this descriptive study was to compare the levels of, and relationships among mental health problems, mental health shame, self-compassion, work engagement, and work motivation between workers in Japan (collectivistic and success-driven culture) and the Netherlands (individualistic and quality-oriented culture). Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional design, where convenience samples of 165 Japanese and 160 Dutch workers completed self-report measures about mental health problems, shame, self-compassion, engagement and motivation, was used. Welch t-tests, correlation and regression analyses were conducted to compare i) the levels of these variables, ii) relationships among these variables, and iii) predictors of mental health problems, between the two groups. Findings: Dutch workers had higher levels of mental health problems, work engagement and intrinsic motivation, and lower levels of shame and amotivation than Japanese workers. Mental health problems were associated with shame in both samples. Mental health problems were negatively predicted by self-compassion in Japanese, and by work engagement in Dutch employees. Originality/value: The novelty of this study relates to exploring differences in work mental health between those two culturally contrasting countries. Our findings highlight potential cultural differences such as survey responding (Japanese acquiescent responding vs Dutch self-enhancement) and cultural emphases (Japanese shame vs Dutch quality of life). Job crafting, mindfulness and enhancing ikigai (meaningfulness in life) may be helpful to protect mental health in these workers, relating to self-compassion and work engagement. Findings from this study would be particularly useful to employers, managers, and staff in human resources who work with cross-cultural workforce. Keywords: cross-culture, Japanese workers, Dutch workers, work mental health, self-compassion, work engagement
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Conquering workplace loneliness Individual or organization accountability
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2018
Purpose The paper aims to understand the role of an individual and the organization for managing workplace loneliness in special workplaces, giving insight into the manifestation of a negative organizational climate which may have an adverse impact on personal and organizational effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach This study considered the existing literature and conducted an independent survey with sailors as the sample. Findings Individuals experience feelings of loneliness and it is the collective responsibility of both the individuals and the organizations to help alleviate these feelings. Research limitations/implications The present study focused on vulnerable groups of sailors as employees working in remote workplaces. Practical implications The findings suggest that leaders can be sensitized to include interventions to assure quality interactions among workers and be facilitators for sharing of emotions, especially in high-risk occupations. Originality/value Studying the existence of loneliness among employees in remote workplaces like the shipping sector has received limited attention in previous studies.
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Lonely Alone or Lonely Together? A Cultural-Psychological Examination of Individualism–Collectivism and Loneliness in Five European Countries
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2018
Average levels of loneliness have been suggested to differ between collectivistic and individualistic countries. However, we know little about how individual-level collectivism (i.e., perceiving the self or one’s social environment as collectivistic) is related to loneliness. As individualism and collectivism imply different ideals about how individuals should be embedded in social relationships, they may imply distinct risks for loneliness. Specifically, less demanding ideals in individualism should imply the risk of lower actual social embeddedness; more demanding ideals in collectivism should imply the risk of higher perceived discrepancies from such ideals. Two cross-sectional survey studies in five European countries (Study 1: Austria, N = 239; Study 2: Italy, Portugal, Sweden, The Netherlands, total N = 860) revealed that higher collectivism was related to lower loneliness. Individualism indeed implied lower social embeddedness, but collectivism did not imply higher discrepancies from ideal embeddedness. We discuss implications for reducing loneliness in different cultural contexts.
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No Employee an Island: Workplace Loneliness and Job Performance
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2018
This research investigates the link between workplace loneliness and job performance. Integrating the regulatory loop model of loneliness and the affect theory of social exchange, we develop a model of workplace loneliness. We focus on the central role of affiliation in explaining the loneliness–performance relationship, predicting that despite lonelier employees’ desire to connect with others, being lonelier is associated with lower job performance because of a lack of affiliation at work. Through a time-lagged field study of 672 employees and their 114 supervisors in two organizations, we find support that greater workplace loneliness is related to lower job performance; the mediators of this relationship are lonelier employees’ lower approachability and lesser affective commitment to their organizations. We also examine the moderating roles of the emotional cultures of companionate love and anger, as well as of the loneliness of other coworkers in the work group. Features of this affective affiliative context moderate some of the relationships between loneliness and the mediating variables; we also find support for the full moderated mediation model. This study highlights the importance of recognizing the pernicious power of workplace loneliness over both lonelier employees and their organizations. We offer implications for future research and practice.
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An Exposure-Wide and Mendelian Randomization Approach to Identifying Modifiable Factors for the Prevention of Depression
Article
  • Aug 2020
Objective: Efforts to prevent depression, the leading cause of disability worldwide, have focused on a limited number of candidate factors. Using phenotypic and genomic data from over 100,000 UK Biobank participants, the authors sought to systematically screen and validate a wide range of potential modifiable factors for depression. Methods: Baseline data were extracted for 106 modifiable factors, including lifestyle (e.g., exercise, sleep, media, diet), social (e.g., support, engagement), and environmental (e.g., green space, pollution) variables. Incident depression was defined as minimal depressive symptoms at baseline and clinically significant depression at follow-up. At-risk individuals for incident depression were identified by polygenic risk scores or by reported traumatic life events. An exposure-wide association scan was conducted to identify factors associated with incident depression in the full sample and among at-risk individuals. Two-sample Mendelian randomization was then used to validate potentially causal relationships between identified factors and depression. Results: Numerous factors across social, sleep, media, dietary, and exercise-related domains were prospectively associated with depression, even among at-risk individuals. However, only a subset of factors was supported by Mendelian randomization evidence, including confiding in others (odds ratio=0.76, 95% CI=0.67, 0.86), television watching time (odds ratio=1.09, 95% CI=1.05, 1.13), and daytime napping (odds ratio=1.34, 95% CI=1.17, 1.53). Conclusions: Using a two-stage approach, this study validates several actionable targets for preventing depression. It also demonstrates that not all factors associated with depression in observational research may translate into robust targets for prevention. A large-scale exposure-wide approach combined with genetically informed methods for causal inference may help prioritize strategies for multimodal prevention in psychiatry.
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How mental health care should change as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic
Article
  • Jul 2020
The unpredictability and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic; the associated lockdowns, physical distancing, and other containment strategies; and the resulting economic breakdown could increase the risk of mental health problems and exacerbate health inequalities. Preliminary findings suggest adverse mental health effects in previously healthy people and especially in people with pre-existing mental health disorders. Despite the heterogeneity of worldwide health systems, efforts have been made to adapt the delivery of mental health care to the demands of COVID-19. Mental health concerns have been addressed via the public mental health response and by adapting mental health services, mostly focusing on infection control, modifying access to diagnosis and treatment, ensuring continuity of care for mental health service users, and paying attention to new cases of mental ill health and populations at high risk of mental health problems. Sustainable adaptations of delivery systems for mental health care should be developed by experts, clinicians, and service users, and should be specifically designed to mitigate disparities in health-care provision. Thorough and continuous assessment of health and service-use outcomes in mental health clinical practice will be crucial for defining which practices should be further developed and which discontinued. For this Position Paper, an international group of clinicians, mental health experts, and users of mental health services has come together to reflect on the challenges for mental health that COVID-19 poses. The interconnectedness of the world made society vulnerable to this infection, but it also provides the infrastructure to address previous system failings by disseminating good practices that can result in sustained, efficient, and equitable delivery of mental health-care delivery. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic could be an opportunity to improve mental health services.
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Mental health problems faced by healthcare workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic–A review
Article
  • Apr 2020
Introduction The spread of novel corona virus (COVID-19) across the globe and the associated morbidity and mortality challenged the nations by several means. One such underrecognized and unaddressed area is the mental health issues medical staff develop during the pandemic. Materials and methods This review aimed to review the literature about mental health problems faced by health care workers (HCW) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Literature search was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, Embase. All types of articles published in the last 4 months (January 2020-April 2020) which were relevant to the subject of the review were searched. A total of 23 articles were selected by initial screening and 6 articles were included in the final review. Results Review of all the 6 articles showed that current research focused on assessing several aspects of mental health affected in HCW due to COVID-19. Several sociodemographic variables like gender, profession, age, place of work, department of work and psychological variables like poor social support, self-efficacy were associated with increased stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, insomnia in HCW. There is increasing evidence that suggests that COVID-19 can be an independent risk factor for stress in HCW. Conclusion Regular screening of medical personnel involved in treating, diagnosing patients with COVID-19 should be done for evaluating stress, depression and anxiety by using multidisciplinary Psychiatry teams.
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