One-Year Prospective Study of Occupational Health in the Intensivists of a COVID-19 Hub Hospital

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely tested the physical and mental health of health care workers (HCWs). The various stages of the epidemic have posed different problems; consequently, only a prospective study can effectively describe the changes in the workers’ health. This repeated cross-sectional study is based on a one-year investigation (spring 2020 to spring 2021) of intensive care physicians in one of the two COVID-19 hub hospitals in Central Italy. Changes in their work activity due to the pandemic were studied anonymously together with their perception of organizational justice, occupational stress, sleep quality, anxiety, depression, burnout, job satisfaction, happiness, and intention to quit. In May-June 2021, one year after the baseline, doctors reported an increased workload, isolation at work and in social life, lack of time for physical activity and meditation and compassion fatigue. Stress was inversely associated with the perception of justice in safety procedures and directly correlated with work isolation. Occupational stress was significantly associated with anxiety, depression, burnout, dissatisfaction, and intention to quit. Procedural justice was significantly associated with happiness. Doctors believed vaccinations would help control the problem; however, this positive attitude had not yet resulted in improved mental health. Doctors reported high levels of distress (73%), sleep problems (28%), anxiety (25%), depression (64%). Interventions to correct the situation are urgently needed.

The psychological outcomes of COVID-19 affected the pandemic-after risk perceptions of nurse clinicians: a latent profile analysis

“…Additionally, in our cohort, PTSD, insomnia, depression, and anxiety were not as severe as previous studies reported immediately after the outbreak of COVID-19 given their total scores on the subscales (Magnavita et al, 2020;Tan et al, 2020;Yin et al, 2020), while a series of studies conducted at different stages of COVID-19 in Central Italy showed that the psychological problems of health care workers were not significantly improved and that various problems and worries were perceived in their work and life (Magnavita et al, 2021a(Magnavita et al, , 2021b. Moreover, a recent review also reported that mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and sleep disorders, had great impacts on health care workers, especially on their contacts with the public (Giorgi et al, 2020).…”

“…For nurses who remain in clinical practice, an obvious impact relates to psychosocial ramifications. As a repeated cross-sectional study on frontline workers in a COVID-19 hub-hospital reported, during the first wave, workload and compassion fatigue increased (Magnavita et al, 2020); with the development of the crisis, the heavy workload, isolation at work, uncertainty about safety procedures, and the abrupt decline in the time devoted to meditation and relaxation evolved to become prevalent causes of occupational stress (Magnavita et al, 2021a); one year after the baseline, an increased workload, isolation at work and in social life, lack of time for physical activity and meditation, and compassion fatigue are still reported in health workers and coexist with new worries for justice in safety procedures (Magnavita et al, 2021b). However, there is a significant variation in the extent to which nurses perceive risk in the clinical environment or events.…”

“…A systematic review and meta-analysis of articles related to COVID-19 identified poor sleep quality, stress, psychological distress, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression (Kontoangelos et al, 2020). Moreover, a one-year prospective study also found that 73% of investigated doctors reported high levels of distress, 64% reported depression, 28% reported sleep problems, and 25% reported anxiety (Magnavita et al, 2021b). Notably, stress and anxiety can evolve into acute stress disorder and precede chronic PTSD.…”