Pandemic-related attitudes, stressors and work outcomes among medical assistants during the SARS-CoV-2 (“Coronavirus”) pandemic in Germany: A cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background The SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread rapidly around the globe since December 2019 creating much uncertainty among medical staff. Due to close patient contact, medical assistants are at increased risk of an infection. Several studies have investigated psychological consequences of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on medical staff, yet studies in the outpatient setting are scarce and studies addressing medical assistants are lacking. This study aimed to investigate pandemic-related stressors, attitudes, and work outcomes among medical assistants and to identify possible determinants. Methods The population under study were medical assistants across entire Germany. A self-devised online questionnaire was published between April 7th, 2020, and April 14th. including questions on pandemic-related stressors, attitudes and work outcomes. Additionally, symptoms of depression and anxiety disorder were measured by PHQ-2 and GAD-2, respectively. Logistic regression was performed to identify possible determinants. Results 2150 medical assistants provided complete data (98.0% female, mean age 37.6 years). Major stressors were uncertainty about the temporal scope of the pandemic (95.1% agreement), about how to act correctly (77.5%), feelings of not being allowed to let patients down (75.9%), uncertainty about one’s financial situation (67.4%) and about contact persons for further information (67.1%). One third (29.9%) of the study population screened positively for depression and 42.6% for anxiety disorder. Feeling burdened by one’s financial situation was significantly associated with working in specialist practices (1.32 [1.08–1.62]), caring for children (1.51 [1.22–1.87]), depression (1.28 [1.01–1.62]), and anxiety disorder (1.93 [1.55–2.39]). Feeling burdened by thoughts about virus contraction at work was also significantly associated with working in specialist practices (1.33 [1.07–1.64]), caring for children (1.33 [1.07–1.66]), depression (1.54 [1.18–2.00]), and anxiety (4.71 [3.71–5.98]). Conclusions This study provides novel evidence regarding major SARS-CoV-2 pandemic-related stressors among medical assistants and suggests need for special support for medical assistants caring for children and working in specialist practices.

Psychological Health Issues of Medical Staff During the COVID-19 Outbreak

“…Gender may be a significant factor for psychological stress during the epidemic, and female medical staff was at great risk of poor psychological health. Several studies among medical staff during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have indicated that women reported more severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, and distress than men (32)(33)(34). In general, women's physical ability is not as good as men's, and the excessive workload inevitably leads to women's greater anxiety than men.…”

Identifying Psychosocial Risks and Protective Measures for Workers’ Mental Wellbeing at the Time of COVID-19: A Narrative Review

“…Instead, for HCWs home-work interface was found as a cause of stress and also contributed to the development of burnout symptoms [46,47]. Major concerns included childcare [22,46,48,49], household activities and the relationships with family and friends [50,51]. During this time of emergency HCWs experienced a significantly lower work-family balance due to long working hours without appropriate rest [52], which was particularly challenging for women as they tended to be more involved in family care [49].…”

“…Major concerns included childcare [22,46,48,49], household activities and the relationships with family and friends [50,51]. During this time of emergency HCWs experienced a significantly lower work-family balance due to long working hours without appropriate rest [52], which was particularly challenging for women as they tended to be more involved in family care [49]. Moreover, the fear of bringing contagion home to family members was a common issue contributing to occupational stress, anxiety and depression symptoms in HCWs [53].…”

“…Two studies about HCWs used a qualitative approach to test their sample. Despite the sanitary emergency requiring extraordinary efforts from healthcare workers, even this category experienced forms of stress related to the uncertainty about the future [65] and concerns about the financial situation related to reduced patient volumes [48,49]. Physicians reported furloughs and pay cuts and expressed frustration at assumptions that physicians would be immune to financial instability, citing both the low salaries for those still in training and extensive student loan debt [49].…”

“…Despite the sanitary emergency requiring extraordinary efforts from healthcare workers, even this category experienced forms of stress related to the uncertainty about the future [65] and concerns about the financial situation related to reduced patient volumes [48,49]. Physicians reported furloughs and pay cuts and expressed frustration at assumptions that physicians would be immune to financial instability, citing both the low salaries for those still in training and extensive student loan debt [49]. Environmental changes, reduced workload, uncertainty, and negative job expectations also constituted predictors for mental workload and the subsequent occurrence of poor mental health outcomes, like burnout, anxiety and depression symptoms, especially for some categories of workers, deeply damaged by the pandemic social and economic crisis [39,67].…”