Psychological burden of healthcare professionals in Germany during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic: differences and similarities in the international context

Abstract

Background Healthcare professionals (HPs) are the key figures to keep up the healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic and thus are one of the most vulnerable groups in this. To this point, the extent of this psychological burden, especially in Europe and Germany, remains unclear. This is the first study investigating German HPs after the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods We performed an online-based cross-sectional study after the COVID-19 outbreak in Germany (10–31 March 2020). In total, 2224 HPs (physicians n = 492, nursing staff n = 1511, paramedics n = 221) and 10 639 non-healthcare professionals (nHPs) were assessed including generalized anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-2), current health status (EQ-5D-3L), COVID-19-related fear, subjective level of information regarding COVID-19. Results HPs showed less generalized anxiety, depression and COVID-19-related fear and higher health status and subjective level of information regarding COVID-19 than the nHPs. Within the HP groups, nursing staff were the most psychologically burdened. Subjective levels of information regarding COVID-19 correlated negatively with generalized anxiety levels across all groups. Among HPs, nursing staff showed the highest and paramedics the lowest generalized anxiety levels. Conclusions In the context of COVID-19, German HPs seem to be less psychological burdened than nHPs, and also less burdened compared with existing international data.

Different Correlates of COVID-19-Related Adherent and Dysfunctional Safety Behavior

“…More engaged individuals would more likely attempt to remain up to date on recent developments to evaluate risks and regain a feeling of control. This idea is in line with the negative correlation between generalized anxiety and subjective levels of information regarding COVID-19 [( 42 ), but see also ( 19 )]. Again, there is some evidence that hints toward a difference in quality between COVID-19-related fear and generalized anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic ( 5 , 33 , 34 ).…”

Prevalence of stress, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The overall pooled point estimates of prevalence for anxiety varied between 8% and 91%, which was reported by 73 studies [ [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [28] , [29] , [30] , 32 , 34 , 35 , [37] , [38] , [39] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] , 48 , 49 , 51 , [53] , [54] , [55] , [56] , [57] , 62 , [64] , [65] , [66] , [67] , [71] , [72] , [73] , [74] , [75] , [76] , [77] , [78] , [79] , [80] , [81] , [82] , [83] , [84] , [85] , [86] , [87] , [88] , [89] , [90] , [91] , [92] , [93] , [94] , [95] , [96] , [97] , [98] , [99] ,…”

Positive psychology in a pandemic: buffering, bolstering, and building mental health

“…Global guidelines to influenza pandemics provided by the World Health Organization explicitly state the need to 'Address the psychological impacts of the pandemic' (2017, p. 39). This is certainly the case for COVID-19 given the drastic rises in psychopathology and increases in negative emotional states in the general public and in certain segments of the population (Fiorillo & Gorwood, 2020;Skoda et al, 2020). In addressing the short-term and longer-term 'mental health fall-out' from the coronavirus pandemic, calls have been made for psychological approaches to incorporate multidisciplinary lines of action (Bavel et al, 2020;Holmes et al, 2020).…”