Tending and mending: Affiliative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic by healthcare professionals in Italy.

Fino, Edita; Fino, Viola; Mazzetti, Michela; Russo, Paolo Maria

doi:10.1037/tra0000827

Cited by 10 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…Maintaining positive social interactions with others enhances one’s sense of safety and comfort and acts as a protective factor for health [ 5 ]. Thus, differently from other health conditions, fear of a pandemic may be compound by concerns of a more social and interpersonal nature, such as being isolated from the comforting presence of dear ones or being unable to tend to one’s kin in their moment of need, alongside worries about one’s own health and not receiving appropriate healthcare due to overwhelmed facilities [ 6 ]. Illustrative in this regard is recent research on the COVID-19 pandemic which highlights the important social and interpersonal implications of the pandemic, painting a picture of generalized psychosocial distress that is sweeping across the world together with the progression of infection [ 4 , 7 , 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Interpersonal Dimension of Pandemic Fear and the Dual-Factor Model of Mental Health: The Role of Coping Strategies

Fino

Mema²,

Treska

2022

Healthcare

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(1) Background: Current COVID-19 research has mainly focused on negative outcomes associated with fear of the pandemic with the examination of potentially positive outcomes remaining underexplored. Based on the dual-factor model of mental health, which postulates positive and negative dimensions, we assessed the influence of COVID-19 fear on both negative and positive mental health outcomes and examined the mediational role of coping strategies. (2) Methods: A convenience sample of 231 respondents participated in an online survey reporting on measures of pandemic fear (SFS), distress (HADS), post-traumatic growth (PTGI) and individual differences in terms of coping strategies (CSI-SF). (3) Results: Respondents’ main concerns related with the pandemic highlighted the interpersonal and social dimensions implicated in fear of COVID-19. As expected, fear of the pandemic was associated not just with negative but also positive outcomes, while different coping strategies played a role in determining such effects. More specifically, disengagement coping mediated the effects of fear on anxiety and depression, whereas engagement coping was the only mediator of the relationship between COVID-19 fear and post-traumatic growth. (4) Conclusions: Approaches to promote psychological wellbeing in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic should on the one hand be sensitive to the needs of the more vulnerable population groups, while on the other leverage existing resources to harness the potential for growth. Strengthening engagement coping in the context of fears triggered by the pandemic may constitute a valuable target to protect against negative and optimize positive mental health outcomes in the general population.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Interpersonal Dimension of Pandemic Fear and the Dual-Factor Model of Mental Health: The Role of Coping Strategies

Fino

Mema²,

Treska

2022

Healthcare

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“…In such unprecedented times, alleviating human suffering through tending to patients' emotional needs is paramount, and maintaining connections with families through the aid of digital devices has been recommended as a way of mitigating distress caused by pandemic-related restriction measures (Fino, Fino, Mazzetti, & Russo, 2020;Negro et al, 2020). Efforts in Italian healthcare facilities, as in other parts of the world, have concentrated on facilitating videocalls and 'virtual family visits' (Negro et al, 2020;Rose et al, 2020).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Helping patients connect remotely with their loved ones modulates distress in healthcare workers: tend-and-befriend hypothesis for COVID-19 front liners

Fino

Bonfrate

et al. 2021

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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The no-visitor policies endorsed by healthcare organizations to limit COVID-19 virus risk exposure have unfortunately contributed to the isolation of patients further exacerbating distress in relatives and frontline healthcare workers. To contrast such effects, many healthcare institutions have adopted technology-based solutions helping patients and families communicate online through the aid of virtual devices. To date, no study has investigated whether facilitating patient-family videocalls would mitigate distress levels in frontline healthcare professionals. Caring for emotional needs of patients by re-establishing affiliative connections interrupted by the pandemic through patient-family videocalls is expected to mitigate distress in engaged healthcare workers as an example of a tend-and-befriend response to stress caused by the pandemic. We tested this hypothesis in a cross-sectional study conducted during 1-30 June 2020, involving 209 healthcare workers (nurses = 146; physicians = 63) engaged in the COVID-19 frontline in Italy. Half of participants in our sample (n = 107) had assisted efforts aimed at connecting patients remotely with families through videocalls. Psychological distress measures included symptoms of burnout, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, and difficulty in sleep and wakefulness. Partially in line with our expectations we found a modulation effect specific for professional category: nurses assisting patient-family videocalls reported significantly lower levels of distress and a better quality of wakefulness compared to those who did not, whereas physicians reported higher levels of distress during such virtual communications. We interpret these findings from the perspective of patient-family communication and differences in skills and training between nurses and physicians. These findings highlight that technology-based solutions aimed at reducing barriers and alleviating distress in healthcare settings should be promoted in concert with skill enhancement training for healthcare professionals especially in terms of communicating online and communicating difficult topics with patients and families.

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“…Strong evidence describes factors such as affiliative responses to stress, trait resilience, emotion regulation capacity, and social support have been reported as significant protective factors in frontline personnel at grips with the COVID-pandemic. 44 , 45 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health Burden of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Healthcare Workers in Four Latin American Countries

Zúñiga

Juanillo-Maluenda

Sánchez-Bandala

et al. 2021

INQUIRY

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The aim of the study was to assess the mental health burden of the COVID-19 pandemic in healthcare workers in four Latin American countries in 2020. An online survey was carried out with 1721 participants from Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico in 2020. A non-probabilistic convenience sampling method was used to recruit voluntary participants. Post-traumatic stress symptoms were assessed with the SPRINT-E scale, Perceived Discrimination was assessed with a Spanish version of the scale developed by Molero, and anxiety toward death was assessed with the Spanish version of the Templer scale. All instruments were assessed for internal consistency. The overall frequency of post-traumatic stress symptoms was 23.9%. The frequency by countries was 26.4% in Argentina, 29.8% in Chile, 19.9 in Colombia, and 23.8% in Mexico. Post-traumatic stress symptoms were associated with individual subtle discrimination, anxiety toward the death of the elderly, lack of Personal Protective Equipment, and exposition to the death. The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a mental health burden on health workers in the countries included in the study, not only due to the implications of the disease in the face of exposure to death, but also due to institutional conditions and in which they carry out their work.

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Tending and mending: Affiliative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic by healthcare professionals in Italy.

Cited by 10 publications

References 8 publications

The Interpersonal Dimension of Pandemic Fear and the Dual-Factor Model of Mental Health: The Role of Coping Strategies

The Interpersonal Dimension of Pandemic Fear and the Dual-Factor Model of Mental Health: The Role of Coping Strategies

Helping patients connect remotely with their loved ones modulates distress in healthcare workers: tend-and-befriend hypothesis for COVID-19 front liners

Mental Health Burden of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Healthcare Workers in Four Latin American Countries

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