The psychological impact of COVID-19 on ‘hidden’ frontline healthcare workers

Abstract

Background: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has led to rising death tolls and stressed healthcare systems, resulting in an unprecedented psychological stress on healthcare workers worldwide. However, the majority of studies only accounted for frontline healthcare workers with direct patient exposure. Aim: This study aims to look at the psychological impact of COVID-19 in a specific, vulnerable and yet hidden group of healthcare workers, namely laboratory healthcare workers who are at high risk exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus from handling infected patients’ blood samples, in addition to a marked increase in workload. Method: A multicentre study was conducted in Singapore via online questionnaire looking at psychological and physical impact of COVID-19 on laboratory healthcare workers. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Numeric rating scale on fear (NRS) were validated scores used in this study. Data analysis was performed using SPSS statistical software version 23 (IBM Corp). Results: A total of 122 staffs participated and more than half of the cohort experienced mild to severe fear, anxiety and depression. Increase in depression score was also found to be associated with increased physical exhaustion (OR = 6.1, 95% CI 1.4–29.1, p = .02), loss of appetite (OR = 2.7, 95% CI 1.2–6.0, p = .02), poor sleep quality (OR = 7.5, 95% CI 2.9–19.4, p = .005), and the use of sedative (OR = 3.9, 95% CI 1.1–13.5, p = .03). Conclusions: Hence, it is imperative that prompt action needs to be taken to address the psychological needs of this vulnerable group of healthcare workers as the pandemic continues.

Mental health of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and evidence-based frameworks for mitigation: A rapid review

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“…38 A multicenter study of 122 laboratory HCWs in Singapore found high rates of depression, anxiety and fear among laboratory technicians, and also found that previous experience handling high-risk specimens during the previous SARS outbreak did not influence mental health outcomes. 75…”

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Mental Health Symptoms during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Southeast Asia

“…A total of 20 samples and 13,960 respondents deriving from 15 studies [23,24,[28][29][30][31][32]35,37,38,40,41,43,45,47] reported in the presence and severity of depression. A variety of rating scales were used such as DASS-21 (60.0%), HADS (20%), and three other instruments (each 6.7%).…”

Risk of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality among healthcare workers working in a Large Tertiary Care Hospital

“…Infected HCWs represent a risk for their families, their fellow HCWs, and hospitalized patients ( Shah et al, 2020 , Souadka et al, 2020 ). The risk of exposure, risk of introducing infection to others, long working hours, and perceived stigma from family members and society can be manifested with a number of psychological morbidities includes poor sleep quality, stress, post-traumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, and depression ( Cabarkapa et al, 2020 , Krishnamoorthy et al, 2020 , Teo et al, 2020 ).…”