Table 2.
The impact of COVID-19 on stress resilience and mental health in health care personnel.
| Study | Population | Time period/ wave | Study type and sample size | Objective(s)/Main outcomes | Inclusion criteria | Main findings/Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chen et al., 2005 | Taiwanese female nurses | Mid-May 2003,(at the peak of the SARS outbreak) | Cross-sectional and case control, N = 128 (high risk group N = 65, mean age 27.2 years (± 3.6), conscripted group N = 21, mean age 26.1 years (± 2.9), control group N = 42, mean age 25.7 years (± 2.2)) | Symptoms of distress when working during the SARS crisis | Working as a nurse in the Kaohsiung Municipal Hsiao-Kang hospital during mid May 2003 | 11% of the nurses surveyed had stress reaction syndrome. Symptoms included anxiety, depression, hostility, and somatization. The highest rate of stress reaction syndrome was observed in the group that originally worked in a high-risk unit, and the conscripted group experienced the most severe distress on average.. |
| Ammar et al., 2020 | Adult dentists worldwide (28 countries) | March - May 2020 | Cross-sectional, N = 1862 (27.8% aged 25–35 years, 32.9% aged >35–45 years, 20.2% aged >45–55 years, 13.7% aged >55–65 years, 5.4% >65 years, 53.4% female) | Psychological impact of COVID-19 on dental academics globally and on changes in their behaviours | Being a dental academic, training and/or educating dental student in a university or institution at the time of the study | COVID-19 had a considerable psychological impact on dental academics. There was a direct, dose-dependent association between change in behaviours (more frequent handwashing, avoiding crowded places) and worries but no association between these changes and training on public health emergencies. |
| Luceno-Moreno et al., 2020 | Spanish adult healthcare workers | April 1 – 30 2020, during lockdown | Cross-sectional, N = 1422 (mean age 43.9 years (±10.8), 86.4% female) | Symptoms of posttraumatic stress, anxiety, depression, levels of burnout and resilience in Spanish health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic | Being a Spanish healthcare worker and being in contact with patients of COVID-19 | 56.6% of health workers presented symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, 58.6% anxiety disorder, 46% depressive disorder and 41.1% felt emotionally drained. |
| Liang et al., 2020 | Chinese adult medical workers | February 14 - March 29 2020, | Cross-sectional, N = 899 frontline medical workers (1.9% aged ≤ 20 years, 67.5% aged 21–40, 30.4% aged 41–60, 0.2% aged >60, 81.3% female) and N = 1104 respondents in the general population (19.5% aged ≤ 20 years, 66.1% aged 21–40, 13.8% aged 41–60, 0.6% aged >60, 69.5% female) | Psychological symptoms in frontline medical workers during the COVID-19 epidemic in compared to the general population | Being a frontline medical worker during the COVID-19 pandemic | Overall, 30.43%, 20.29%, and 14.49% of frontline medical workers in Hubei Province and 23.13%, 13.14%, and 10.64% of frontline medical workers in other regions reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, and insomnia, respectively. In addition, 23.33%, 16.67%, and 6.67% of the general population in Hubei Province and 18.25%, 9.22%, and 7.17% of the general population in other regions reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, and insomnia, respectively.. |
| Sasaki, N. et al., 2020 | Japanese adults (healthcare and non-healthcare workers) | Two waves; T1 (March 19 – 22 2020) and T2 (May 22 – 26 2020). OnApril 16, a state of national emergency was declared, which continued until 25 May | Longitudinal, N = 1015 with N = 111 healthcare (21.6% aged 20–29 years, 31.5% aged 30–39 years, 22.5% aged 40–49 years, 21.6% aged 50–59 years, 2.7% >60 years, 64.9% female) and N = 904 non-healthcare workers (17.8% aged 20–29 years, 27.2% aged 30–39 years, 26.3% aged 40–49 years, 26.8% aged 50–59 years, 1.9% >60 years, 47.8% female) | Longitudinal change in the mental health of healthcare and non-healthcare workers during two months of the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan | Being a Japanese full-time employee that had previously participated in a large digital marketing research survey | Psychological distress (and subscales of fatigue, anxiety, and depression) as well as fear and worry of COVID-19 increased statistically significantly more among healthcare than non-healthcare workers. |
| Ferreira et al., 2021 | Portuguese physicians | May 4 - 25 2020 | Cross-sectional, N = 420 (N = 200 in frontline group (mean age 47.0 years, 53.5% female) and N = 220 in the control group (mean age 60.0 years, 43.6% female) | Alterations in mental health status (depression, anxiety, stress measured with the DAS-21 and OCD symptoms, measured with OCI-R) of Portuguese physicians working at the COVID-19 frontline compared to those not working at the frontline | Being an active physician in Portugal | 7.5% of physicians in the frontline group had severe depressive symptoms, compared to 4.5% of physicians in the control group. Regarding anxiety, 9.0% of physicians in the frontline group presented severe symptoms of anxiety compared to 5.9% of physicians in the control group. 11.5% of participants in the frontline group presented severe stress symptoms, compared to 4.4% in the control group. Being female and working at the frontline were found as potential risk factors for stress. |
| Sahin et al., 2020 | Turkish healthcare workers | April 23 – May 23 2020, | Cross-sectional, N = 939 (11.5% aged 18–25 years, 36.1% aged 26–30 years, 29.4% aged 31–40 years, 23.0% aged >40 years, 66.0% female) | Prevalence of depression, anxiety, distress, and insomnia and related factors in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey | Being a healthcare worker in Turkey between 23rd of April and 23rd of May 2020 | 729 (77.6%) participants exhibited depression, 565 (60.2%) anxiety, 473 (50.4%) insomnia, and 717 (76.4%) distress symptoms. Depression, anxiety, insomnia, and distress symptoms were significantly greater among females, individuals with a history of psychiatric illness, and individuals receiving psychiatric support during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Di Monte et al., 2020 | Italian general practitioners (GPs) | March 10 – May 18 2020, | Cross-sectional, N = 102 (mean age 55.1 years (±11.4), 62.7% female) | Dimensions of burnout and various psychological features among Italian general practitioners during the COVID-19 emergency | Being an active general practitioner in Italy between March 10th and May 18th 2020 | The COVID-19 emergency had a significant impact on GPs’ work Implementing task-oriented problem management, rather than emotional strategies, appears to protect against burnout in these circumstances. |
| Mosheva et al., 2020 | Israeli physicians | March 19 – 22 2020 | Cross-sectional, N = 1106 (mean age 46.1 years (±13.2), 49.0% female) | The association between pandemic‐related stress factors (PRSF) and anxiety and the potential effect of resilience on anxiety | Being a physician in Israel in March 2020 | Physicians reported high levels of anxiety with a mean score of 59.20 ± 7.95. An inverse association between resilience and anxiety was found. Four salient PRSF (mental exhaustion, anxiety about being infected, anxiety infecting family members, and sleep difficulties) positively associated with anxiety scores |
| Maunder et al., 2010 | Canadian adult hospital workers | September 2008-January 2009 | Cross-sectional, N = 158 (86% female) | Feasibility and effectiveness of an interactive, computer-assisted training course (short, medium and high version) designed to build resilience to the stresses of working during a pandemic | Being employee/professional staff member of the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada | Computer-assisted resilience training in healthcare workers appears to be of significant benefit and merits further study under pandemic conditions. Comparing three “doses” of the course suggested that the medium course was optimal. |
| Aiello et al., 2011 | Canadian adults | Unknown | Cross-sectional, N = 1020 | Development, implementation, and results of resilience training in the Mount Sinai Hospital setting prior to the emergence of the H1N1 pandemic | Being a staff member of the Mount Sinai Hospital | The proportion of participants who felt better able to cope after the session (76%) was significantly higher than the proportion who felt prepared to deal confidently with the pandemic before the session (35%). Ten key themes emerged from a qualitative analysis of written comments, including family-work balance, antiviral prophylaxis, and mistrust or fear towards health care workers |
| Weerkamp-Bartholomeus et al., 2020 | Dutch patients with stress-related complaints | Precise period unknown, but during lockdown | Non randomized, single-arm intervention, N = 37 (mean age 47.6 years (±18.7), 73% female) | Efficacy of remotely delivered ‘Wiring Affect with ReAttach’ (W.A.R.A.) in the reduction of negative affect and to compare the results with results of a previous study that investigated the efficacy of face-to-face W.A.R.A. in a cohort of 46 patients | Absence of suicidality risk and alcohol or drug abuse at the time of the online consultation | … |