COVID-19 affected the world in various ways; however, the outcomes of the pandemic are not clear yet. One of such spheres which are still to be researched extensively, despite the colossal progress made so far, is healthcare. This is especially relevant for the mental health domain, as the major flows of resources in the healthcare sectors all over the globe are directed towards combating the main adverse physical consequences of the infection. Mental health issues receive significantly less attention; meanwhile, these issues are significant, especially for healthcare professionals, who suffer both physically and mentally from the enormous additional burden that the pandemic brought upon them. According to research, there is an “increased risk of acquiring trauma or stress-related disorders, depression, and anxiety” (Cabarkapa et al., 2020, para.3) for healthcare workers. Moreover, statistically, the risks are greater for nurses and female workers. Two primary sources of these potential problems are fear of the unknown and fear of getting infected.
In such a dire situation, healthcare managers need to find new stress-coping methods or models for their healthcare facilities and workers. There have been various strategies tried in such a situation all across the globe, depending on resources that healthcare facilities possessed, cultural, social, and historical backgrounds of the communities. Some of the more researched strategies will be listed and discussed in more detail. The three main strategies to cope with healthcare workers’ stress are self-coping strategies, psycho-social interventions, and workplace awareness (Cabarkapa et al., 2020). It is possible to use and combine these strategies depending on the available resources of healthcare managers and their facilities.
Regarding self-coping strategies, there have been six main coping behaviors identified and practiced among New York healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. These included physical exercise, talk therapy, yoga, faith-based practices, meditation, and virtual support groups; the practices are listed from most to least popular ones (Shechter et al., 2020). At the same time, around 14% of workers did not engage in any stress-coping practices. A healthcare manager can find information on such practices, structure them, and familiarize other healthcare workers to promote such coping mechanisms.
Despite the existence of self-coping mechanisms, they may not be enough, and psycho-social interventions may be necessary to reduce stress-related problems. One example is the intervention strategy that was developed in China – the first country hit by the coronavirus. The strategy calls “to balance the work and rest hours for frontline healthcare staff, strengthen their occupational health and safety conditions, and improve crisis psychological intervention and counseling” (Zhou et al., 2020, para.5). Interventions included financial security and safe working environments, while healthcare workers were provided with psychological and mental health services online and on-site. The deployment of mentioned measures resulted in the overall improvement of healthcare workers’ mental health, reduced stress, and improved sleep.
Finally, regarding workplace awareness, it is essential to understand that it is difficult for people to self-diagnose depression or other stress-related disorders in many cases. Especially in the emergency, when there is less time to reflect on and analyze one’s mental health. At the same time, the effect of stress-related disorders on healthcare worker’s own health can be devastating; moreover, this can negatively affect the quality of worker’s services, therefore, putting patients in danger. Thus, it is essential to provide constant monitoring of healthcare workers’ mental health status. The study by An et al. (2020) suggested organizing regular screenings for healthcare workers operating in emergencies. Such practices can help both healthcare professionals and the patients they treat.
References
An, Y., Yang, Y., Wang, A., Li, Y., Zhang, Q., Cheung, T., Ungvari, G. S., Qin, M. Z., An, F. R., & Xiang, Y. T. (2020). Prevalence of depression and its impact on quality of life among frontline nurses in emergency departments during the COVID-19 outbreak. Journal of affective disorders, 276, 312–315. Web.
Cabarkapa, S., Nadjidai, S. E., Murgier, J., & Ng, C. H. (2020). The psychological impact of COVID-19 and other viral epidemics on frontline healthcare workers and ways to address it: A rapid systematic review. Brain, behavior, & immunity – health, 8, 100144. Web.
Shechter, A., Diaz, F., Moise, N., Anstey, D. E., Ye, S., Agarwal, S., Birk, J. L., Brodie, D., Cannone, D. E., Chang, B., Claassen, J., Cornelius, T., Derby, L., Dong, M., Givens, R. C., Hochman, B., Homma, S., Kronish, I. M., Lee, S., Manzano, W., & Abdalla, M. (2020). Psychological distress, coping behaviors, and preferences for support among New York healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. General hospital psychiatry, 66, 1–8. Web.
Zhou, Y., Zhou, Y., Song, Y., Ren, L., Ng, C. H., Xiang, Y. T., & Tang, Y. (2020). Tackling the mental health burden of frontline healthcare staff in the COVID-19 pandemic: China’s experiences. Psychological medicine, 1–2. Advance online publication. Web.