Background The death toll of COVID-19 topped 170,000 in Europe by the end of May 2020. COVID-19 has caused an immense psychological burden on the population, especially among doctors and nurses who are faced with high infection risks and increased workload. Objective The aim of this study was to compare the mental health of medical professionals with nonmedical professionals in different European countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that medical professionals, particularly those exposed to COVID-19 at work, would have higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. We also aimed to determine their main stressors and most frequently used coping strategies during the crisis. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was conducted during peak COVID-19 months in 8 European countries. The questionnaire included demographic data and inquired whether the participants were exposed to COVID-19 at work or not. Mental health was assessed via the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales32 (23.53)–21 (DASS-21). A 12-item checklist on preferred coping strategies and another 23-item questionnaire on major stressors were completed by medical professionals. Results The sample (N=609) consisted of 189 doctors, 165 nurses, and 255 nonmedical professionals. Participants from France and the United Kingdom reported experiencing severe/extremely severe depression, anxiety, and stress more often compared to those from the other countries. Nonmedical professionals had significantly higher scores for depression and anxiety. Among medical professionals, no significant link was reported between direct contact with patients with COVID-19 at work and anxiety, depression, or stress. “Uncertainty about when the epidemic will be under control” caused the most amount of stress for health care professionals while “taking protective measures” was the most frequently used coping strategy among all participants. Conclusions COVID-19 poses a major challenge to the mental health of working professionals as a considerable proportion of our participants showed high values for depression, anxiety, and stress. Even though medical professionals exhibited less mental stress than nonmedical professionals, sufficient help should be offered to all occupational groups with an emphasis on effective coping strategies.

Background. In the beginning of the 21st century, the world summit on population taking place in Madrid approved active ageing, WHO (2002) as the main objective of health and social policies for old people. Few studies have been done on the scientific validity of the construct. This study aims to validate the construct of active ageing and test empirically the WHO (2002) model of Active Ageing in a sample of community-dwelling seniors. Methods. 1322 old people living in the community were interviewed using an extensive assessment protocol to measure WHO's determinants of active ageing and performed an exploratory factor analysis followed by a confirmatory factor analyses. Results. We did not confirm the active ageing model, as most of the groups of determinants are either not independent or not significant. We got to a six-factor model (health, psychological component, cognitive performance, social relationships, biobehavioural component, and personality) explaining 54.6% of total variance. Conclusion. The present paper shows that there are objective as well as subjective variables contributing to active ageing and that psychological variables seem to give a very important contribute to the construct. The profile of active ageing is expected to vary between contexts and cultures and can be used to guide specific community and individually based interventions.

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