Actual problems of psychological support of healthcare workers in infectious hospitals for patients with COVID-19 in the territory of the Krasnoyarsk region

Abstract

This article presents the experience of implementing psychological support measures for healthcare workers of infectious hospitals for patients with COVID-19 during a pandemic. The results of an empirical study of the prevalence, severity and specificity of the development of anxiety and depressive symptoms in healthcare workers of residents of a megalopolis (Krasnoyarsk), a closed territorial district (Zelenogorsk) and seconded to the North Yenisei district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory depending on social status and professional factors of burnout are presented. The stages of the implementation of measures of psychological support for the activities of healthcare workers are described. A comparative analysis of the involvement of employees of various infectious hospitals was carried out. Material and methods. The total sample of the study included 126 subjects (21 men and 105 women) engaged in the provision of medical care in three infectious diseases hospitals for patients with COVID-l9 in the Krasnoyarsk region. To achieve the goals and objectives of the study, the following methods were used: psychodiagnostic testing with the BDI scale, STAI test and MBI questionnaire, and statistical data processing (Spearman rank correlation coefficient, Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon U-test). We invited 284 medical workers to participate in psychological support activities. Results and conclusions. The prevalence of subdepression among medical personnel varies from 5.5 to 30.9%, depending on the location of the infectious diseases hospital for patients with COVID-19. Severe depressive symptoms were detected in 4.46% of the total number of subjects. A low level of situational anxiety was detected in less than 30%. It has been confirmed that employees of a younger age and with less experience are more susceptible to the development of depersonalization and cognitive-affective symptoms of depression. And employees who do not have children show higher indicators of situational and personal anxiety. Moreover, despite the prevalence of alarming and depressive symptoms, there is a low involvement and unwillingness of healthcare workers to participate in psychological support activities.