Development of health care workers' mental health during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Switzerland: two cross-sectional studies

Abstract

Background Virus outbreaks such as the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic are challenging for health care workers (HCWs), affecting their workload and their mental health. Since both, workload and HCW's well-being are related to the quality of care, continuous monitoring of working hours and indicators of mental health in HCWs is of relevance during the current pandemic. The existing investigations, however, have been limited to a single study period. We examined changes in working hours and mental health in Swiss HCWs at the height of the pandemic (T1) and again after its flattening (T2). Methods We conducted two cross-sectional online studies among Swiss HCWs assessing working hours, depression, anxiety, and burnout. From each study, 812 demographics-matched participants were included into the analysis. Working hours and mental health were compared between the two samples. Results Compared to prior to the pandemic, the share of participants working less hours was the same in both samples, whereas the share of those working more hours was lower in the T2 sample. The level of depression did not differ between the samples. In the T2 sample, participants reported more anxiety, however, this difference was below the minimal clinically important difference. Levels of burnout were slightly higher in the T2 sample. Conclusions Two weeks after the health care system started to transition back to normal operations, HCWs' working hours still differed from their regular hours in non-pandemic times. Overall anxiety and depression among HCWs did not change substantially over the course of the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Lessons From the First Wave of COVID-19: Work-Related Consequences, Clinical Knowledge, Emotional Distress, and Safety-Conscious Behavior in Healthcare Workers in Switzerland

“…Roughly one in three had worked more hours than usual. This finding was confirmatory of Spiller et al (2020) , who further found that hours worked were sluggish in converging back to previous levels. Even before the pandemic, excessive labor of healthcare workers had been an often-discussed topic in the literature, particularly regarding its effect on psycho-social function, productivity, and working errors in an industry, where the margin for error often is small (see e.g., Caruso, 2006 ; Griffiths et al, 2014 ).…”

“…Exceptions are given as follows. Spiller et al (2020) , who focused specifically on a sample of Swiss healthcare workers, found no substantial changes in anxiety or depression over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aebischer et al (2020) , who surveyed 227 resident medical doctors and 550 medical students through snowball sampling in Switzerland, found that those medical students who were involved in the COVID-19 response (30%) displayed higher levels of emotional distress than their non-involved peers, and lower levels of burnout compared to the residents.…”

“…However, empirical studies of how such measures are perceived by the healthcare staff, and of how the pandemic has affected their work situation from their own perspective, are still scarce. Spiller et al (2020) compared two demographics-matched samples of healthcare workers, which were collected at two different points in time: at the height of the pandemic (T1) versus two weeks after the healthcare system had started its transition back to usual operations (T2). They found that working hours were higher at T1 compared to T2, and still higher at T2 compared to pre-pandemic levels.…”

Healthcare workers’ knowledge, risk perception, safety-relevant practices, and work situation during the COVID-19 pandemic: A quantitative survey from Switzerland

“…These studies have focused on topics such as the initial preparation and first reaction after the outbreak, [20] strategies of contact tracing and isolation as the pandemic evolved, [21] protective equipment for healthcare staff, [22] work risks in the healthcare sector, [23] lockdown measures, [24] governmental policy effectiveness, [25,26] and key lessons to be learned. [27] Nevertheless, our study closes a gap by focusing specifically on healthcare workers/students and their experiences, assessment, and knowledge as a source of quantitative empirical information, while such data is still scarce: Spiller et al [12] found that hours worked by Swiss healthcare workers had increased during the height of the first pandemic wave but afterward did not fully converge back to the levels before the pandemic. Uccella et al [19] found a similar result specific to intensive care in Italy and Switzerland.…”

“…Puci et al [11] provided evidence of high perceived risk of getting infected with COVID-19 among Italian healthcare workers, as well as of sleep disturbances (64%) and a high demand for psychological support (84%). Spiller et al [12] assessed anxiety and depression within a sample of Swiss healthcare workers, however found no substantial effects caused by COVID-19. Aebischer et al [13] found increased levels of emotional distress among medical students who were involved in the COVID-19 response.…”