Mental health of Health Care Workers (HCWs): a review of organizational interventions put in place by local institutions to cope with new psychosocial challenges resulting from COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak has been associated with significant occupational stressors and challenges for healthcare workers (HCWs) including the risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Many reports from all over the world have already found that HCWs have significant levels of self-reported anxiety, depression and even symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, supporting mental health of HCWs is a crucial part of the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the present review is to ascertain the interventions put in place worldwide in reducing stress in HCWs during the COVID-19 outbreak. We evidenced how only few countries have published specific psychological support intervention protocols for HCWs. All programs were developed in university associated hospital and highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration. All of them had as their purpose to manage the psychosocial challenges to HCW's during the pandemic in order to prevent mental health problems.Whether one program offers distinct benefit compared to the others cannot be known given the heterogeneity of the protocols and the lack of a rigorous protocol and clinical outcomes. Further research is crucial to find out the best ways to support the resilience and mental well-being of HCWs.

The Role of Perceived Organizational Support in Mental Health of Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Recently, a package of recommendations on how to build resilience in HCWs, prior and during an epidemic outbreak, was published suggesting interventions at both individual and organizational level ( 27 ). However, only a few hospitals around the world have developed protocols to support mental health in HCWs during the pandemic; most of relevant interventions have been implemented at individual level, e.g., group or personal supportive sessions, instead of addressing organizational empowerment ( 28 , 29 ). Additionally, the majority of healthcare organizations provide organizational support to nurses by covering basic needs, such as food, childcare, mental health support and COVID-19 testing, rather than addressing other types of support, such as participation in decision-making ( 30 ).…”

COVID-19 Pandemic Support Programs for Healthcare Workers and Implications for Occupational Mental Health: A Narrative Review

“…This review attempts to consolidate the published literature on mental health interventions and emotional support programs developed for HCW during the COVID-19 pandemic, showcasing the global surge of creativity and commitment to addressing HCW mental health needs under unprecedented circumstances. Previous reviews have evaluated and/or compared the efficacy and utility of select programs developed during the COVID-19 pandemic and previous epidemics [4][5][6][7]; however, these reviews evaluate the quantitative data available, which are limited and based on small cohorts studied for short periods of time. This narrative review, however, to our knowledge, adopts a unique lens, which evaluates a broad body of literature published on HCW mental health interventions specifically designed in response to COVID-19.…”

The Mediating Role of Fatigue Between Mental Health and Its Associated Factors: Evidence From Chinese Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Patients with COVID-19 and their families (3,5), individuals with existing physical or psychiatric morbidities (6), and healthcare staff (2,7,8) were identified to be at higher risk of adverse mental health outcomes (4). Despite the fact that the importance of mental health care and psychological interventions has received widespread attention during the COVID-19 outbreak (6,9,10), intervention measures to cope with psychosocial challenges problems have been limited (11)(12)(13)(14).…”