National cross-sectional survey on psychological impact on French nursing homes of the first lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic as observed by psychologists, psychomotor, and occupational therapists

Abstract

ObjectivesThe main objective was to explore the psychological impact of the French lockdown during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing home residents, their relatives, and healthcare teams, as observed by mental health professionals.DesignA national online cross-sectional survey was conducted from May 11 to June 9, 2020.Setting and participantsRespondents were psychologists, psychomotor therapists, and occupational therapists (mental health professionals).ResultsA total of 1,062 participants responded to the survey, encompassing 59.8% psychologists, 29.2% occupational therapists, and 11% psychomotor therapists. All mental health professionals felt fear (76.1%), fatigue and exhaustion (84.5%), and inability to manage the emotional burden (78.4%). In nursing homes with COVID-19 cases, residents felt significantly sadder (83.2%), more anxious (65.0%), experienced more anorexia (53.6%), resurgence of traumatic war memories (40.2%), and were more often disoriented (75.7%). The suffering of relatives did not vary between nursing homes with and without COVID-19 cases. The nursing staff was heavily impacted emotionally and was in need of psychological support particularly when working in nursing homes in a low COVID-19 spread zone with COVID-19 cases (41.8 vs. 34.6%).Conclusion and implicationsPrimary prevention must be implemented to limit the psychological consequences in the event of a new crisis and to prevent the risk of psychological decompensation of residents and teams in nursing homes.