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Meta-Analysis
. 2020 Jan;62(1):e12175.
doi: 10.1002/1348-9585.12175.

The impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the mental health of healthcare workers in a hospital setting-A Systematic Review

Jaspinder Sanghera  1 , Nikhil Pattani  1 , Yousuf Hashmi  1 , Kate F Varley  2 , Manikandar Srinivas Cheruvu  3 , Alex Bradley  4 , Joshua R Burke  2   5
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

The impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the mental health of healthcare workers in a hospital setting-A Systematic Review

Jaspinder Sanghera et al. J Occup Health. 2020 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: The SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic has subjected healthcare workers (HCWs) to high risk of infection through direct workplace exposure, coupled with increased workload and psychological stress. This review aims to determine the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mental health outcomes of hospital-based HCWs and formulate recommendations for future action.

Methods: A systematic review was performed between 31st December 2019 and 17th June 2020 through Ovid Medline and Embase databases (PROSPERO ID CRD42020181204). Studies were included for review if they investigated the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mental health outcomes of hospital-based HCWs and used validated psychiatric scoring tools. Prevalence of ICD-10 classified psychiatric disorders was the primary outcome measure.

Results: The initial search returned 436 articles. Forty-four studies were included in final analysis, with a total of 69,499 subjects. Prevalence ranges of six mental health outcomes were identified: depression 13.5%-44.7%; anxiety 12.3%-35.6%; acute stress reaction 5.2%-32.9%; post-traumatic stress disorder 7.4%-37.4%; insomnia 33.8%-36.1%; and occupational burnout 3.1%-43.0%. Direct exposure to SARS-CoV-2 patients was the most common risk factor identified for all mental health outcomes except occupational burnout. Nurses, frontline HCWs, and HCWs with low social support and fewer years of working experience reported the worst outcomes.

Conclusion: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has significantly impacted the mental health of HCWs. Frontline staff demonstrate worse mental health outcomes. Hospitals should be staffed to meet service provision requirements and to mitigate the impact onmental health. This can be improved with access to rapid-response psychiatric teams and should be continually monitored throughout the pandemic and beyond its conclusion.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; anxiety; burnout; depression; insomnia; stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethical Approval of Research Protocol: N/A; Informed Consent: N/A; Registration No. (PROSPERO): CRD42020181204; Animal Studies: N/A; Conflict of Interest: N/A.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
PRISMA flow diagram
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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MeSH terms