Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2020 Dec;34(6):537-544.
doi: 10.1016/j.apnu.2020.10.007. Epub 2020 Oct 21.

Mental health and risk perception among Italian healthcare workers during the second month of the Covid-19 pandemic

Alessandra Gorini  1 , Elena Fiabane  2 , Marinella Sommaruga  3 , Simone Barbieri  4 , Federico Sottotetti  5 , Maria Teresa La Rovere  6 , Elena Tremoli  4 , Paola Gabanelli  7
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Mental health and risk perception among Italian healthcare workers during the second month of the Covid-19 pandemic

Alessandra Gorini et al. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

A multicentre cross-sectional study was conducted to assess perceived risk and fear of contagion, as well as mental health outcomes among 650 Italian healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. A relevant proportion of the sample reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, and distress. Female sex, nursing profession, fear of being infected, as well as the time of exposure to the COVID-19 spread and the fact of directly attending infected patients were the main risk factors for developing mental health disturbances. Tailored interventions need to be implemented to reduce psychological burden in healthcare workers, with a particular attention to nurses.

Keywords: Hospital staff; Nurses; Pandemic; Psychological impact.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Perceived risk and fear for themselves and for family members about COVID-19 contagion among the different categories of healthcare workers.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Main reasons that, according to the different categories of workers, were responsible of the impact of COVID-19 on the daily working activity. Note that the variable named “Working pressure” refers to the increased number of work-related requests occurred during the COVID-19 emergency, while the variable “Working tension” regards the increased tension in the working climate.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Partial R square (%) indicating the sources of variability for the different psychological variables.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Adriaenssens J., De Gucht V., Maes S. Determinants and prevalence of burnout in emergency nurses: A systematic review of 25 years of research. International Journal of Nursing Studies. 2015 doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2014.11.004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brooks S.K., Webster R.K., Smith L.E., Woodland L., Wessely S., Greenberg N., Rubin G.J. The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet. 2020;395(10227):912–920. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chen C.S., Wu H.Y., Yang P., Yen CF. Psychological distress of nurses in Taiwan who worked during the outbreak of SARS. Psychiatric Services. 2005;56(1):76–79. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.56.1.76. PMID: 15637196. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chew N.W.S., Lee G.K.H., Tan B.Y.Q., Jing M., Goh Y., Ngiam N.J.H.…Sharma V.K. A multinational, multicentre study on the psychological outcomes and associated physical symptoms amongst healthcare workers during COVID-19 outbreak. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2020 doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2020.04.049. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Creamer M., Bell R., Failla S. Psychometric properties of the Impact of Event Scale - Revised. Behaviour Research and Therapy. 2003 doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2003.07.010. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types