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. 2022 Oct 12;42(10):421-430.
doi: 10.24095/hpcdp.42.10.01. Epub 2022 Jun 29.

Support for health care workers and psychological distress: thinking about now and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

[Article in English, French]
Rima Styra  1 , Laura Hawryluck  2 , Allison McGeer  3 , Michelle Dimas  4 , Eileen Lam  1 , Peter Giacobbe  5 , Gianni Lorello  6 , Neil Dattani  7 , Jack Sheen  8 , Valeria E Rac  9   10 , Troy Francis  10 , Peter E Wu  11 , Wing-Si Luk  12 , Jeya Nadarajah  13 , Wayne L Gold  3   11
Affiliations

Support for health care workers and psychological distress: thinking about now and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

[Article in English, French]
Rima Styra et al. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. .

Abstract
in English, French

Introduction: This study explores the relationship between emotional support, perceived risk and mental health outcomes among health care workers, who face high rates of burnout and mental distress since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A cross-sectional, multicentred online survey of health care workers in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic evaluated coping strategies, confidence in infection control, impact of previous work during the 2003 SARS outbreak and emotional support. Mental health outcomes were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, the Impact of Event Scale - Revised and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9).

Results: Of 3852 participants, 8.2% sought professional mental health services while 77.3% received emotional support from family, 74.0% from friends and 70.3% from colleagues. Those who felt unsupported in their work had higher odds ratios of experiencing moderate and severe symptoms of anxiety (odds ratio [OR] = 2.23; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.84-2.69), PTSD (OR = 1.88; 95% CI: 1.58-2.25) and depression (OR = 1.88; 95% CI: 1.57-2.25). Nearly 40% were afraid of telling family about the risks they were exposed to at work. Those who were able to share this information demonstrated lower risk of anxiety (OR = 0.58; 95% CI: 0.48-0.69), PTSD (OR = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.41-0.56) and depression (OR = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.47-0.65).

Conclusion: Informal sources of support, including family, friends and colleagues, play an important role in mitigating distress and should be encouraged and utilized more by health care workers.

Introduction: Cette étude explore la relation entre le soutien émotionnel, le risque perçu et les résultats en matière de santé mentale chez les travailleurs de la santé, qui font face à des taux élevés d’épuisement professionnel et de détresse mentale depuis le début de la pandémie de COVID-19.

Méthodologie: Une enquête transversale a été menée en ligne au cours de la première vague de la pandémie de COVID-19 auprès de travailleurs de la santé de divers centres de la région du Grand Toronto (Ontario, Canada) pour évaluer les stratégies d’adaptation, la confiance dans les mesures de lutte contre les infections, l’impact du travail antérieur lors de l’épidémie de SRAS survenue en 2003 et le soutien émotionnel. Les résultats en matière de santé mentale ont été évalués au moyen de l’échelle du trouble d’anxiété généralisée (GAD-7), de l’échelle d’impact des événements – révisée (IES-R) et du questionnaire sur la santé des patients (PHQ-9).

Résultats: Sur les 3 852 participants, 8,2 % ont eu recours à des services professionnels en santé mentale, 77,3 % ont reçu du soutien émotionnel de la part de membres de leur famille, 74,0 % de la part d’amis et 70,3 % de la part de collègues. Les personnes qui ne se sont pas senties soutenues dans leur travail présentaient des probabilités plus élevées d’éprouver des symptômes d’anxiété modérés et sévères (rapport de cotes [RC] = 2,23; intervalle de confiance [IC] à 95 % : 1,84 à 2,69), de trouble de stress post-traumatique (TSPT) (RC = 1,88; IC à 95 % : 1,58 à 2,25) et de dépression (RC = 1,88; IC à 95 % : 1,57 à 2,25). Près de 40 % avaient peur de parler à leur famille des risques auxquels ils étaient exposés au travail. Ceux qui ont pu partager cette information faisaient état d’un risque plus faible d’anxiété (RC = 0,58; IC à 95 % : 0,48 à 0,69), de TSPT (RC = 0,48; IC à 95 % : 0,41 à 0,56) et de dépression (RC = 0,55; IC à 95 % : 0,47 à 0,65).

Conclusion: Les sources informelles de soutien, en particulier la famille, les amis et les collègues, jouent un rôle important dans l’atténuation de la détresse et devraient être encouragées et utilisées davantage par les travailleurs de la santé.

Keywords: PTSD; anxiety; burnout; depression; health care workers; infection control; mental health; posttraumatic stress disorder; psychological support; support.

Plain language summary

Health care workers mainly used informal sources of emotional support such as family, friends and colleagues during the current COVID-19 pandemic, with fewer seeking support from mental health professionals. Those health care workers who felt confident about the effectiveness of infection control measures, and particularly organizational policies, reported less overall distress. Health care workers who felt supported had reduced rates of hypnotic medication and alcohol use. Feelings of anxiety may have affected health care workers’ ability to share information with their families about their risk of contracting COVID-19 at work.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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