The pandemic has greatly affected front-line medical personnel who faced an unprecedented situation as a result of COVID-19. In this sense, more than a year in which the focus of care in health centres around the world is on the new coronavirus, the strongest collateral damage to the mental health of doctors is already a reality and it has even been defined as the fourth wave. In June 2020, mental health experts from all over the world warned of the possibility of a wave of disorders such as anxiety, depression, and stress and even suicides as a result of the COVID pandemic-19 and urge specialists and citizens to be vigilant in order to contain it in time.
In this context, two studies conducted by the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona revealed that 45.7 per cent of the participants are at high risk for some type of mental disorder, in which they need a professional evaluation to confirm the presence of a mental disorder. At the same time, 1 in 7, or 14.5 per cent, have a disabling mental disorder, with clear negative repercussions on their professional and social life.
For pathologies, 28.1 per cent present depression, 22.5 per cent anxiety disorder, almost 1 in 4, panic, 22.2 per cent post-traumatic stress and a little more than 6 per cent, substance abuse. “The results of the study do not surprise us, but they do concern us. They are very consistent with our clinical experience. We cater to many patients with acute stress, exhaustion, and anxiety. Especially, those who had previously experienced mental health problems, “explained Dr Víctor Pérez, director of the Institute of Neuropsychiatry and Addiction at Hospital del Mar (INAD), coordinator of the Mental Health Research Group at IMIMHospital del Mar and researcher of CIBER Mental Health (CIBERSAM).
Another study revealed that there are clearly effects on the mental health of the workforce and a psychological impact of working at the forefront with patients with COVID-19. The results showed that 21 per cent of respondents had moderate to severe anxiety symptoms, while 17 per cent experienced depression symptoms in the same range.
Mental Health Wave Expected To Hit Further Than The Pandemic Wave
Mental health problems prevailed in younger nurses and those with less career experience, according to research led by Nicola Roberts, Professor of Nursing and Community Health at the School of Health and Life Sciences, Caledonian University, Glasgow. Furthermore, data published in The Lancet Psychiatry shows the results of a multicentre survey of doctors who acted in China during the coronavirus pandemic. Of these, 50.7 per cent developed depression, 44.7 per cent anxiety, 36.1 per cent insomnia and 73.4 per cent stress-related symptoms.
Among the greatest concerns of health workers are their own health and the fear of contagion and of co-workers. On the other hand, the excessive expectations placed by the population on health workers increase the stress and the feeling of overflow. For the psychiatrist Marcelo Cetkovich (MN 65636), medical director and the Department of Psychiatry of Ineco declared that “the effects of the pandemic are likely to be seen in two times: an immediate time during the pandemic, which is what is being observed now, and an effect called a ‘fourth wave’ which are late or cumulative effects”.
Health workers are on the front line battling the “invisible” enemy for the rest of the population. In this sense, psychiatrist Daniel Mosca, coordinator of the SAME human factors team, often receives from his peer’s concerns related to the health emergency of coronavirus and among them the greatest fear: infecting their loved ones because of their profession. “The health professional is more exposed to both the possibility of contagion and to experience situations that lead to stress. For doctors, nurses, stretcher-bearers, among others, the virus has the face of all of them and therein lies the enormous difference between how the general population and health professionals live this extraordinary situation” Mosca emphasized.
With a dizzying context for both the general population and those who have to go to work, the psychiatrist explained that you have to be extremely careful with food and sleep, not to drink alcohol or smoke tobacco in excess, physical activity as well as breathing and meditation exercises.
To keep up to date with the latest commercial news, click on commercial awareness to get your daily dose.
Donate & Support