COVID-19 and Its Psychological Impacts on Healthcare Staff - A Multi-Centric Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Background Since the first case of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) in Pakistan was reported in February 2020, the medical and paramedical staff has been working on the frontlines to deal with this disease. They have been facing significant strain and stress due to the pandemic, affecting their social, mental, and personal life. The purpose of this study is to investigate the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, etiology, personal coping mechanisms, and the strategies that are being adopted to reduce stress by the healthcare workers (HCWs) working in COVID-19 dedicated wards (group 2) and compare it with staff working in other departments but not in COVID-19 wards amid this pandemic (group 1) in various hospitals of Lahore, Pakistan. Methods The comparative cross-sectional study was designed which included doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals from various hospitals of Lahore, Pakistan. A questionnaire was designed which consisted of five sections, and 51 questions. A Chi-square test was used to compare the responses between these two groups. Results The study questionnaire was submitted by 200 participants, 100 responses for each group (see the Appendix). In group 1, HCWs not working in COVID-19 dedicated floors were afraid of getting infected, transmitting the infection to their families and concerned about using personal protective equipment (PPE) improperly. They reported a lack of concentration and tense muscles. The coping mechanisms of this group were exercise, strict precautions at work, and social distancing measures. While HCWs serving in COVID-19 dedicated wards were concerned and afraid of putting their families at risk by working in the high-risk environment; the major stresses in this group were: lack of knowledge about proper strategies for treatment, they faced insecurity due to physical and verbal violence by caretakers of COVID-19 patients, and lack of concentration. The coping mechanism was the support of their families and taking strict precautions, with self-isolation if required, to avoid any disease transmission to their families. The proposed strategies to be implemented included teaching skills for self-rescue as well as the implementation of policies at the administrative level to reduce working hours and frequent shift rotation. Conclusion The COVID-19 outbreak posed a great deal of mental stress among HCWs working on the COVID-19 floor as well as those serving in other departments of the hospital. The HCWs from group 1 were most afraid of getting infected and putting family members at risk, experienced tense muscles and lack of concentration, coped their stress by exercise and being more vigilant, and suggested the strategies of teaching skills for self-rescue and better community awareness. While the staff from the second group were most afraid of being the source of infection and violence from the caretakers of patients, experienced tense muscles, used family support, and strict isolation measures as coping mechanisms and suggested the strategies of self-rescue and increase in wages of directly exposed healthcare workers to deal with such pandemics in future in a better way.