The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing home professionals: results of the RESICOVID project

Abstract

The situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the mental, physical, and social health of nursing home staff. The operations and protocols of long-term care facilities had to be adapted to a new, unforeseen, and unknown situation in which a devastating and highly contagious disease was causing large numbers of deaths. The aim of this study was to determine the cumulative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on care, technical, coordinating-supervisory, and managerial staff working in nursing homes. Correlation analysis and between-group comparisons were carried out to study the relationship between burnout scores, emotional balance, and organic and behavioral symptoms. The results indicate high levels of burnout and psychological exhaustion. Management professionals displayed higher levels of organic and behavioral symptoms than other professional categories in the same care settings. Despite this negative symptomatology, most professionals showed a positive emotional balance. The need to develop intervention programs to improve the mental, physical, and occupational health of the staff in nursing homes, considering the needs of different professional categories, is emphasized.