{"title":"Clinical Characteristics of Healthcare Workers Attended to a Mental Health Support Line in the Very Early Phase of COVID-19 Pandemic.","authors":"Ejder Akgün Yıldırım, Abdülkadir Sencer Tabakcı, Münevver Hacıoğlu Yıldırım, Sevilay Umut Kılınç, Gamze Karabacak Sağman","doi":"10.29399/npa.28297","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>This study aimed to analyze and report findings from the sessions conducted with healthcare workers during the early phase of COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>The study sample consisted of 130 healthcare workers who have consecutively reached out to nationwide psychosocial support line within the first ten days of COVID-19 pandemic and had a 30-minute video session and received psychological first aid and were evaluated using a socio-demographic data form. Mental state severity and progress were assessed using CGI (clinical global impressions) at the first and follow-up interviews.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>90.4% of the applicants were female, 50.4% were nurses, 34.4% were doctors, 68.8% were frontline workers, whereas second-line healthcare workers had significantly higher rates of psychiatric illness history. Contracting the virus (n=83, 66.4%), infecting others (n=72, 57.6%) were the situations that caused the highest level of anxiety. Most common psychiatric complaints were anxiety (n=107, 85.6%), restlessness (n=80, 64%), fear (n=72, 64.0%) and insomnia (n=68, 57.6%). A second session was conducted with 36.8% (n=46) of the callers, and it was detected that 93.48% (n=43) of them were able to manage their stress and 33 of them reported that the severity of their complaints decreased.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our findings have shown that healthcare workers were significantly affected in the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic with a significant level of anxiety and insomnia symptoms. Healthcare workers with a history of psychiatric illness should be considered as a vulnerable group regardless of their position.</p>","PeriodicalId":51142,"journal":{"name":"Noropsikiyatri Arsivi-Archives of Neuropsychiatry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10709697/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Noropsikiyatri Arsivi-Archives of Neuropsychiatry","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.29399/npa.28297","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"CLINICAL NEUROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: This study aimed to analyze and report findings from the sessions conducted with healthcare workers during the early phase of COVID-19 pandemic.
Method: The study sample consisted of 130 healthcare workers who have consecutively reached out to nationwide psychosocial support line within the first ten days of COVID-19 pandemic and had a 30-minute video session and received psychological first aid and were evaluated using a socio-demographic data form. Mental state severity and progress were assessed using CGI (clinical global impressions) at the first and follow-up interviews.
Results: 90.4% of the applicants were female, 50.4% were nurses, 34.4% were doctors, 68.8% were frontline workers, whereas second-line healthcare workers had significantly higher rates of psychiatric illness history. Contracting the virus (n=83, 66.4%), infecting others (n=72, 57.6%) were the situations that caused the highest level of anxiety. Most common psychiatric complaints were anxiety (n=107, 85.6%), restlessness (n=80, 64%), fear (n=72, 64.0%) and insomnia (n=68, 57.6%). A second session was conducted with 36.8% (n=46) of the callers, and it was detected that 93.48% (n=43) of them were able to manage their stress and 33 of them reported that the severity of their complaints decreased.
Conclusion: Our findings have shown that healthcare workers were significantly affected in the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic with a significant level of anxiety and insomnia symptoms. Healthcare workers with a history of psychiatric illness should be considered as a vulnerable group regardless of their position.
期刊介绍:
Archives of Neuropsychiatry (Arch Neuropsychiatry) is the official journal of the Turkish Neuropsychiatric Society. It is published quarterly, and four editions annually constitute a volume.
Archives of Neuropsychiatry is a peer reviewed scientific journal that publishes articles on psychiatry, neurology, and behavioural sciences. Both clinical and basic science contributions are welcomed. Submissions that address topics in the interface of neurology and psychiatry are encouraged. The content covers original research articles, reviews, letters to the editor, and case reports.