Professional Burnout, Symptoms of Emotional Disorders and Distress among Healthcare Professionals during the COVID-19 Epidemic

Abstract

The article presents the results of a synthesis by Australian and Canadian scientists (Kisely et al, 2020) of 59 reliable studies of the effects of work during various epidemics, including COVID-19, on mental health and well-being of medical workers in different countries The research includes the level of professional burnout, symptoms of emotional ill-being, and distress data based on the analysis of a data sample from 248 involved healthcare professionals of Russian medical institutions They anonymously and voluntarily filled up the Google-form that contained a methodical complex during the COVID-19 epidemic The complex included: A Beck Depression Scale, A Beck Anxiety Scale, J Goland Distress Rating Scale, K Maslach Professional Burnout Inventory The research showed that during the epidemic, most healthcare professionals experienced evidence of the professional burnout (60% complain of emotional exhaustion), moderate and severe indicators of depression (23%), moderate and severe anxiety indicators (25%) Also, a suicidal trend was found (10%) Negative emotions (fear of infection, loneliness and isolation sense), organizational problems (personal protective equipment deficit), physical discomfort (inconvenience of protective clothing, lack of sleep), and communicative difficulties have a great influence on the emotional distress of healthcare professionals Information "noise" and personal protective equipment deficit often performs as a problem area Healthcare professionals involved in supporting COVID-19 patients have higher rates of professional burnout, depression, and anxiety At the same time, high professional responsibility and motivation are maintained by the majority of specialists providing care to patients with COVID-19 Region healthcare professionals differ from Moscow healthcare professionals by higher rates of depression and anxiety and frequently complain about personal protective equipment deficit, leadership mistrust, or disagreement with them