Psychological impact of Covid-19 pandemic in mental healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study in an Italian Department of Mental Health.

Aim: The Covid-19 pandemic is having a great impact on the lives of healthcare workers, but its psychological impact on Mental Healthcare Workers (MHWs) remains to be better explored. The aims of the present study were to assess the correlates and predictors of stress and adverse psychological effects in MHWs during the first waves of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Methods: A total of 124 MHWs (psychiatrist/psychiatry resident, nurse, psychologist/psychotherapist, psychiatric rehabilitation therapist/educator, other mental health professional) working in public facilities of the ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, Italy, was assessed between June 28, 2020 and August 10, 2020 with an online questionnaire that included sociodemographic, professional and Covid-19 exposure information, the Impact of Event Scale - Revised and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21. Multivariate linear regression models were designed to identify individual predictors of post-traumatic, depressive, anxiety and stress-symptoms.

Results: The professional role of nurse, having more years of professional experience and experiencing the death of a patient emerged as predictors of more severe post-traumatic symptoms. The professional role of nurse emerged as the only predictor of more severe depressive symptoms; the professional role of nurse and having more years of professional experience emerged as predictors of more severe anxiety symptoms; more years of professional experience, higher workloads, worse team relationships and experiencing the death of a loved one emerged as predictors of more severe stress symptoms.

Conclusions: Alongside other stressful factors, the professional role of nurse and more years of professional experience emerged as predictors of adverse psychological events. Working as a MHW, particularly with high levels of contact with patients during the Covid-19 pandemic, may be considered strenuous work, requiring dedicated training and interventions to improve resilience.

Key words: Anxiety, Covid-19, depression, mental healthcare workers, stress-related disorder, stressful life events.