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BackgroundThe death toll of COVID-19 topped 170,000 in Europe by the end of May 2020. COVID-19 has caused an immense psychological burden on the population, especially among doctors and nurses who are faced with high infection risks and increased workload. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to compare the mental health of medical professionals with nonmedical professionals in different European countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that medical professionals, particularly those exposed to COVID-19 at work, would have higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. We also aimed to determine their main stressors and most frequently used coping strategies during the crisis. MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was conducted during peak COVID-19 months in 8 European countries. The questionnaire included demographic data and inquired whether the participants were exposed to COVID-19 at work or not. Mental health was assessed via the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales32 (23.53)–21 (DASS-21). A 12-item checklist on preferred coping strategies and another 23-item questionnaire on major stressors were completed by medical professionals. ResultsThe sample (N=609) consisted of 189 doctors, 165 nurses, and 255 nonmedical professionals. Participants from France and the United Kingdom reported experiencing severe/extremely severe depression, anxiety, and stress more often compared to those from the other countries. Nonmedical professionals had significantly higher scores for depression and anxiety. Among medical professionals, no significant link was reported between direct contact with patients with COVID-19 at work and anxiety, depression, or stress. “Uncertainty about when the epidemic will be under control” caused the most amount of stress for health care professionals while “taking protective measures” was the most frequently used coping strategy among all participants. ConclusionsCOVID-19 poses a major challenge to the mental health of working professionals as a considerable proportion of our participants showed high values for depression, anxiety, and stress. Even though medical professionals exhibited less mental stress than nonmedical professionals, sufficient help should be offered to all occupational groups with an emphasis on effective coping strategies.

BackgroundCOVID-19 resulted in considerable mental health burden in the Chinese general population and among health care workers at the beginning and peak of the pandemic. However, little is known about potentially vulnerable groups during the final stage of the lockdown. ObjectiveThe aim of this survey study was to assess the mental health burden of different professions in China in order to find vulnerable groups, possible influencing factors, and successful ways of coping during the last 4 weeks of the lockdown in Hubei Province. MethodsA cross-sectional online survey asked participants about current residence, daily working hours, exposure to COVID-19 at work, and media preferences. We used a shortened version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to assess mental health. Further assessments included perceived stress (Simplified Chinese version of the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale), coping strategies for all participants, and specific stressors for health care workers. We followed the reporting guidelines of the STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) statement for observational studies. ResultsThe sample (N=687) consisted of 158 doctors, 221 nurses, 24 other medical staff, 43 students, 60 teachers/government staff, 135 economy staff, 26 workers/farmers, and 20 professions designated under the “other” category. We found increased depression (n=123, 17.9%), anxiety (n=208, 30.3%), and stress (n=94, 13.7%) in our sample. Professions that were vulnerable to depression were other medical staff and students. Doctors, nurses, and students were vulnerable to anxiety; and other medical staff, students, and economy staff were vulnerable to stress. Coping strategies were reduced to three factors: active, mental, and emotional. Being female and emotional coping were independently associated with depression, anxiety, or stress. Applying active coping strategies showed lower odds for anxiety while mental coping strategies showed lower odds for depression, anxiety, and stress. Age, being inside a lockdown area, exposure to COVID-19 at work, and having a high workload (8-12 hours per day) were not associated with depression, anxiety, or stress. WeChat was the preferred way of staying informed across all groups. ConclusionsBy the end of the lockdown, a considerable part of the Chinese population showed increased levels of depression and anxiety. Students and other medical staff were the most affected, while economy staff were highly stressed. Doctors and nurses need support regarding potential anxiety disorders. Future work should focus on longitudinal results of the pandemic and develop targeted preventive measures.

Even during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic health professionals were facing mental health challenges. The aim of this study was to examine the mental health of doctors, nurses and other professional groups in Europe and to identify differences between the professional groups. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey in 8 European countries. We asked for demographic data, whether the participants were exposed to COVID-19 at work, for main information sources about the pandemic, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), and major stressors. A MANCOVA was carried out to find predictors of mental health among health care professionals. The sample (N = 1398) consisted of 237 physicians, 459 nurses, and 351 other healthcare professionals and 351 non-medical professionals with no direct involvement in patient care. The mean mental health of all groups was affected to a mild degree. Major predictors for depression and anxiety were the profession group with higher scores especially in the group of the nurses and working directly with COVID-patients. In the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the psychological burden on health professionals has remained high, with being nurse and working directly with COVID19 patients being particular risk factors for mental distress. We found as a main result that nurses scored significantly higher on depression and anxiety than practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The death toll of COVID-19 topped 170,000 in Europe by the end of May 2020. COVID-19 has caused an immense psychological burden on the population, especially doctors and nurses who are faced with high infection risks and increased workload.Objective: To compare the mental health of medical professionals with non-medical professionals in different European countries during COVID-19, assuming that medical professionals, particularly those exposed to COVID-19 at work, would have higher depression, anxiety and stress. To determine their main stressors and most frequently used coping strategies during the crisis.Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted during peak COVID-19 months in eight European countries. The questionnaire included demographic data and whether the participants were exposed to COVID-19 at work or not. Mental health was assessed via the Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21). A 12-item checklist on preferred coping strategies and another 23-item questionnaire on major stressors was filled by the medical professionals.Results: The sample (N=609) consisted of 189 doctors, 165 nurses and 255 non-medical professionals. Participants from France and the UK were more often assigned to the group with severe/extremely severe depression, anxiety and stress on DASS-21. Non-medical professionals had significantly higher scores for depression and anxiety. Among medical professionals no significant link was reported between direct contact with COVID-19 patients at work and anxiety, depression or stress. ´Uncertainty about when the epidemic will be under control´ was the most stressful aspect for healthcare professionals while ´taking protective measures´" was the most frequently used coping strategy among all participants.Conclusions: COVID-19 poses a major challenge to the mental health of working professionals as a considerable proportion of our participants showed high values for depression, anxiety and stress. Even though medical professionals showed less mental stress than non-medical professionals, sufficient help should be offered to all occupational groups with an emphasis on effective coping strategies.Clinicaltrial: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]