The psychological impact of the Coronavirus emergency on physicians and nurses: an Italian observational study

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK: The Coronavirus has put a strain on the response capacity of health systems and there are various psychological effects on health workers.

AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the psychological impact of the coronavirus emergency on physicians and nurses.

METHODS: A study was conducted on a sample of nurses and physicians (n=770), who were asked to fill in a questionnaire investigating physical and psychological problems.

It also included the IES (Impact Event Scale), STAI (State Trait Anxiety Inventory) scale and BDI (Beck Depression Inventory).

RESULTS: 87.7% of the sample was represented by nurses (n=675), 12.3% (n=95) by physicians.

52.3% (n=403).

Among the psychological symptoms, stress (76.2%; n=587), anxiety (59.4%; n=457) and depression (11.8%) prevailed and only 3.9% of the healthcare personnel sought help from a psychologist.

The total score of the IES-R scale was 3.47.

A significant association emerged between exposure and the risk of contagion (p-value = 0.003), stress was more present among nurses than among physicians (77.5% vs. 67.4%; p = 0.003).

Among physical symptoms, headache (52.2%; n=402) and pressure injuries (24.8% n= 191) prevailed.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study show that mental health monitoring of health workers, who are at risk of developing major psychological disorders, is a priority.