Study shows COVID-19 continues to devastate healthcare workers | Health

A new systematic review of 65 studies from around the world, totaling 97,333 healthcare workers, found that one in five had suffered from depression, anxiety, and / or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during this time. of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world.

Dr Yufei Li, Dr Nathaniel Scherer and colleagues from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK, presented these results in the open access journal PLOS ONE on March 10, copied to the News Agency of Ghana.

The pandemic has posed significant challenges for healthcare workers, many of whom fear for their own safety, while facing a high workload and limited psychological support.

He said previous analyzes of data from multiple studies found high rates of depression, anxiety and PTSD among healthcare workers during the pandemic, but those reviews did not adequately address the many relevant studies. carried out in China, where the first outbreak of COVID-19 occurred.

To fill this gap, Dr Li, Dr Scherer and their colleagues conducted a systematic search for English and Chinese studies that were conducted from December 2019 to August 2020 and addressed the prevalence of mental disorders among workers in the workplace. health.

They identified 65 relevant studies from 21 countries, involving a total of 97,333 healthcare workers.

He said that by pooling and statistically analyzing data from the 65 studies, the researchers estimated that 21.7% of healthcare workers involved in the studies suffered from depression during the pandemic, 22.1% from anxiety and 21.5% post-traumatic stress.

Studies in the Middle East have shown the highest combined rates of depression (34.6%) and anxiety (28.9%), suggesting the pandemic has had an impact on the mental health of workers of health.

For comparison, the World Health Organization estimated that 4.4% of the entire world population suffered from depression and 3.6% from anxiety disorders, including PTSD.

However, these estimates were determined by different methods and before the pandemic.

Nonetheless, the authors note, the new findings could help inform policies and initiatives aimed at providing the psychological support needed by health workers.

The authors added: “This systematic review and meta-analysis provides, to date, the most comprehensive synthesis of the prevalence of depression, anxiety and PTSD among healthcare workers during the COVID-pandemic. 19, with the unique inclusion of publications in English and Chinese. . “