Research on psychosocial risks of health personnel involved in the fight against COVID-19

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 29 (ACN) A study by the National School of Public Health (ENSAP), together with the National Group of Health Psychology and other institutions, showed that our health workers are highly committed to, and happy to help in, the fight against COVID-19, a fact that favors work-related stress-response dampening.

The fear of contagion and infecting family and colleagues and the emotional overload caused by the risks of catching the virus during patient care were also identified as major stress factors.

ENSAP Professor Lidia Hernández Gómez told ACN that COVID-19 has changed the dynamics in all sectors, mainly to the detriment of health workers faced with the unprecedented challenge of coping with to this health emergency as well as with physical exhaustion after so many months of involvement.

“Therefore, we need to protect their mental health with the help of the psychologists and psychiatrists who work in every health care center,” she remarked. “To this end, we carried out a research work on the psychosocial risks posed by the provision of medical care to COVID-19 patients that engaged 162 specialists who were in the red zone.”

Hernandez Gomez added that it is about one’s ability to face up to and overcome adversity through the use of protective resources, so it is necessary to promote social support, teamwork and self-esteem as well as feelings of optimism and the values of solidarity, all of which favor good relations and have an impact on the work environment.

Regarding self-care, she stressed that we must comply with the biosafety measures; eat, drink and sleep properly; rely on planned routines; exercise regularly; and avoiding risky behaviors such as smoking and drinking alcohol. On the other hand, the management should guarantee the proper working conditions, resources and means of protection; define the tasks and their expected outcome clearly; develop mechanisms to identify emotional exhaustion and burnout; promote social and professional support networks; and boost social recognition.

Research works have been carried out at regional level to pinpoint the psychosocial risks to which our health professionals are exposed. Their preliminary results make it possible for us to generalize experiences, provide valuable information to the decision-makers, streamline our actions in the current circumstances, and be better prepared for future crisis and emergency situations.