Mental health of medical workers during COVID-19 pandemic - literature review

Abstract

The novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an illness caused due to Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The global pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization on 11th March 2020 and COVID-19 has become a clinical threat to the general population and healthcare workers worldwide. This review covers early publications on the effects of COVID-19 on medical staff published from March to May 2020. The studies are scarce and the majority of them is focused on depression, anxiety and insomnia. According to studies, mental health problems are a common response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, healthcare workers are every country's most valuable resource. To minimize the negative psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this professional group, it is necessary to develop appropriate prevention strategies, as well as training and support programs. It is extremely important to identify risk factors that may help in identifying groups at increased risk and developing adequate interventions. The long-term psychosocial impact of this epidemic on mental health of medical workers remains to be evaluated.