Prevention of occupational stress in health-care workers during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

In a humanitarian crisis, healthcare workers are on the frontline in providing their services. Despite being crisis management personnel, healthcare workers may get exposed to occupational stress due to unprecedented circumstances, challenges in delivery of high-quality care, lack of resources, and most importantly for being at high risk to suffer from the impact of the situation itself. Therefore, it is imperative to maintain the mental health of healthcare workers on a regular basis and more so during a pandemic like COVID-19. For addressing the occupational stress in healthcare workers, a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) based intervention is suggested, also supported by a Cochrane review, which can build/improve/enhance resilience, needed to shield individuals against the development of psychopathology, at the public health level in humanitarian crises. In addition to developing resilience, which will be helpful in combating anxiety, depression, somatization, and incapacitation, CBT will also help in dealing with the social isolation which has been part and parcel of COVID-19 and similar pandemic situations.