1. Psychological Care of Health Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy: Preliminary Report of an Occupational Health Department (AOUP) Responsible for Monitoring Hospital Staff Condition
- Author
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Liliana Dell'Osso, Sigrid Baldanzi, R Buselli, Elena Del Lupo, Martina Chiumiento, Claudia Carmassi, Martina Corsi, and Alfonso Cristaudo
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,lcsh:TJ807-830 ,Geography, Planning and Development ,lcsh:Renewable energy sources ,Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law ,Occupational safety and health ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Multidisciplinary approach ,Pandemic ,Health care ,Medicine ,030212 general & internal medicine ,lcsh:Environmental sciences ,lcsh:GE1-350 ,occupational teams ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,business.industry ,pandemic ,lcsh:Environmental effects of industries and plants ,Outbreak ,Mental health ,health workers ,Distress ,lcsh:TD194-195 ,Family medicine ,psychological ,Covid-19 ,business ,Psychosocial ,multidisciplinary ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
The recent worldwide COVID-19 outbreak provided a timely demonstration of the mental health needs of health care workers on the front lines of the response to the pandemic. In addition to international guidelines, local institutions demand rapid and practical approaches easily replicable in different populations and contests. The principal aim of this paper is to highlight and share the experience of an Occupational Health Department responsible for monitoring hospital staff conditions during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic phase 1. The multidisciplinary team of the Occupational Health Department of a major university hospital in central Italy (AOUP) developed a specific protocol called PsicoCovid19 in order to provide targeted help, based on new psychosocial risk factors, to workers involved in the COVID-19 emergency to preserve hospital staff health. As of the date of this report, 106 workers (79 female, 27 male, mean age respectively, 51 ± 9.8, 45.7± 10.1) requested this service, reporting mild to moderate subjective distress. Approximately 81% of all the participants were already monitored before the outbreak of the pandemic. Among the total sample, 60% received a remodeling of a previous therapeutic program. Meanwhile, 7% passed from a psychiatric therapy to a combination therapy with the addition of a psychological treatment. The results demonstrate that those who asked for help were primarily female nurses who already presented with mental health vulnerabilities. A more gender-specific, clinical approach is needed.
- Published
- 2020