Now that the first health emergency is behind us, it is fundamental to help nursing and care home workers deal with stress, and help them build their resilience in general. The advice comes from a study coordinated by the University of Trento on the impact of the pandemic on nursing and care home workers, including those who provide care and those who maintain relationships with patients' families.
Based on the study's estimates, more than 4 in 10 workers (43%) suffer from moderate-to-severe stress, and the authors suggest a series of actions (think of the psychological support provided in humanitarian emergencies) to improve the general wellbeing of workers in nursing and care homes and their ability to cope with stressful situations. The study was published yesterday in Royal Society Open Science.
"Ours is the first in-depth study of the prevalence of symptoms among nursing and care home workers in Italy, immediately after the Covid-19 outbreak", underlined Elena Rusconi, professor of the University of Trento (Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science) and corresponding author.
The research group focused on a sample of caregivers based in Northern Italy, after the first outbreak and the lockdown period.
Elena Rusconi explained: "Based on our direct knowledge of the situation (thanks, in particular, to first author Marianna Riello), we found it important to check on the mental health of workers in nursing and care homes, to be able to provide appropriate action to support them and prevent psychological conditions. We focused on the North of Italy because that is where the virus hit hardest. At the end of our survey period (which took place between 15 June and 25 July 2020), we had received 1071 responses from 33 facilities in different regions of the North of Italy. Based on the data, morbidity was higher than expected (compared to a similar study carried out on hospital workers in China at the peak of the pandemic) and this should be a warning call".
Elena Rusconi continued: "We also found that women and individuals who had contacts with colleagues or guests who tested positive for Covid-19 are more likely to present moderate-to-severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress. The data helped us identify the groups that would benefit the most from timely and specific action. We are already at work to design and implement appropriate actions, with support and collaboration from many nursing and care homes".
About the article
The article “Prevalence of post-traumatic symptomatology and anxiety among residential nursing and care home workers following the first COVID-19 outbreak in Northern Italy” was written for the journal “Royal Society Open Science” by Marianna Riello, Chiara Bove and Elena Rusconi (University of Trento) with Marianna Purgato (University of Verona) and David MacTaggart (University of Glasgow). It was published on 30 September 2020.
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The paper is available in Open Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.200880