“Previous evidence has shown that these experiences can lead to stress, fatigue and burnout, which can increase the risk of general mental disorders,” said Scherer, a research assistant at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Researchers analyzed 65 studies that together included more than 97,000 people for the worldwide study. Their analysis outlined the numbers by region and found that health care workers in the Middle East had the highest percentage of anxiety and depression, with 28.9% and 34.6%, respectively.
“The Middle East has experienced a large number of patients with COVID-19, and it could be that this case load puts extra health workers,” Scherer said in an email.
North America was the lowest, with 14.8% of health workers experiencing anxiety and 18.7% depression.
However, seven studies analyzed data from the Middle East and two from North America, and Scherer said it is important to be careful when interpreting the results.
Researchers took the average results from nine of the 65 studies to estimate that 21.5% of health workers in all regions experience moderate levels of PTSD.
But it is not always easy for health professionals to seek help. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, said last May that it could be difficult for people to recognize the psychological toll of frontline workers.
The pandemic has workers in the front line running a “marathon at a fast pace, without an end in sight”, said dr. Leana Wen, medical analyst at CNN, said. She is also a visiting professor at George Washington University, Milken Institute School of Public Health. She explained that people need to understand mental health as not different from physical health and that it should become a priority.
As the pandemic progresses, Shekhar Saxena, professor of global mental health practice at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, said it would be important to track these numbers over time and include information on burnout, suicide attempts and deaths. . is not included in this study.
In addition to providing treatment and resources to health workers, Scherer said research should be done in the first place on what aspects of the pandemic are causing the stress.
“We can study the link between working hours and increased symptoms as an example,” he said.
Saxena, who was not involved in the study, said studying these associations could lead to ‘organizational actions’, or actions that could take a workplace to create an environment that limits excessive stress.
The key is to ensure an approach that “appreciates the perspective and input of health professionals alongside those of expert mental health specialists,” Scherer said in an email.