ORIGINAL PAPER
Factors associated with mental health burdens in physical therapists during the late stage of the COVID-19 pandemic
 
More details
Hide details
1
College of Rehabilitation Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
 
2
Department of physical therapy for Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Beni-Suef University, Egypt
 
3
First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
 
4
October University for Modern Science and Art (MSA), Cairo, Egypt
 
 
Submission date: 2022-04-05
 
 
Acceptance date: 2022-10-17
 
 
Publication date: 2024-03-25
 
 
Corresponding author
Jianan Li   

First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, 210029 Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
 
 
Physiother Quart. 2024;32(1):57-65
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
It has been a long time since the emergence of COVID-19 in China and its spread worldwide. Vaccines are a promising solution to overcome COVID-19 infection. Still, vaccine hesitancy is the only barrier to controlling the pandemic, as thinking about its side effects induces psychological exhaustion. There is still a lack of research targeting the mental health of Physical Therapists (PTs), especially during the late stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the study’s main aim was to identify the prevalence of anxiety, depression and insomnia and identify risk factors that influence anxiety and depression.

Methods:
A cross-sectional online survey via anonymous questionnaires and questions about socio-demographic information was launched on social media in the second half of February 2021.

Results:
Prevalence of anxiety, depression, and insomnia was 42.7%, 50.10%, and 89.30%, respectively, among physical therapists. Common factors that induce anxiety and depression were having children and needing psychological support. Other risk factors for anxiety only were working in a quarantine hospital, being infected with COVID-19, self-isolation after return from the hospital, and hesitance about vaccine effectiveness. Treating COVID-19 patients and having a family member who had died from COVID-19 were risk factors for depression. Consulting a psychiatrist reduced this risk of depression.

Conclusions:
Elevated mental health disturbances triggered the alarm for urgent psychological rehabilitation to prevent the failure of health care systems in this critical period. Additionally, fighting the anti-vaccine movement should be a priority along with enhancing telerehabilitation programs in hospitals.

REFERENCES (40)
1.
Shigemura J, Ursano RJ, Morganstein JC, Kurosawa M, Benedek DM, Public responses to the novel 2019 coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Japan: Mental health consequences and target populations. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2020;74(4):281–282; doi: 10.1111/pcn.12988.
 
2.
Liu C-Y, Yang Y-Z, Zhang X-M, Zhang X-M, Xu X, Dou Q-L, Zhang W-W, et al. The prevalence and influencing factors in anxiety in medical workers fighting COVID-19 in China: a cross-sectional survey. Epidemiol Infect. 2020;148:e98; doi: 10.1017/S0950268820001107.
 
3.
Spoorthy MS, Pratapa SK, Mahant S. Mental health problems faced by healthcare workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic: a review. Asian J Psychiatr. 2020;51:102119; doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102119.
 
4.
Ferrara M, Funaro MC, Vacca F, et al. The cost of caring during recent epidemics: a rapid review of risk factors, psychological manifestations, and strategies for its treatment. Ann Ist Super Sanita. 2021;57(1):7–17.
 
5.
Elkholy H, Tawfik F, Ibrahim I, Salah El-Din W, Sabry M, Mohammed S, et al. Mental health of frontline healthcare workers exposed to COVID-19 in Egypt: a call for action. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2020;67(5):522–531; doi: 10.1177/0020764020960192.
 
6.
Youssef N, Mostafa A, Ezzat R, Yosef M, El Kassas M. Mental health status of health-care professionals working in quarantine and non-quarantine Egyptian hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. East Mediterr Health J. 2020;26(10):1155–1154; doi: 10.26719/emhj.20.116.
 
7.
Duarte H, Daros Vieira R, Cardozo Rocon P, De Souza Andrade AC, Wittmer VL, Capellini VK, et al. Factors associated with Brazilian physical therapists’ perception of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey. Psychol Health Med. 2021;27(1):42–53. doi: 10.1080/13548506.2021.1875133.
 
8.
Yang S, Kwak SG, Ko EJ, Chang MC. The mental health burden of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical therapists. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(10):3723. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17103723.
 
9.
Naushad VA, Bierens JJLM, Nishan KP, Firjeeth CP, Mohammad OH, Maliyakkal AM, et al. A systematic review of the impact of disaster on the mental health of medical responders. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2019;34(6):632–643; doi: 10.1017/s1049023x19004874.
 
10.
Rodrigues CMC, Plotkin SA. Impact of vaccines: health, economic and social perspectives. Front Microbiol. 2020;11:1526–1126; doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01526.
 
11.
Wilson R, Zaytseva A, Bocquier A, Nokri A, Fressard L, Chamboredon P, et al. Vaccine hesitancy and self-vaccination behaviors among nurses in southeastern France. Vaccine. 2020;38(5):1144–1151; doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.11.018.
 
12.
Coustasse A, Kimble C, Maxik K. COVID-19 and Vaccine Hesitancy. J Ambul Care Manage. 2020;44(1):71–75. doi: 10.1097/jac.0000000000000360.
 
13.
Neumann-Böhme S, Varghese NE, Sabat I, Barros PP, Brouwer W, van Exel J, et al. Once we have it, will we use it? A European survey on willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Eur J Health Econ. 2020;21(7):977–982; doi: 10.1007/s10198-020-01208-6.
 
14.
Ahmad I, Rathore FA. Neurological manifestations and complications of COVID-19: a literature review. J Clin Neurosci. 2020;77:8–12; doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2020.05.017.
 
15.
Lai J, Ma S, Wang Y, et al. Factors associated with mental health outcomes among health care workers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(3):e203976; doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.3976.
 
16.
Levis B, Benedetti A, Thombs BD, et al. Accuracy of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for screening to detect major depression: individual participant data meta-analysis. BMJ. 2019;365:1476; doi: 10.1136/bmj.l1476.
 
17.
Al-Khani AM, Sarhandi MI, Zaghloul MS, Ewid M, Sa­quib N. A cross-sectional survey on sleep quality, mental health, and academic performance among medical students in Saudi Arabia. BMC Res Notes. 2019;12(1):665; doi: 10.1186/s13104-019-4713-2.
 
18.
Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, Löwe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166(10):1092–1097; doi: 10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092.
 
19.
Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001;16(9):606–613; doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x.
 
20.
Buysse DJ, Reynolds 3rd CF, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Res. 1989;28(2):193–213; doi: 10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4.
 
21.
Zhou Y, Zhou Y, Song Y, Luyu R, Ng CH, Xiang Y-T, et al. Tackling the mental health burden of frontline healthcare staff in the COVID-19 pandemic: China’s experiences. Psychol Med. 2021;51(11):1955–1956; doi: 10.1017/S0033291720001622.
 
22.
Kang L, Li Y, Hu S, Yang C, Yang BX, Wang Y, et al. The mental health of medical workers in Wuhan, China dealing with the 2019 novel coronavirus. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020;7(3):e14; doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30047-X.
 
23.
Giardino DL, Huck-Iriart C, Riddick M, Garaya A. The endless quarantine: the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on healthcare workers after three months of mandatory social isolation in Argentina. Sleep Med. 2020;76:16–25; doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2020.09.022.
 
24.
Tsang HWH, Scudds RJ, Chan EYL. Psychosocial impact of SARS. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004;10(7):1326–1327; doi: 10.3201/eid1007.040090.
 
25.
Xiao H, Zhang Y, Kong D, Li S, Yang N. The effects of social support on sleep quality of medical staff treating patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in January and February 2020 in China. Med Sci Monit. 2020;26:e923549; doi: 10.12659/MSM.923549.
 
26.
Wei N, Huang BC, Lu SJ, Hu JB, Zhou XY, Huet CC, et al. Efficacy of internet-based integrated intervention on depression and anxiety symptoms in patients with COVID-19. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B. 2020;21(5):400–404; doi: 10.1631/jzus.B2010013.
 
27.
Loades ME, Chatburn E, Higson-Sweeney N, Reynolds S, Shafran R, Brigden A, et al. Rapid systematic review: the impact of social isolation and loneliness on the mental health of children and adolescents in the context of COVID-19. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2020;59(11):1218-39.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2020.05.009.
 
28.
Fouladi Dehaghi B, Ghodrati-Torbati A, Teimori G, Gha­vamabadi LI, Jamshidnezhad A, et al. Face masks vs. COVID-19: a systematic review. Invest Educ Enferm. 2020;38(2):e13; doi: 10.17533/udea.iee.v38n2e13.
 
29.
Santarpia JL, Rivera DN, Herrera V, Morwitzer MJ, Creager H, Santarpia GW, et al. Transmission Potential of SARS-CoV-2 in Viral Shedding Observed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. medRxiv; 2020.
 
30.
Miller RL, Pallant JF, Negri LM. Anxiety and stress in the postpartum: is there more to postnatal distress than depression? BMC Psychiatry. 2006;6:12; doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-6-12.
 
31.
Sher L. Are COVID-19 survivors at increased risk for suicide? Acta Neuropsychiatr. 2020;32(5):270–270; doi: 10.1017/neu.2020.21.
 
32.
Han Q, Lin Q, Ni Z, You L. Uncertainties about the transmission routes of 2019 novel coronavirus. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2020;14(4):470–471; doi: 10.1111/irv.12735.
 
33.
McEwen BS. Neurobiological and systemic effects of chronic stress. Chronic Stress. 2017;1:2470547017692328; doi: 10.1177/2470547017692328.
 
34.
Sher L. Post-COVID syndrome and suicide risk. QJM. 2021;114(2):95–98; doi: 10.1093/qjmed/hcab007.
 
35.
Lebel C, MacKinnon A, Bagshawe M, Tomfohr-Madsen L, Giesbrecht G. Elevated depression and anxiety symptoms among pregnant individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Affect Disord. 2020;277:5–13; doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.126.
 
36.
Fares S, Elmnyer MM, Mohamed SS, Elsayed R, COVID-19 Vaccination perception and attitude among healthcare workers in Egypt. J Prim Care Community Health. 2021;12:21501327211013303; doi: 10.1177/21501327211013303.
 
37.
Bono SA, Faria de Moura Villela E, Siau CS, Chen WS, Pengpid S, Hasan MT, et al. Factors affecting COVID-19 vaccine acceptance: an international survey among low- and middle-income countries. Vaccines. 2021;9(5):515; doi: 10.3390/vaccines9050515.
 
38.
Ransing R, Dashi E, Rehman S, Chepure A, Mehta V, Kudva G. Kundadak 6 COVID-19 anti-vaccine movement and mental health: Challenges and the way forward. Asian J Psychiatr. 2021;58:102614; doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2021.102614.
 
39.
Drapeau C, McIntosh J. USA Suicide: 2014 Official Final Data; 2018.
 
40.
Aguiar A, Pinto M, Duarte R. Grief and mourning during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal. Acta Med Port. 2020;33(13):543–545; doi: 10.20344/amp.14345.
 
eISSN:2544-4395
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top