The Psychological Impact and Coping Mechanisms of Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Mental health is an emerging non-communicable disease in the Philippines. With numerous studies showing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the people, the need to assess its psychological impact on healthcare workers became a necessity. The goal of the study was to examine for signs relating to depression, anxiety, and stress via questions based on the DASS-21; conditions exhibited that may be related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); and the coping mechanisms. As per the respondents’ request, the institution’s name is not to be disclosed. The inclusion criteria for the study were licensed healthcare professionals, regardless of the type of employment (full-time, part-time, voluntary, etc.). A total of 114 respondents were given the self-administered survey, and the majority of them were physicians and nurses. In terms of the DASS-21, the majority have shown less impact by the pandemic but there were a few to have been affected by the pandemic psychologically. Results from the IES-R show varied results, in which 36.84% have little or no signs relating to post-traumatic stress, 41.23% with several signs, and 21.93% with greatly increased signs of post-traumatic stress. The phenomenon was due to the continuous psychological impact that has led to the increased signs of the said related illness. As for the Brief-COPE, the approach method was the most widely used strategy used to cope. The recommendations for the study are to focus on other age groups, departments, the effectiveness and comparison among the coping mechanisms, and the correlation between DASS-21 and IES-R.