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Mental Health of Healthcare Workers Post COVID-19

Brittany Symonds, RN

James Madison University School Of Nursing

NSG-462: Issues in Contemporary Nursing

Professor Janelle Garman

October 29, 2022

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Mental Health of Healthcare Workers Post COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic had a broad effect on the mental health of our nation. This was

influenced by the social divide of quarantine, economic and health disparities, death toll, and

more. Healthcare workers (HCW) are probably among those most greatly affected, because of

their intimate involvement. Not only were they experiencing the troubles of the general public,

but also bearing the weight of the disparities within health care. This essay will focus on the

prevalence and causes of mental health problems in healthcare workers since COVID-19.

COVID-19 is the SARS-CoV-2 respiratory virus that defined the pandemic which started

at the end of 2019. Having an upward of 1,000,000 deaths in the United States since 2020

according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This illness affects the respiratory

system in different severities from a simple cold to complete respiratory failure requiring

hospitalization, also known as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (Bata & Fabro 2021).

Individuals with the more severe symptoms spent time in the ICU, sometimes requiring

intubation and proning.

Many factors influenced the mental health of healthcare workers during COVID-19. One

of the most well known issues that hospitals struggled with was lack of access to personal

protective equipment (PPE). According to the study done by Varghese et al (2021) the potential

of infection and questionable PPE has been reported by HCW to affect their mental health. The

study also mentions that HCW were anxious about infecting their family members because of the

poor PPE (Varghese et al, 2021). From personal experience, HCW of all degrees were staying in

hotels or housing provided by hospitals in the early pandemic to avoid infecting others.

Which transitions to the next issue affecting HCW mental health: distance from loved

ones, especially during times of high stress. Hennein et al (2021) analyzed surveys of HCW
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internationally, and found that many reported distance from loved ones and isolation to be the

major factor to their anxiety and depression.. Hennein et al (2021) also analyzed a survey that

detailed better morale expressed by HCW when they had a functional team. Many HCW only

socialized with each other while at work in these high stress environments. Support and proper

staffing for the acuity of patients allows for better team functioning.

Dellasega & Kanaskie (2021) had some interesting quotes from nurses in their article

regarding experiences with COVID-19. A few highlighted the perspective of nurses and the

death toll, one quote mentioned that nurses are closer to the experience of death than many other

HCW (Dellasega & Kanaskie 2021). As mentioned earlier, the United States alone had over 1

million COVID related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic (CDC, 2022). A nurse in

Dellasega & Kanaskie (2021) article points out that the hospitals experienced more deaths than

they were used to. HCW faced burnout and psychological problems from dealing with the high

death toll caused by COVID (Kaushik, 2021).

From personal experience, the stress of COVID-19 in the hospital was very unique and

complex. All staff had to be flexible and work in environments they were not used to. Hospitals

were not prepared for such an influx of patients. Hallways were makeshift patient rooms, masks

and gowns were being reused by staff, acute care floors were turned into ICU rooms, and non-

licensed team members were being sent to help on floors they weren’t trained for. Nurses were

the primary care-takers of patients; physicians and techs wouldn’t go into the room to limit

exposure. A nurse would be assigned a patient that would eventually pass, and was then expected

to provide post mortem care and send to the morgue to prepare for another admission in an

expedited manner. Masks were labeled by the wearer, sent to be reprocessed (still unclear what

this means, was never explained to staff), and reworn by staff into different patient rooms.
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Hospitals now have plenty of experience with trial and error during our generation's

pandemic, but many things should be addressed before the next one. Plans for safe staffing ratios

and appropriate resources should be top priority. This aids in prevention of staff burnout as well

as patient injury due to the lack of staff or supplies. PPE should be properly produced and

stocked with a back up plan for excessive needs. Hospitals should also have a plan for staff

support outside of the unit, such as meals, hygiene products, and counseling.

Nurses make up a majority of the workforce that we call HCW. In the United States they

are to abide by a code of ethics developed by the American Nurses Association. Dellasega &

Kanaskie (2021) article details selected nurses opinion of the ANA code of ethics and how it

relates to care provided during the COVID pandemic. Provision 2 was one the selected dilemmas

by nursing in the article, which states a nurses commitment is to their patient; be it an individual

or multiple parties. Nurses during the pandemic were burnt out, yet still providing essential care

to patients, and staying committed to their care (Dellasega & Kanaskie 2021). A provision not

mentioned by the article is Provision 9, which states nursing as a profession must maintain

values and integrity, while involving social justice into health care and nursing (American

Nurses Association, 2015). From personal experience, during the pandemic nurses maintained

integrity in their profession, advocated for the safety of the public, and asserted their values for

patient care. As evidenced by sources in this paper, this took a toll on the mental health of many

nurses and other HCW.

We are reminded daily that it takes a special person to provide care to others, especially

while maintaining the values set forth by the ANA. Being a caretaker and HCW is a stressful job

in any setting, which was magnified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many hardworking

individuals took responsibility during the pandemic at the cost of their own well-being. Mental
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health was highlighted during COVID and hopefully will continue to be taken seriously for

HCW internationally. Hospitals must be prepared to support their staff in order to maintain

patient safety.You must help yourself before you can help others.
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References

American Nurses Association. (2015). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements.

Nursingworld. https://www.nursingworld.org/coe-view-only

Batah, S. & Fabro, A. (2021) Pulmonary pathology of ards in covid-19: a pathological review for

clinicians. Respiratory Medicine, 176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2020.106239.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Provisional death counts for coronavirus

disease 2019. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm

Dellasega, C., & Kanaskie, M. L. (2021). Nursing ethics in an era of pandemic. Applied Nursing

Research, 62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2021.151508

Hennein, R., Mew, E., Lowe, S. (2021). Socio-ecological predictors of mental health outcomes

among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the united states. PLOS

ONE, 16(2). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246602

Kaushik, D. (2021). COVID-19 and health care workers burnout: a call for global action.

EClinicalMedicine, 35. https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2589-

5370%2821%2900088-2

Varghese, A., George, G., Kondaguli, S., Naser, A., Khakha, D., Chatterji, R. (2021) Decline in

the mental health of nurses across the globe during COVID-19: A systematic review and

meta-analysis. Journal of Global Health, 11. doi: 10.7189/jogh.11.05009.