IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i12p6579-d577516.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Hopelessness and Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Any Role for Mediating Variables?

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Aguglia

    (Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Largo Paolo Daneo, 3, 16132 Genoa, Italy
    IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy)

  • Andrea Amerio

    (Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Largo Paolo Daneo, 3, 16132 Genoa, Italy
    IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy)

  • Alessandra Costanza

    (Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva (UNIGE), 1206 Geneva, Switzerland)

  • Nicolò Parodi

    (Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Largo Paolo Daneo, 3, 16132 Genoa, Italy
    IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy)

  • Francesco Copello

    (IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy)

  • Gianluca Serafini

    (Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Largo Paolo Daneo, 3, 16132 Genoa, Italy
    IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy)

  • Mario Amore

    (Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Largo Paolo Daneo, 3, 16132 Genoa, Italy
    IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132 Genoa, Italy)

Abstract

The Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has many psychological consequences for the population, ranging from anxious-depressive symptoms and insomnia to complex post-traumatic syndromes. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental well-being of healthcare workers, focusing on the association between hopelessness, death anxiety, and post-traumatic symptomatology. Eight hundred forty-two healthcare workers were recruited between 21 March 2020 and 15 May 2020. A specific questionnaire was administered to assess socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, together with psychometric scales: Beck Hopelessness Scale, Death Anxiety Scale (DAS), and Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS). Respondents with hopelessness scored higher in the DAS and DTS than respondents without hopelessness. Furthermore, death anxiety was identified as a potential mediator of the significant association between hopelessness and post-traumatic symptomatology. The impact of death anxiety should be recognized in vulnerable populations, such as frontline healthcare workers. Therefore, pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies could be useful to attenuate the negative psychological consequences and reduce the burden worldwide.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Aguglia & Andrea Amerio & Alessandra Costanza & Nicolò Parodi & Francesco Copello & Gianluca Serafini & Mario Amore, 2021. "Hopelessness and Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Any Role for Mediating Variables?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-10, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:12:p:6579-:d:577516
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6579/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6579/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paula Franklin & Anna Gkiouleka, 2021. "A Scoping Review of Psychosocial Risks to Health Workers during the Covid-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-20, March.
    2. Ana C. Londoño-Ramírez & Sandro García-Pla & Purificación Bernabeu-Juan & Enrique Pérez-Martínez & Jesús Rodríguez-Marín & Carlos J. van-der Hofstadt-Román, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on the Anxiety Perceived by Healthcare Professionals: Differences between Primary Care and Hospital Care," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-11, March.
    3. Andrea Amerio & Andrea Brambilla & Alessandro Morganti & Andrea Aguglia & Davide Bianchi & Francesca Santi & Luigi Costantini & Anna Odone & Alessandra Costanza & Carlo Signorelli & Gianluca Serafini , 2020. "COVID-19 Lockdown: Housing Built Environment’s Effects on Mental Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-10, August.
    4. Carmen Trumello & Sonia Monique Bramanti & Giulia Ballarotto & Carla Candelori & Luca Cerniglia & Silvia Cimino & Monia Crudele & Lucia Lombardi & Silvia Pignataro & Maria Luisa Viceconti & Alessandra, 2020. "Psychological Adjustment of Healthcare Workers in Italy during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Differences in Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Burnout, Secondary Trauma, and Compassion Satisfaction between Frontli," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-13, November.
    5. Gabriele Giorgi & Luigi Isaia Lecca & Federico Alessio & Georgia Libera Finstad & Giorgia Bondanini & Lucrezia Ginevra Lulli & Giulio Arcangeli & Nicola Mucci, 2020. "COVID-19-Related Mental Health Effects in the Workplace: A Narrative Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-22, October.
    6. Julia Ambrosetti & Laura Macheret & Aline Folliet & Alexandre Wullschleger & Andrea Amerio & Andrea Aguglia & Gianluca Serafini & Paco Prada & Stefan Kaiser & Guido Bondolfi & François Sarasin & Aless, 2021. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Psychiatric Admissions to a Large Swiss Emergency Department: An Observational Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-10, January.
    7. Graziella Orrù & Francesca Marzetti & Ciro Conversano & Guido Vagheggini & Mario Miccoli & Rebecca Ciacchini & Eugenia Panait & Angelo Gemignani, 2021. "Secondary Traumatic Stress and Burnout in Healthcare Workers during COVID-19 Outbreak," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-13, January.
    8. Kavita Batra & Tejinder Pal Singh & Manoj Sharma & Ravi Batra & Nena Schvaneveldt, 2020. "Investigating the Psychological Impact of COVID-19 among Healthcare Workers: A Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-33, December.
    9. Andreas Chatzittofis & Maria Karanikola & Kyriaki Michailidou & Anastasia Constantinidou, 2021. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-8, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Karina Leksy & Mirosław Wójciak & Grzegorz Gawron & Rafał Muster & Kevin Dadaczynski & Orkan Okan, 2023. "Work-Related Stress of Polish School Principals during the COVID-19 Pandemic as a Risk Factor for Burnout," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-17, January.
    2. Alessandro Morganti & Andrea Brambilla & Andrea Aguglia & Andrea Amerio & Norberto Miletto & Nicolò Parodi & Chiara Porcelli & Anna Odone & Alessandra Costanza & Carlo Signorelli & Gianluca Serafini &, 2022. "Effect of Housing Quality on the Mental Health of University Students during the COVID-19 Lockdown," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-11, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mehran Shayganfard & Fateme Mahdavi & Mohammad Haghighi & Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani & Serge Brand, 2021. "Sources of Health Anxiety for Hospital Staff Working during the Covid-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-11, March.
    2. Gloria Guidetti & Michela Cortini & Stefania Fantinelli & Teresa Di Fiore & Teresa Galanti, 2022. "Safety Management and Wellbeing during COVID-19: A Pilot Study in the Manufactory Sector," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-11, March.
    3. Nasrin Abdoli & Vahid Farnia & Somayeh Jahangiri & Farnaz Radmehr & Mostafa Alikhani & Pegah Abdoli & Omran Davarinejad & Kenneth M. Dürsteler & Annette Beatrix Brühl & Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani & Serge Br, 2021. "Sources of Sleep Disturbances and Psychological Strain for Hospital Staff Working during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-15, June.
    4. Jennifer E. Moreno-Jiménez & Luis Manuel Blanco-Donoso & Evangelia Demerouti & Sylvia Belda Hofheinz & Mario Chico-Fernández & Bernardo Moreno-Jiménez & Eva Garrosa, 2021. "The Role of Healthcare Professionals’ Passion in Predicting Secondary Traumatic Stress and Posttraumatic Growth in the Face of COVID-19: A Longitudinal Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-16, April.
    5. Mariela Loreto Lara-Cabrera & Moisés Betancort & C. Amparo Muñoz-Rubilar & Natalia Rodríguez Novo & Carlos De las Cuevas, 2021. "The Mediating Role of Resilience in the Relationship between Perceived Stress and Mental Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-10, September.
    6. Yushi Lu & Zhi Li & Yuting Fan & Jin Wang & Tian Zhong & Ling Wang & Ying Xiao & Dongmei Zhang & Qingsong Chen & Xi Yu, 2022. "The Mediating Role of Cumulative Fatigue on the Association between Occupational Stress and Depressive Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Study among 1327 Chinese Primary Healthcare Professionals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-15, November.
    7. Marcella Paterlini & Erica Neri & Alessia Nicoli & Federica Genova & Maria Teresa Villani & Sara Santi & Francesca Agostini, 2022. "Emotions, Stress and Coping among Healthcare Workers in a Reproductive Medicine Unit during the First and Second COVID-19 Lockdowns," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-16, May.
    8. Georgia Libera Finstad & Gabriele Giorgi & Lucrezia Ginevra Lulli & Caterina Pandolfi & Giulia Foti & José M. León-Perez & Francisco J. Cantero-Sánchez & Nicola Mucci, 2021. "Resilience, Coping Strategies and Posttraumatic Growth in the Workplace Following COVID-19: A Narrative Review on the Positive Aspects of Trauma," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-25, September.
    9. Shimaa A. Elghazally & Atef F. Alkarn & Hussein Elkhayat & Ahmed K. Ibrahim & Mariam Roshdy Elkhayat, 2021. "Burnout Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Health-Care Professionals at Assiut University Hospitals, 2020," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-12, May.
    10. Celina Silvia Stafie & Lenuta Profire & Maria Manuela Apostol & Irina Iuliana Costache, 2021. "The Professional and Psycho-Emotional Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Care—A Romanian GPs’ Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-13, February.
    11. Paula Franklin & Anna Gkiouleka, 2021. "A Scoping Review of Psychosocial Risks to Health Workers during the Covid-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-20, March.
    12. Alessandro Morganti & Andrea Brambilla & Andrea Aguglia & Andrea Amerio & Norberto Miletto & Nicolò Parodi & Chiara Porcelli & Anna Odone & Alessandra Costanza & Carlo Signorelli & Gianluca Serafini &, 2022. "Effect of Housing Quality on the Mental Health of University Students during the COVID-19 Lockdown," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-11, March.
    13. Maria Karanikola & Meropi Mpouzika & Elizabeth Papathanassoglou & Katerina Kaikoushi & Anna Hatzioannou & Ioannis Leontiou & Chris Livadiotis & Nicos Christophorou & Andreas Chatzittofis, 2022. "Work-Related Traumatic Stress Response in Nurses Employed in COVID-19 Settings," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-15, September.
    14. Hyoung Ju Lee & Miyoung Lee & Sun Joo Jang, 2021. "Compassion Satisfaction, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Burnout among Nurses Working in Trauma Centers: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-13, July.
    15. Ladislav Štěpánek & Marie Nakládalová & Magdaléna Janošíková & Romana Ulbrichtová & Viera Švihrová & Henrieta Hudečková & Eliška Sovová & Milan Sova & Jiří Vévoda, 2023. "Prevalence of Burnout in Healthcare Workers of Tertiary-Care Hospitals during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey from Two Central European Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, February.
    16. Ortal Slobodin & Ilia Plochotnikov & Idan-Chaim Cohen & Aviad Elyashar & Odeya Cohen & Rami Puzis, 2022. "Global and Local Trends Affecting the Experience of US and UK Healthcare Professionals during COVID-19: Twitter Text Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-17, June.
    17. Daniela D’Alessandro & Andrea Rebecchi & Letizia Appolloni & Andrea Brambilla & Silvio Brusaferro & Maddalena Buffoli & Maurizio Carta & Alessandra Casuccio & Liliana Coppola & Maria Vittoria Corazza , 2023. "Re-Thinking the Environment, Cities, and Living Spaces for Public Health Purposes, According with the COVID-19 Lesson: The LVII Erice Charter," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-17, September.
    18. Artem Kashtanov & Ekaterina Molotok & Andrey Yavorovskiy & Alexander Boyarkov & Yuriy Vasil’ev & Ali Alsaegh & Sergey Dydykin & Olesya Kytko & Renata Meylanova & Yulianna Enina & Vasiliy Troitskiy & M, 2022. "A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study Assessing the Psycho-Emotional State of Intensive Care Units’ Physicians and Nurses of COVID-19 Hospitals of a Russian Metropolis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-22, February.
    19. Ullah, Faiz & Harrigan, Nicholas M., 2022. "A natural experiment in social security as public health measure: Experiences of international students as temporary migrant workers during two Covid-19 lockdowns," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    20. Ana Magro & Aida Gutiérrez-García & Marta González-Álvarez & Mario Del Líbano, 2022. "Psychosocial Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Healthcare Professionals in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-14, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:12:p:6579-:d:577516. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.