Stress and Stigmatization in Health-Care Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mikhail Yu Sorokin; Evgeny D Kasyanov; Grigory V Rukavishnikov; Olga V Makarevich; Nikolay G Neznanov; Petr V Morozov; Natalia B Lutova; Galina E Mazo

doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_870_20

Stress and Stigmatization in Health-Care Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Indian J Psychiatry. 2020 Sep;62(Suppl 3):S445-S453. doi: 10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_870_20. Epub 2020 Sep 28.

Authors

Mikhail Yu Sorokin¹, Evgeny D Kasyanov¹, Grigory V Rukavishnikov¹, Olga V Makarevich¹, Nikolay G Neznanov^{1

2}, Petr V Morozov³, Natalia B Lutova¹, Galina E Mazo¹

Affiliations

¹ V.M. Bekhterev National Medical Research Center for Psychiatry and Neurology, Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
² Department of Psychiatry and Addictions, I.P. Pavlov First Saint-Petersburg State Medical University, Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Faculty for Advanced Medical Studies, N.I. Pirogov National Medical Research University, Moscow, Russia.

PMID: 33227056
PMCID: PMC7659791
DOI: 10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_870_20

Abstract

Background: The health-care workers showed the highest risks of the adverse psychological reactions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the structure and severity of psychological distress and stigmatization in different categories of health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials and methods: This study included two phases of online survey in 1800 Russian-speaking health-care workers (March 30 - April 5 and May 4 - May 10, 2020). The Psychological Stress Scale (PSM-25) and modified Perceived Devaluation-Discrimination scale (Cronbach's α = 0.74) were used. Dispersion analysis was performed with P = 0.05, Cohen's d, and Cramer's V calculated (effect size [ES]).

Results: The psychological stress levels decreased in the second phase (ES = 0.13), while the stigma levels (ES = 0.33) increased. Physicians experienced more stress compared with nurses and paramedical personnel (ES = 0.34; 0.64), but were less likely to stigmatize SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals (ES = 0.43; 0.41). The increasing probability of contact with infected individuals was associated with higher levels of psychological stress (probable contact ES = 0.48; definite contact ES=0.97). The highest rates of contacts with COVID-19 patients were reported by physicians (χ² = 123.0; P = 0.00, Cramer's V = 0.2), the youngest (ES = 0.5), and less experienced medical workers (ES = 0.33).

Conclusion: Direct contact with coronavirus infection is associated with a significant increase in stress among medical personnel. The pandemic compromises the psychological well-being of the youngest and highly qualified specialists. However, the stigmatizing reactions are not directly associated with the risks of infection and are most prevalent among nurses and paramedical personnel.

Keywords: Anxiety; COVID-19; distress; health-care workers; stigma.