Distress and quality of life of health workers in situations of high epidemic risk
Authors:   FSBEI HE Samara State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Samara, Babanov S. A. , Ostryakova N. A. ,   FSBEI HE Samara State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Samara, Lysova M. V. ,   FSBEI HE Samara State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Samara
Published: September 2024

The purpose is the assessment of the features of a decrease in the quality of life among medical professionals working in a specialized COVID-19 hospital, a multidisciplinary hospital, and a clinic during the pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection COVID-19, as well as early diagnosis, prediction, and prevention of a decrease in the quality of life in this category of workers. Material and research methods. The study was carried out on the basis of the Department of Occupational Diseases and Clinical Pharmacology named after honored scientist of the Russian Federation professor V.V. Kosarev, FSBEI HE Samara State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, and the Department of Occupational Pathology, Regional Center for Occupational Pathology of the Samara City Hospital No. 5. The study was carried out within the framework of a complex theme “Systematic approach to early diagnosis, prevention, and prediction of the impact of low-intensity production factors on workers’ health” of the Department of Occupational Diseases and Clinical Pharmacology named after honored scientist of the Russian Federation professor V.V. Kosarev, FSBEI HE Samara State Medical University (state registration number AAAA-A18-118122190069-6, registration date – December 21, 2018). The study was approved by the local ethics committee of the FSBEI HE Samara State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation on November 23, 2021. Patient consent. Each study participant gave informed voluntary written consent to participate in the study and publish personal medical information in an anonymized form. The study included: A. Medical workers of infectious diseases hospitals providing medical care to patients with the novel coronavirus infection COVID-19 (in the “red zone”) (n = 201). This group also included physicians of GP specialties working in a COVID-19 hospital (n=111), surgical specialists working in a COVID hospital (in the “red zone”) (n=61), and nurses working in a COVID hospital (in the “red zone”) (n=29). B. Medical workers of multidisciplinary hospitals providing medical care in their main profile, working as normal and periodically identifying patients with the novel coronavirus infection COVID-19 (n=195). This group also included general practitioners working in a multidisciplinary hospital (n=106), surgical specialists working in a multidisciplinary hospital (n=58), and nurses working in a multidisciplinary hospital (n=31). C. Medical workers of polyclinics providing medical care in conditions of an increased epidemic threshold for acute respiratory viral infections, influenza, and the novel coronavirus infection COVID-19 (n=186). This group also included general practitioners working in the clinic (n=102), surgical specialists working in the clinic (n=55), and nurses working in the clinic (n=29). D. A control group (n=190) consisted of workers of engineering, technical, and economic specialties not related to medical organizations (healthy). To assess the psychophysiological state and quality of life in medical workers during the pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection COVID-19, the SF-36 questionnaire [J.E. Ware, 1993] designed to study all components of quality of life was used. Processing of the obtained data was carried out using the Statistica package from StatSoft (USA). Results. The professional activities of medical workers providing medical care in the “red zone”, multidisciplinary hospitals, and clinics are associated with the exposure of physicians to a number of risk factors in the working environment and the labor process, related to the provision of regular or occasional care to infected COVID-19 patients, which, under conditions of exposure to an increased level of occupational stress, leads to a decrease in the quality of life in these categories of health workers. The decrease in the quality of life among medical workers in medical institutions of various profiles during the pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection COVID-19 is due to the fact that health workers faced many additional difficulties during this period: sleep deprivation, stress, strain, and chronic fatigue. Chronic fatigue can affect behavior, communication, learning, and decision- making, which overall leads to a decrease in the quality of life of medical workers. Conclusion. Thus, the obtained data indicate that when identifying risk factors for a decrease in the quality of life in medical workers working in situations of high epidemic risk, there is the need to use specialized rehabilitation measures with relaxation techniques, art therapy, as well as professional adaptation programs, physiotherapeutic techniques, such as electrosleep and reflexology, and, if possible, resort treatment in health care centers, local sanatoriums, etc. with visits to psychotherapy offices, as well as psychopharmacological medications.