Disease Perception and Coping with Emotional Distress During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey Among Medical Staff

Milena Adina Man, Claudia Toma, Nicoleta Stefania Motoc, Octavia Luiza Necrelescu, Cosmina Ioana Bondor, Ana Florica Chis, Andrei Lesan, Carmen Monica Pop, Doina Adina Todea, Elena Dantes, Ruxandra Puiu and Ruxandra-Mioara Rajnoveanu
Additional contact information
Milena Adina Man: Department of Medical Sciences—Pulmonology, Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Claudia Toma: Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania
Nicoleta Stefania Motoc: Department of Medical Sciences—Pulmonology, Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Octavia Luiza Necrelescu: “Leon Daniello” Clinical Hospital of Pulmonology, 400332 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Cosmina Ioana Bondor: Department of Biostatistics, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Ana Florica Chis: Department of Medical Sciences—Pulmonology, Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Andrei Lesan: Department of Medical Sciences—Pulmonology, Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Carmen Monica Pop: Department of Medical Sciences—Pulmonology, Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Doina Adina Todea: Department of Medical Sciences—Pulmonology, Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Elena Dantes: Faculty of Medicine, Ovidius University, 900740 Constanta, Romania
Ruxandra Puiu: “Leon Daniello” Clinical Hospital of Pulmonology, 400332 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Ruxandra-Mioara Rajnoveanu: Department of Medical Sciences—Pulmonology, Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-12

Abstract: The novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, is a highly contagious infectious disease declared by the World Health Organization to be a pandemic and a global public health emergency. During outbreaks, health care workers are submitted to an enormous emotional burden as they must balance the fundamental “duty to treat” with their parallel duties to family and loved ones. The aims of our study were to evaluate disease perceptions, levels of stress, emotional distress, and coping strategies among medical staff (COVID-19 versus non-COVID-19 departments) in a tertiary pulmonology teaching hospital in the first month after the outbreak of COVID-19. One hundred and fifteen health care workers completed four validated questionnaires (the brief illness perception questionnaire, perceived stress scale, the profile of emotional distress emotional, and the cognitive coping evaluation questionnaire) that were afterwards interpreted by one psychologist. There was a high level of stress and psychological distress among health care workers in the first month after the pandemic outbreak. Interestingly, there were no differences between persons that worked in COVID-19 departments versus those working in non-COVID-19 departments. Disease perceptions and coping mechanisms were similar in the two groups. As coping mechanisms, refocusing on planning and positive reappraisal were used more than in the general population. There is no difference in disease perceptions, levels of stress, emotional distress, and coping strategies in medical staff handling COVID-19 patients versus those staff who were not handling COVID-19 patients in the first month after the pandemic outbreak.

Keywords: COVID-19; emotional distress; stress perception; cognitive coping (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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