Psychological Care of Health Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy: Preliminary Report of an Occupational Health Department (AOUP) Responsible for Monitoring Hospital Staff Condition

Rodolfo Buselli, Sigrid Baldanzi, Martina Corsi, Martina Chiumiento, Elena Del Lupo, Claudia Carmassi, Liliana Dell’Osso and Alfonso Cristaudo
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Rodolfo Buselli: Occupational Health Department, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, 56100 Pisa, Italy
Sigrid Baldanzi: Occupational Health Department, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, 56100 Pisa, Italy
Martina Corsi: Occupational Health Department, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, 56100 Pisa, Italy
Martina Chiumiento: Occupational Health Department, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, 56100 Pisa, Italy
Elena Del Lupo: Occupational Health Department, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, 56100 Pisa, Italy
Claudia Carmassi: Psychiatric Clinic, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56100 Pisa, Italy
Liliana Dell’Osso: Psychiatric Clinic, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56100 Pisa, Italy
Alfonso Cristaudo: Occupational Health Department, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, 56100 Pisa, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: The recent worldwide COVID-19 outbreak provided a timely demonstration of the mental health needs of health care workers on the front lines of the response to the pandemic. In addition to international guidelines, local institutions demand rapid and practical approaches easily replicable in different populations and contests. The principal aim of this paper is to highlight and share the experience of an Occupational Health Department responsible for monitoring hospital staff conditions during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic phase 1. The multidisciplinary team of the Occupational Health Department of a major university hospital in central Italy (AOUP) developed a specific protocol called PsicoCovid19 in order to provide targeted help, based on new psychosocial risk factors, to workers involved in the COVID-19 emergency to preserve hospital staff health. As of the date of this report, 106 workers (79 female, 27 male, mean age respectively, 51 ± 9.8, 45.7± 10.1) requested this service, reporting mild to moderate subjective distress. Approximately 81% of all the participants were already monitored before the outbreak of the pandemic. Among the total sample, 60% received a remodeling of a previous therapeutic program. Meanwhile, 7% passed from a psychiatric therapy to a combination therapy with the addition of a psychological treatment. The results demonstrate that those who asked for help were primarily female nurses who already presented with mental health vulnerabilities. A more gender-specific, clinical approach is needed.

Keywords: COVID-19; pandemic; health care workers; occupational teams; multidisciplinary; psychological; psychiatric; combination therapy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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