The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers in Greece

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected significantly the well-being and the mental health of healthcare workers across the
world. Factors such as increased workload, fear of infection, lack of protective equipment, isolation and uncertainty concerning the development of the pandemic contribute to increasing psychological pressure on healthcare workers as well as to
increased risk for the development of mental disorders such as depression, burnout and traumatic stress. The objective of
this study was to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers in Greece as
well as the risk for development of mental disorders, through a systematic review of relevant research studies. The articles
for this study were selected and retrieved through the international databases Pub Med and Google Scholar. The search
was performed for articles from the beginning of the pandemic (January 2020) until March 2021, in the English and Greek
language using the key words Greece, COVID-19, mental health, the exact phrase health care workers and the words burden
OR anxiety OR burnout. According to the selection criteria, the articles should include research studies or meta-analyses on
the investigation of healthcare workers’ mental health exclusively in Greece, using validated psychometric data collection
tools. The selection process resulted in 6 articles while relevant meta-analyses were not identified. The psychometric scales
used in the selected articles aimed to the evaluation of mental disorder symptoms such as depression, perceived stress,
burnout and insomnia. According to these studies the health care workers in Greece present moderate/severe symptoms
of burnout, moderate/low sense of accomplishment, moderate/severe symptoms of depression, as well as significantly
increased levels of perceived stress, depersonalization and insomnia. Moreover, 5 of the 6 articles identified increased risk
for traumatic stress disorder, while 2 of the 6 studies evaluated that this risk is significantly higher for healthcare workers
comparing to the general population. Prognostic factors for increased mental disorder risk, such as negative feelings, sense
of threat and emotional exhaustion, were identified while family support was positively correlated to resilience. No coping
strategies were identified as exclusively adaptive or maladaptive. Despite the limited number of selected articles, their results
are generally in the same line with the relevant international literature. According to the articles, the decline of health care
workers’ mental health is evident while the need for further research concerning coping strategies to avoid traumatic stress,
which appears specifically threatening, is also emphasized.