COVID-19 pandemic and health worker stress: The mediating effect of emotional regulation.

Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101285081 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1932-6203 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19326203 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLoS One Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science

Anxiety/*etiology ; COVID-19/*epidemiology ; Depression/*etiology ; Emotional Regulation/*physiology ; Health Personnel/*psychology ; Occupational Stress/*etiology ; SARS-CoV-2/*physiology ; Stress, Psychological/*complications; Adult ; Anxiety/psychology ; Argentina/epidemiology ; COVID-19/virology ; Depression/psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Background/introduction: Psychological and physical well-being of health personnel has been significantly affected by COVID-19. Work overload and continuous exposure to positive COVID-19 cases have caused them fatigue, stress, anxiety, insomnia and other detriments. This research aims: 1) to analyze whether the use of cognitive reevaluation and emotional suppression strategies decreases and increases, respectively, stress levels of health personnel; 2) to quantify the impact of contact with patients with COVID-19 on stress levels of medical staff.
Method: Emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reevaluation and emotional expression) and stress levels were evaluated in 155 Dominican physicians who were treating people infected with COVID-19 at the moment of the study (67.9% women and 32.1% men; mean age = 34.89; SD = 9.26). In addition, a questionnaire created by the researchers quantified the impact that contact with those infected had on their stress levels.
Results: Contact with patients with COVID-19 predicts increased use of emotion suppression strategies, although is not associated with the use of cognitive reevaluation. These findings lead to an even greater increase in stress on health care providers.
Conclusions: Contextual contingencies demand immediate responses and may not allow health personnel to use cognitive re-evaluation strategies, leaning more towards emotion suppression. However, findings regarding high levels of stress require the implementation of intervention programs focused on the promotion of more functional emotion regulation strategies. Such programs may reduce current stress and prevent post-traumatic symptoms.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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Date Created: 20211124 Date Completed: 20211203 Latest Revision: 20211214

20221213

PMC8612545

10.1371/journal.pone.0259013

34818330