Mental health outcomes among health-care workers dealing with COVID-19/severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Dutta, Abhijit; Sharma, Avinash; Torres-Castro, Rodrigo; Pachori, Hariom; Mishra, SukhDev

INTRODUCTION: The psychological impact of COVID-19 on health-care workers (HCWs) has received attention from researchers to understand the extent of the effects of the ongoing pandemic on this population. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to synthesize the currently available literature on the topic to determine the prevalence of mental health problems in HCWs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, searching PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases for articles published from December 2019 to August 15, 2020. We identified studies reporting the prevalence of any mental health condition in HCWs involved directly or indirectly in providing services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The prevalence proportion for individual outcome was extracted as an estimate of interest. We performed random-effects meta-analyses evaluated using Q statistic, I(2) statistic, subgroup analyses, and sensitivity analyses and assessed study quality. This review was done in adherence to the Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines. The study protocol was registered prospectively at PROSPERO (CRD42020182005). RESULTS: We identified 1958 studies, of which 33 studies including 39703 participants (with a median = 393; range = 88–14825) were finally included for analysis. The estimated overall prevalence were as follows: depression 32.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 25.9–39.3, I(2) = 99%), anxiety 32.5% (95% CI: 26.4–39.0, I(2) = 99%), insomnia or sleep disturbance 36.6% (95% CI: 36.6–48.3, I(2) = 99%), and stress 37.7% (95% CI: 24.0–52.3, I(2) = 100%). CONCLUSION: HCWs who are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic have a significant prevalence of depression, anxiety, insomnia and poor sleep quality, and stress. The health-care workforce needs to practice self-care now more than ever, while health-care managers and policymakers need to factor in the mental health consequences of COVID-19 on their workforce.