EMOTIONAL IMPACT IN FRONTLINE AND SECONDLINE HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS: COVID-19 AND II WAVE

Introduction. The rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created unprecedent global challenges for health systems. National Healthcare Systems Hospitals adopted protective measures and medical equipment resources, exposing healthcare workers at risk for stress syndromes, subclinical mental health symptoms, and long-term occupational burnout. Health workers have had to deal with the most severe clinical cases in intensive care specialized operative division. Since the first months of the epidemic spread, some studies have established shown that nurses have shown symptoms of severe anxiety associated with peritraumatic dissociative experiences. Most of the studies examined the emotional impact of COVID 19 on health professionals but did not focus on different consider professionals roles and hospital departments workload. Objective. The aim of our study was to analyze the emotional characteristics of health workers during the II wave of coronavirus (November-December 2020), comparing the frontline (COVID 19) and second line (chronic diseases) hospital divisions and analyzing the differences between the health roles. Methods. We conduct a pilot study among health-workers. A sample of 28 healthcare workers (aged 23-62 years) were recruited from frontline and secondline hospital departments (L’Aquila, IT). The administered psychological battery was composed of n. 4 self-reports evaluating emotional variables (depression, anxiety, and stress) (DASS-21), personality traits (BFI-10), burnout risk (MBI), and perceived stress (PSS). Results. The results highlighted significant differences: older health workers were found to be more vulnerable than those who younger health workers; another interesting point was that healthcare workers serving in frontline wards showed symptoms of depersonalization. No significant difference for the type of role held. Conclusions. A prevention program should be activated to preserve frontline and older workers mental health. Earlier support could mitigate the effect of the pandemic experience, reducing the risk for emotional health workers' fragility.