The Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Frontline Healthcare Workers. A Systematic Review and a Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has created a chronically stressful work environment for healthcare workers, increasing the negative psychological effects experienced.

Aims: The authors of this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on frontline healthcare workers’ mental health, using various psychological outcomes.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted up until June 30th, 2022 on MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Dissertations and Theses.

Results: This meta-analysis includes 22 cross-sectional studies with a total of 32,690 participants. Anxiety (ES = 0.23, CI: [0.18, 0.28]), depression (ES = 0.17, CI: [0.10, 0.24]), PTSD (ES = 0.28, CI: [0.08, 0.48]), and stress (ES = 0.35, CI: [0.17, 0.53]) was significantly prevalent among frontline healthcare workers.

Conclusions: Our results suggested that European healthcare workers were experiencing high psychological symptoms associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The monitoring of their psychological symptoms, preventative interventions, and treatments should be implemented to prevent, reduce, and treat the worsening of their mental health.