Psychological distress and resilience among italian healthcare workers of geriatric services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sonia Mangialavori, Fabiana Riva, Marco Froldi, Simona Carabelli, Barbara Caimi, Pierluigi Rossi, Antonella Delle Fave, Giuseppe Calicchio
Author Information
Sonia Mangialavori: Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: sonia.mangialavori@unimi.it.
Fabiana Riva: Institute of Geriatric Rehabilitation Pio Albergo Trivulzio, Milan, Italy.
Marco Froldi: Institute of Geriatric Rehabilitation Pio Albergo Trivulzio, Milan, Italy; Department of Clinical and Community Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Simona Carabelli: Institute of Geriatric Rehabilitation Pio Albergo Trivulzio, Milan, Italy.
Barbara Caimi: Institute of Geriatric Rehabilitation Pio Albergo Trivulzio, Milan, Italy.
Pierluigi Rossi: Institute of Geriatric Rehabilitation Pio Albergo Trivulzio, Milan, Italy.
Antonella Delle Fave: Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Giuseppe Calicchio: Institute of Geriatric Rehabilitation Pio Albergo Trivulzio, Milan, Italy; Department of Clinical and Community Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed healthcare workers (HW) to heavy workload and psychological distress. This study was aimed to investigate distress levels among Italian physicians, nurses, rehabilitation professionals and healthcare assistants working in geriatric and long-term care services, and to explore the potential role of resilience as a protective resource. The General Health Questionnaire-12, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and a demographic survey were completed by 708 Italian HWs. Distress and resilience levels were compared between professionals through ANOVA; the contribution of sex, age, professional role, and resilience to distress was explored through regression analyses. Physicians reported significantly higher resilience and distress levels than rehabilitation professionals and healthcare assistants respectively. Women, HWs aged above 45, physicians, and participants reporting low resilience levels were at higher risk for distress. Findings suggest the importance of supporting HW's resilience to counterbalance the pandemic related distress.
