Review Article

The Silent Pandemic: The Psychological Burden on Frontline Healthcare Workers during COVID-19

Table 2


Psychological conditionFactors associated with higher risk

Depression and anxietyIndividual/interpersonal factors
(i) Female gender [14, 18, 29, 32, 34]
(ii) Young age [18, 20, 29, 30, 34]
(iii) Attention to negative information about the pandemic [13]
(iv) Poor coping mechanisms [22]
(v) Having experienced a previous pandemic [28]
(vi) Lower level of education [22]
(vii) Insufficient knowledge of COVID-19 [29]
Institutional factors
(i) Frontline work [1214, 16, 18, 20, 2830, 32, 35]
(ii) Nonfrontline work [27]
(iii) Loss of a patient due to COVID-19 [34]
(iv) Loss of a close person from COVID-19 [20]
(v) Higher workload [25]
(vi) Less work experience [18]
(vii) Lack of PPE or resources in the workplace [20, 26, 29]
(viii) Administrative or paramedical work [20, 22]
(ix) Working as a nurse [13, 16, 30, 32]
Community factors
(i) High media exposure [23]
(ii) High-income countries [29]
(iii) Lack of social support [33]

Posttraumatic stress disorderIndividual/interpersonal factors
(i) Female gender [21, 23, 30, 32]
(ii) Young age [30, 34]
(iii) Passive coping strategies [21]
(iv) Anxiety about being infection [24]
Institutional factors
(i) Frontline work [12, 21, 32]
(ii) Loss of a patient due to COVID-19 [24, 34]
(iii) Higher workload [25]
(iv) Lower team cohesion [23]
(v) Working as a nurse [21]
Community factors
(i) High media exposure [23]
(ii) Social stigmatization [23, 33]

BurnoutIndividual/interpersonal factors
(i) Young age [30, 31]
(ii) Higher alcohol intake [19]
(iii) Unwillingness to participate in frontline work [33]
(iv) Attention to negative information about the pandemic [13]
Institutional factors
(i) Frontline work [12, 13, 19, 3032]
(ii) Higher workload [30, 31]
(iii) Less work experience [31]
(iv) Lack of PPE or resources in the workplace [19, 26]
(v) Conflicts in the workplace [31]

InsomniaIndividual/interpersonal factors
(i) Female gender [14, 15, 32]
(ii) Education level of high school or less [17]
(iii) Attention to negative information about the pandemic [13]
Institutional factors
(i) Frontline work [13, 14, 32, 35]
(ii) Nonphysician healthcare workers [15]
(iii) Physicians [17]
(iv) Higher workload [25]
(v) Uncertainty about disease control [17]