Autor:innen:
Angela M. Kunzler, Mainz (Germany)
Nikolaus Röthke, Mainz (Germany)
Saskia Lindner, Mainz (Germany)
Maria-Inti Metzendorf, Düsseldorf (Germany)
Alexandra Sachkova, Göttingen (Germany)
Eva Rehfuess, Munich (Germany)
Jacob Burns, Munich (Germany)
Michaela Coenen, Munich (Germany)
Christine Schmucker, Freiburg (Germany)
Joerg J. Meerpohl, Freiburg (Germany)
Klaus Lieb, Mainz (Germany)
Introduction Given increased work-related stressors, healthcare staff may be a vulnerable group amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Within the project CEOsys as part of the German national network of academic medical research into COVID-19 (NUM), the evidence on a) mental health effects and b) the efficacy of interventions to foster mental health in this population have been synthesized in a systematic review.
Methods Searches were performed in November 2020, January 2021 and March 2021. We included longitudinal/repeated cross-sectional studies providing prepandemic data on mental health (a) as well as studies evaluating any form of (non-)psychological intervention to foster mental health (b). Various outcomes were eligible. Random-effects meta-analyses were planned, if appropriate, with the certainty of evidence being assessed using GRADE.
Results The searches yielded 11149 references, 1736 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. We identified 12 observational studies (a). For the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no clear evidence of mental health changes compared to before, with meta-analyses currently being conducted. Regarding interventions to foster mental health (b), 63 completed studies were included, comprising 24 quantitative studies, 12 non-comparative studies focusing on implementation, and 22 qualitative studies. Most trainings were psychological/psychosocial programs, followed by mixed interventions and pure workplace measures. Based on the limited number of four RCTs, the certainty of evidence was very low. Therefore, we are uncertain whether the interventions do affect the level of anxiety, psychological distress, burnout, and sleep quality at posttest.
Conclusion The review provides important data on healthcare staff in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the large number of identified ongoing trials, further reviews will be required to make reliable conclusions concerning the efficacy of mental health interventions.