Researchers have called for interventions to support practice staff after a study highlighted widespread distress caused by working during the COVID pandemic.

Nearly half of primary care workers in Spain showed significant psychological distress during the pandemic, according to an analysis published today. A team of researchers led by Dr Enric Aragones of the Primary Care Research Institute IDIAP in Barcelona, Spain, set out to measure the impact on primary care workers.

They measured psychological distress during the first wave of the pandemic using a web-based survey between May and September 2020. Reliable questionnaires of resilience and common mental disorders were included. In total, 2,928 primary care professionals completed the survey, of whom almost 44% tested positive for at least one mental disorder.

The risk was higher for women, those with a previous mental disorder, those who had greater workplace exposure to COVID patients, and those with children or dependents under their care. Findings appear in the British Journal of General Practice today. The authors write: “Personal resilience was shown to be a protective factor.”

They write: “The psychological impact on health care professionals (physicians, nurses, admin staff and other personnel involved and not involved in patient care), is not only important for their emotional wellbeing but also directly related to their professional performance, the quality of their work, and patient safety. It is therefore vital to establish strategies and interventions for psychological support and resilience building for health care workers. This should be done by taking into account the vulnerable profiles and risk factors identified in this study and modelling interventions accordingly.”