The Impact Of Pandemic Crises On Health-Related Quality Of Life (Hrqol) In Health Professionals

Abstract

The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increased risk of psychological distress among health care workers (HCWs). As this global crisis continues with minimal signs of abatement, this study aims to investigate and compare the psychosocial health of health care workers (HCWs) responding to the Covid-19 pandemic in the Middle East and Europe. This study adopted a literature review approach to analyse and compare the psychological health of HCWs in the Middle East and Europe. This study utilised 42 peer-reviewed research articles, examined their findings and then drew comparisons between the Middle East and Europe. The results indicate that anxiety, depression, PTSD, sleep disorder and distress are the most common psychological effects that HCWs experienced. The results clearly demonstrate that the HCWs in the Middle East are more psychologically affected compared to HCWs in Europe. Furthermore, female staff appear to be more vulnerable and more psychologically affected by responding to the Covid-19 epidemic. From an occupational perspective, nursing staff were found to be more psychologically affected compared to doctors and other HCWs.