Covid 19 pandemic impact on mental health: a web based cross sectional survey on a sample of Italian general practitioners
Background: Since the World Health Organization declared the new 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid 19) outbreak first a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and then a pandemic, Italy held more than 195.350 cases and 26.380 deaths. Working in the frontline with suspected Covid 19 infection patients, general practitioners (GPs) are daily under both physical and psychological pressure. Methods: A web based cross sectional survey was carried out on italian GPs working in Genoa (Italy) to assess the impact of Covid 19 pandemic on mental health. The survey was anonymous and a free Google Forms(r) software was used. Results: One hundred thirty one GPs completed the survey. Compared to GPs with absent or mild depressive symptoms (PHQ 9 10) GPs reporting moderate to severe depressive symptoms (N=30, 22.9% PHQ 9 10) reported more helplessness (96.7% vs. 79.2% p=.025) spent more than three hours searching for COVID 19 information (43.3% vs. 19.8% p=.024) perceived less adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) (6.7% vs. 23.8% p=.049) and visited more COVID 19 infected patients (16.63 27.30 vs. 9.52 11.75, p=.041) Moreover, PHQ 9 10 GPs reported a significant higher severity for both anxiety and insomnia (13.43 4.96 vs. 4.88 3.53 and 11.60 5.53 vs. 4.84 3.81, respectively; p<.001) and a worse quality of life in both mental (34.60 7.45 vs. 46.01 7.83, p<.001) and physical (43.50 9.37 vs. 52.94 4.78, p<.001) component summary. Conclusions: Our results give early insight into the urgent need to provide continuity of care for patients at the community level, adequate PPE to GPs and a clear guidance from public health institutions. A precarious healthcare system both at a national and regional level might have triggered negative mental health outcomes in Italian GPs. (www.actabiomedica.it)
Acta bio medica Atenei Parmensis