Determinants of the mental health condition of healthcare workers during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey

AIM: Current study aimed to determine the stressors experienced by healthcare workers during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. SUBJECT AND MSETHODS: A cross-sectional design was utilized, and an online survey was conducted in early April 2020 among 2506 healthcare workers, using snowball sampling. A questionnaire highlighting the elements pertinent to the COVID-19 outbreak and General Health Questionnaire were used to collect data. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to assess the impact of the early stages of the outbreak on the mental health condition of healthcare workers. RESULTS: The mean of the General Health Questionnaire-12 was 6.03 (min = .00, max = 12.00). Participants reported high frequency of some variables, such as favorable relationships with their teammates (90.7%, n = 2274), striving to create a more hygienic home (84.6%, n = 2121), anger and hopelessness due to the community's neglect of precautions (84.2%, n = 2109) and fear of exposure to violence against healthcare workers (72.8%, n = 1825). The final regression model contained seven variables (gender, individual preparedness, perceived level of training related to COVID-19, meeting basic needs during the pandemic, fear of being infected, fear of infecting loved ones, and family relationships). CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that the management of the COVID-19 pandemic has to be planned and sustained by relevant measures maintaining the psychological wellbeing of healthcare workers. Psychological support should be provided for individuals and the teams; healthcare workers’ families should also be involved in and benefit from sustained and intermittent psychological support.