Suchergebnisse

AbstractDifferent scholars have emphasised the psychological distress experienced by health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, there are almost no qualitative studies and we know very little about the everyday experience of this group. The present study's goal was to explore how health workers interpreted the meaning of the pandemic crisis in their life. An online survey was available during the Italian lockdown. Respondents were asked to write a passage about the meaning of living in the time of COVID-19. A total number of 130 questionnaires (M = 42.35; DS = 10.52; women: 56.2%) were collected. The Automated Method for Content Analysis (ACASM) procedure was applied to the collected texts to detect the factorial dimensions underpinning (dis)similarities in the respondents' narratives. Such factors were interpreted as the markers of latent dimensions of meanings (DS). The two main DS that emerged were characterised by the pertinentisation of two extremely basic issues: what the pandemic represents (health emergency versus personal crisis) and its impact (powerlessness versus discovery of new meanings). On the whole, health workers' narratives help to highlight the risk of normalising the feelings of fear and impotence experienced when facing the health emergency and the need to recognise that such feelings are strictly intertwined with the limited resources received to "face the battle"; the need to recognize the human vulnerability of the women and men "inside the lab coat" and the human effort to maintain or reconstruct a sense of self and purpose in the face of troubled circumstances.

With the advent of Covid-19, health workers have been under constant physical and psychological pressure. Italy was among the first countries to face the health emergency in a period of great uncertainty about the virus and the ways to treat patients. The present study aims to analyse the levels of emotional distress (ED) and psychosomatic symptoms (PS) of Italian frontline health workers during the Covid-19 emergency, and their relationship with the evaluation of the institutional responses received. A survey was available online during the peak of health system overload. Health workers' ED, PS and perceived overall wellbeing were assessed, along with the perceived adequacy of the emotional support, hygiene and safety measures, and protection received from the national government, regional administration and local hospital. A total of 103 questionnaires were collected [Women: 51.5%; mean age, 41.8 years; SD: ±10,7; high-risk zone: 41.7%]. Correlation analyses were applied to investigate the relationship between the measures of emotional distress and psychosomatic symptoms; ANOVA was applied to compare these measures among groups from different risk zones and with different perceived emotional and safety protection. About half of the health workers showed medium or high scores on emotional exhaustion, exceeded the cut-off for medium, high or very high psychosomatic symptom burdens, felt they have never or rarely been protected by the institutional responses and judged the emotional support received as inadequate; 32% judged the safety and hygiene measures as insufficient. Significant associations were found between measures of ED, PS and perceived change in personal wellbeing. Differences in perceived institutional support and adequacy of hygiene and safety measures related to significant differences in PS and perceived change in personal wellbeing. ED and PS were widely experienced by frontline health workers. Physical and psychological symptoms were amplified by the perceived lack of institutional support. ...

Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic progressive neurological disease clinically characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms, with an increasing impact on the quality of life not only for the patient but also for the caregivers. Twenty-six primary caregivers (female = 19; mean age = 57.04, SD = 10.64) of PD patients were consecutively recruited. Several psychological aspects were verified through clinical screening tests: EQ-5D and PQoL CARER for quality of life, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI), Family Strain Questionnaire (FSQ), and Adult Attachment Questionnaire. We found that the burden was generally higher in cohabiting female caregivers of patients with dementia as compared with not cohabiting caregivers. Severe burden emerged in 7.7% of the participants according to the PQoL. The mean score of this scale was higher in cohabiting caregivers. Finally, according to the CBI, 19.2% of the participants suffered from severe burden, with mean scores of the CIB-S and CIB-E subscales higher in cohabitants. Our study highlights the need to investigate more thoroughly the burden of caregivers of PD patients and its associated factors, and to pay more attention to the physical and psychological health of caregivers to improve their quality of life.