The mental health of doctors during the Covid-19 pandemic
Keywords:
Covid-19, Mental Health, Healthcare Workers, PandemicAbstract
The COVID‑19 pandemic poses an unparalleled threat to all human beings; and doctors being frontline warriors; in this battle against the virus; faced unprecedented threats to their own physical and mental health; while performing their duties of caring for and protecting the health of their patients. Many doctors are reluctant to reveal their difficulties even when experiencing significant psychological distress. Hence the need for workplace interventions that reduce mental health stigma and promote sharing and support for colleagues with psychological difficulties might improve help seeking behaviour and attitudes amongst doctors. Herein we study the mental health of doctors; and further try to specifically look out for differences in the mental health between the frontline doctors working in the Covid Care Units (i.e. the Covid Wards, Intensive Care Units) in comparison to the other doctors who work in the Non-Covid departments of our institute; which is a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai and the possible scope for interventions including counselling services for all the doctors in testing times like pandemics.
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