First Reactions and Attitudes of Psychiatric Workers in Budapest Psychiatric Care Units Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic

Katalin Csigó, PhD^a,* ; Andrea Ritzl, MA^a

Prim Care Companion CNS Disord 2021;23(3):20m02850

ABSTRACT

Objective: To focus on the first feelings, attitudes, and planned reactions of psychiatric workers in Hungary to the news of the appearance of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to examine any differences between psychiatrists/psychologists and nurses/other professionals regarding these attitudes.

Methods: Hungarian psychiatric workers (N = 119) including psychiatrists/psychologists (n = 78) and nurses/other professionals (n = 41) participated in the study. To measure attitudes, a questionnaire was designed consisting of 7 questions and filled out within 1–3 days after the declaration of emergency in response to COVID-19 in Hungary on March 11, 2020.

Results: Psychiatric workers, especially psychiatrists/psychologists, regarded information gathering from valid sources as important. When examining the first feelings, we found that the psychiatrists/psychologists group tended to feel higher extent of anxiety, while the nurses/other professionals group showed higher extent of hope. When investigating willingness to work in the pandemic situation, a lower percentage of Hungarian psychiatric workers (58%) would choose to continue working compared to previous research. Answers to open-ended questions revealed that denial was the most frequent coping reaction.

Conclusions: These differences could be attributed to the finding that psychiatrists/psychologists, who had faced the reality of the virus situation via the news, tended to have more realistic attitudes toward the virus, while nurses/other professionals, who had avoided valid information, tended to have less realistic attitudes.

Free Access: Please Log In

This content is completely free—but you need to be logged in to read the full article. If you already have an account, please log in below. Otherwise, register for free to unlock instant access.

References (13)

Portfolio. How many health workers have been diagnosed with coronavirus in Hungary. Accessed March 30, 2021. https://www.portfolio.hu/gazdasag/20200531/kiderult-hany-egeszsegugyi-dolgozo-lett-koronavirusos-magyarorszagon-434812
Bai Y, Lin CC, Lin CY, et al. Survey of stress reactions among health care workers involved with the SARS outbreak. Psychiatr Serv. 2004;55(9):1055–1057. PubMed CrossRef
Xiang YT, Yang Y, Li W, et al. Timely mental health care for the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak is urgently needed. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020;7(3):228–229. PubMed
Chua SE, Cheung V, Cheung C, et al. Psychological effects of the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong on high-risk health care workers. Can J Psychiatry. 2004;49(6):391–393. PubMed CrossRef
Ma X, He Z, Wang Y, et al; China Critical Care Clinical Trial Group (CCCCTG). Knowledge and attitudes of healthcare workers in Chinese intensive care units regarding 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. BMC Infect Dis. 2011;11(1):24. PubMed CrossRef
Tan BYQ, Chew NWS, Lee GKH, et al. Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers in Singapore. Ann Intern Med. 2020;173(4):317–320. PubMed
Shanafelt T, Ripp J, Trockel M. Understanding and addressing sources of anxiety among health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA. 2020;323(21):2133–2134. PubMed CrossRef
Abdel Wahed WY, Hefzy EM, Ahmed MI, et al. Assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and perception of health care workers regarding COVID-19: a cross-sectional study from Egypt. J Community Health. 2020;45(6):1242–1251. PubMed
Saqlain M, Munir MM, Rehman SU, et al. Knowledge, attitude, practice and perceived barriers among healthcare workers regarding COVID-19: a cross-sectional survey from Pakistan. J Hosp Infect. 2020;105(3):419–423. PubMed CrossRef
Asemahagn MA. Factors determining the knowledge and prevention practice of healthcare workers towards COVID-19 in Amhara region, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional survey. Trop Med Health. 2020;48(1):72. PubMed CrossRef
Limbu DK, Piryani RM, Sunny AK. Healthcare workers’ knowledge, attitude and practices during the COVID-19 pandemic response in a tertiary care hospital of Nepal. PLoS One. 2020;15(11):e0242126. PubMed CrossRef
Shi Y, Wang J, Yang Y, et al. Knowledge and attitudes of medical staff in Chinese psychiatric hospitals regarding COVID-19. Brain Behav Immun Health. 2020;4:100064. PubMed CrossRef
Xiang YT, Zhao YJ, Liu ZH, et al. The COVID-19 outbreak and psychiatric hospitals in China: managing challenges through mental health service reform. Int J Biol Sci. 2020;16(10):1741–1744. PubMed CrossRef