Self-esteem, stress and anxiety among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

ŁASKAWIEC-ŻUŁAWIŃSKA, Daria, WLAZŁO, Marika, GRAJEK, Mateusz, SZLACHETA, Patryk and KORZONEK-SZLACHETA, Ilona. Self-esteem, stress and anxiety among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2023;20(1):78-89. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2023.20.01.009 https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/44603 https://zenodo.org/record/8160252 The journal has had 40 points in Ministry of Education and Science of Poland parametric evaluation. Annex to the announcement of the Minister of Education and Science of December 21, 2021. No. 32343. Has a Journal's Unique Identifier: 201159. Scientific disciplines assigned: Physical Culture Sciences (Field of Medical sciences and health sciences); Health Sciences (Field of Medical Sciences and Health Sciences). Punkty Ministerialne z 2019 - aktualny rok 40 punktów. Załącznik do komunikatu Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 21 grudnia 2021 r. Lp. 32343. Posiada Unikatowy Identyfikator Czasopisma: 201159. Przypisane dyscypliny naukowe: Nauki o kulturze fizycznej (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu); Nauki o zdrowiu (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu). © The Authors 2023; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 17.06.2023. Revised: 21.06.2023. Accepted: 13.07.2023. Published: 18.07.2023. Self-esteem, stress and anxiety among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic Daria Łaskawiec-Żuławińska1 , Marika Wlazło2 , Mateusz Grajek3 , Patryk Szlacheta4 , Ilona Korzonek-Szlacheta4 1 Department of Prevention of Metabolic Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences in Bytom, Silesian Medical University in Katowice, Piekarska 18, 41-902 Bytom, d201081@365.sum.edu.pl , ORCID: 0000-0003-0006-7603 2 Department of Prevention of Metabolic Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences in Bytom, Silesian Medical University in Katowice, Piekarska 18, 41-902 Bytom, s78061@365.sum.edu.pl , ORCID: 0000-0003-0476-3585 3 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Public Health, Bytom, Silesian Medical University in Katowice, Piekarska 18, 41-902 Bytom, mgrajek@sum.edu.pl , ORCID: 4 Department of Prevention of Metabolic Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences in Bytom, Silesian Medical University in Katowice, Piekarska 18, 41-902 Bytom, pszlacheta@sum.edu.pl , ORCID: 0000-0002-5651-3767 ikorzonek@sum.edu.pl , ORCID: 0000-0003-4736-7806 Abstract Introduction: The effects of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of many individuals are now becoming increasingly apparent, especially among health care workers, who not infrequently develop the so-called post-pandemic stress syndrome, referring in essence to post-traumatic stress disorder. This is a consequence of the fact that medics, especially those who worked on the front lines during the pandemic experienced enormous challenges and difficulties every day that burdened and/or exceeded their individual abilities to adapt. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess well-being and the incidence of stress and anxiety among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: 182 people participated in the study, belonging to the representatives of medical personnel. The study used a questionnaire technique, by providing a survey with questions in electronic form. The survey consisted of both original questions and standardized psychometric tools, i.e. WHO-5, PSS-10, GAD-7. Results: Based on the scales, 78.6% of respondents were found to have elevated levels of stress and anxiety with a concomitant decrease in well-being in relation to COVID-19 work. Conclusions: Disturbing mental health implications were found among health care workers. Those surveyed showed elevated levels of experiencing anxiety and stress, as well as reduced well-being while working during the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure optimal mental well-being among medical professionals, he recommends guaranteeing access to mental health support and assistance programs for health care workers. Keywords: COVID-19; mental health; well-being; stress; anxiet