Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health
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Scand J Work Environ Health · Nov 2020
The deterioration of mental health among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak: A population-based cohort study of workers in Japan.
Objectives This study compared the longitudinal change in the mental health of healthcare and non-healthcare workers during two months of the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan. Methods Data were derived from a prospective online cohort study of 1448 full-time employees in Japan. Participants were surveyed at baseline from 19-22 March 2020 (T1) and at follow-up from 22-26 May 2020 (T2). ⋯ After adjusting for the covariates, psychological distress (and subscales of fatigue, anxiety, and depression) as well as fear and worry of COVID-19 increased statistically significantly more among healthcare than non-healthcare workers from T1 to T2. Conclusions Psychological distress, together with fear and worry of COVID-19, increased more among healthcare compared to non-healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. The study confirmed that healthcare workers are an important target for mental healthcare during the COVID-19 outbreak.