Indian Nurses Faced Multiple Mental Health Issues During Covid-19, Says Study

During the pandemic, one group of people who were constantly on their heels were the frontline healthcare workers. Treating Covid-19 patients and helping many deal with the pandemic-induced anxiety and fear, healthcare workers selflessly left behind their homes to serve the patients who needed them.

However, amidst this public health emergency, many failed to address the mental and physical health of medical professionals being put on the line. A recent study paper published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatric Nursing by G Balamurugan, G Radhakrishnan, and M Vijayarani looks into the many mental health issues faced by nurses in the country during the pandemic.

Disrupted Work- Life Balance Of Health Professional

Medical health professionals worked round the clock to treat COVID-19 patients and help them recover. Many of these personnel themselves faced several mental health issues due to the prevailing situation, especially during the second wave. The study revealed that many nurses had felt fear, burnout, fatigue, stress, depression, anxiety, and insomnia during the health emergency. The coronavirus pandemic that broke out in the country in March 2020 prolonged for a couple of years and continues to affect a few fractions of people.

Apart from the common mental health issues reported by most nurses, they conveyed that the pandemic had entirely disrupted their work-life imbalance. Many nurses had to quarantine within hospital facilities to ensure that they did not take back home the virus. This brought the workers a deep sense of helplessness and phobia, despite which they continued to stand by the patients. Around the time, several medical professionals had also taken to social media to request people to follow the protocols by showing how the nurses spent their daily rounds in PPE kits. The kits were such that they could not even breathe properly, and they still wore them all day long, keeping the patient's safety in mind.

Rising Caseload & Nurses' Mental Health

The study made the findings public during a press conference in Panaji, with the Indian Society of Psychiatric Nurses (ISPN) saying that the plight of nurses in India needs to be addressed. ISPN's president K Reddemma noted that the pandemic had a serious bearing on the mental health of the nurses. She then went on to pay tributes to the nurses for their work and conveyed that World Health Day (April 7, 2023) will also be observed as 'Samarpan Day' (Dedication Day).

Radhakrishnan, who co-authored the research study, said that the ISPN and Indian Nursing Council (INC) had come together to support the healthcare personnel during the second wave. According to a report by The Hindu, the INC and ISPN websites had a list of mental health nursing volunteers along with their phone numbers, preferred language, and preferred time mentioned. G Balamurgan conveyed that between May and August 2021, the mental health nursing volunteers received about 177 calls. There was an upward trend in the calls received during the second wave, which showed a direct correlation between the caseload and the nurses' mental health. After the second wave, however, the number of calls started going down gradually.

Also Read: A Looming Threat! India's Mental Health Pandemic Sees No End