Background and objective: The health of Europe’s psychiatry and mental health professionals has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to explore the perception of the negative effects of COVID-19 among mental health professionals in Switzerland from July to the end of November 2021.
Method: Data was collected between July and the end of November 2021 via an online questionnaire among mental health professionals in Europe. The Swiss data was collected via the same online questionnaire, which was widely distributed at a local level thanks to the efforts of professional associations, psychiatric institutions and health schools. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: organizational adaptations, use of digital tools, and professional and personal experience of the health crisis. The Swiss data on professional and personal experience was analyzed descriptively.
Results: A total of 157 caregivers completed the survey (64% women, 36% men). The majority of the respondents were qualified psychiatric nurses (40%), 66.2% of whom worked in the canton of Vaud. Among the participants, 54.1% felt that the COVID-19 pandemic and its management had a negative impact on their mental health. The results showed that 60% of participants described feeling tensed or stressed during the pandemic, 40.1% reported feelings of sadness or depression and 26.1% mentioned feeling less happy than usual.
Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic had a considerable impact on the mental health of mental health professionals. These professionals are often underrepresented in current studies and are at risk to being further overlooked in formal workplace support offerings. Mobile and early interventions would be useful in promoting the well-being of mental health professionals.