Perceived Stress and Coping Strategies of Healthcare Workers in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

In 2020, the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical workers who are fighting for the lives and health of patients in the "red zones" were on the front line in this struggle. The huge level of responsibility, the increasing duration of shifts, difficult working conditions, fears for their health and the health of their loved ones, and many other factors determined the fact that doctors themselves began to need support for their physical and psychological well-being. The purpose of our work was to study the level of perceived stress in the context of the features of coping strategies in medical professionals with different practical experience (students, practicing doctors) in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The total number of study participants was 59 people, including 35 experienced medical workers aged 33 to 72 years (M=47,88; SD=9,44) and 24 medical students aged 20 to 29 years (M=24,16; SD=3,21) without professional experience, but who voluntarily went to work in the "red zones" during the pandemic. As a result of the study, data were obtained on high levels of perceived stress and overstrain by medical professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is especially pronounced in students. The differences between experienced doctors and medical students were revealed according to the criterion of their preference for certain coping strategies, namely, the predominance of "Escape–avoidance" coping among students. The connection of dominant coping behavior strategies with the level of perceived stress is also established: students who resort to confrontational coping experience a higher level of perceived stress, and a decrease in their level of overexertion is associated with a greater degree of self-control strategy. Experienced doctors do not have both of these connections.

1. Ababkov V.A., Baryshnikova K., Vorontsova-Venger O.V. et al. Validizatsiya russkoyazychnoi versii oprosnika «Shkala vosprinimaemogo stressa-10» [Validation of the Russian version of the questionnaire "Scale of perceived stress-10"]. Vestnik Sankt- Peterburgskogo universiteta. Seriya 16. Vyp. 2. Psikhologiya. Pedagogika=Bulletin of the Saint- Petersburg University. Series 16. Issue. 2. Psychology. Pedagogy, 2016, no. 2, pp. 6–15. DOI: 10.21638/11701/spbu16.2016.202 (in Russ, abstr. In Engl.).
2. Velikanova L.P., Kostina L.A. Osobennosti koping-strategii studentov i vrachei na etapakh adaptatsii k uchebnoi i professional'noi deyatel'nosti [Features of coping strategies of students and doctors at the stages of adaptation to educational and professional activities]. In Kh.M. Galimzyanova, Psikhologicheskoe i pedagogicheskoe soprovozhdenie studentov vuza v sovremennom sotsiokul'turnom prostranstve: Materialy nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem=Psychological and Pedagogical Support of University Students in the Modern Socio-Cultural Space: Proceedings of a Scientific-Practical Conference with International Participation. Astrakhan': Sorokin Roman Vasil'evich, 2018, pp. 60–66. (in Russ.).
3. Govorin N.V., Bodagova E.A. Psikhicheskoe zdorov'e i kachestvo zhizni vrachei [Mental health and quality of life of doctors]. Tomsk: Ivan Fedorov, 2013. 126 p. (in Russ.).
4. Gritsenko V.V., Reznik A.D., Konstantinov V.V. et al. Strakh pered koronavirusnym zabolevaniem (COVID-19) i bazisnye ubezhdeniya lichnosti [Fear of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and basic beliefs of the individual]. Klinicheskaya i spetsial'naya psikhologiya=Clinical Psychology and Special Education, 2020, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 99–118. DOI: 10.17759/cpse.2020090205 (in Russ, abstr. In Engl.).
5. Isaeva E.R., Gureeva I.L. Sindrom emotsional'nogo vygoraniya i ego vliyanie na koping- povedenie meditsinskikh rabotnikov [Burnout syndrome and its impact on the coping behavior of medical professionals]. Nauchno-teoreticheskii zhurnal «Uchenye zapiski»=Scientific and Theoretical Journal "Scientific Notes", 2010, no. 6 (64), pp. 26–30. (in Russ.).
6. Kondrat'ev M.D. Dinamika sotsial'nykh predstavlenii studentov o vrache v usloviyakh pandemii COVID-19 [Dynamics of students ' social perceptions of a doctor in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic]. Sotsial'naya psikhologiya: voprosy teorii i praktiki. Materialy V Vserossiiskoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem pamyati M.Yu. Kondrat'eva=Social psychology: questions of theory and practice. Materials of the V All- Russian scientific and practical conference with international participation in memory of M.Yu. Kondratiev. Moscow: publ. of MSUPE, 2020. 594 p. (in Russ.).
7. Konovalova O.V., Militsina V.A. Osobennosti koping-povedeniya u meditsinskikh rabotnikov [Features of coping behavior in medical professionals]. Psikhologiya i pedagogika: metodika i problemy prakticheskogo primeneniya=Psychology and Pedagogy: Methods and Problems of Practical Application, 2008, no. 1, pp. 320–325. (in Russ.).
8. Korekhova M.V., Solov'ev A.G., Kirov M.Yu. et al. Psikhologicheskie faktory professional'nogo vygoraniya vrachei anesteziologov-reanimatologov [Psychological factors of professional burnout of anesthesiologists-resuscitators]. Klinicheskaya i spetsial'naya psikhologiya=Clinical Psychology and Special Education, 2019, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 16–37. DOI: 10.17759/cpse.2019080202 (in Russ, abstr. In Engl.).
9. Krasavtseva Yu.V., Kiseleva M.G., Kasyan G.R. et al. Otsenka psikhologicheskogo statusa vrachei-urologov vo vremya pandemii COVID-19 [Assessment of the psychological status of urologists during the COVID-19 pandemic]. Urologiya=Urology, 2020, no. 3, pp. 5–9. DOI 10.18565/urology.2020.3.5-9 (in Russ, abstr. In Engl.).
10. Kryukova T.L., Kuftyak E.V., Zamyshlyaeva M.S. Adaptatsiya metodik, izuchenie sovladayushchego povedeniya Way of Coping Questionnaire (oprosnik sposobov sovladaniya R. Lazarusa i S. Folkmana) [Adaptation of methods, study of coping behavior Way of Coping Questionnaire (questionnaire of coping methods by R. Lazarus and S. Folkman)]. Psikhologicheskaya diagnostika=Psychological Diagnostics, 2005, no. 3, pp. 57–76. (in Russ.).
11. Leonova A.B., M.A. Bagrii. Sindrom professional'nogo stressa u vrachei raznykh spetsial'nostei [Occupational stress syndrome in doctors of different specialties]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 14: Psikhologiya = Bulletin of the Moscow University. Series 14: Psychology, 2009, no. 3, pp. 44–53. (in Russ.).
12. Malygin V.L., Iskandirova A.B., Pakhtusova E.E. et al. Vliyanie lichnostnykh osobennostei i koping-strategii pri sindrome emotsional'nogo vygoraniya u vrachei psikhiatrov i narkologov [The influence of personal characteristics and coping strategies in the syndrome of emotional burnout in psychiatrists and narcologists]. Prikladnye informatsionnye aspekty meditsiny=Applied Information Aspects of Medicine, 2008, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 76–83. (in Russ.).
13. Matyushkina E.Ya., Mikita O.Yu., Kholmogorova A.B. Uroven' professional'nogo vygoraniya vrachei-ordinatorov, prokhodyashchikh stazhirovku v skoropomoshchnom statsionare: dannye do situatsii pandemii [The level of professional burnout of resident doctors undergoing training in a rapid-care hospital: data before the pandemic situation]. Konsul'tativnaya psikhologiya i psikhoterapiya=Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy, 2020, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 46–69. DOI: 10.17759/cpp.2020280203 (in Russ, abstr. In Engl.).
14. Odarushchenko O.I., Kuzyukova A.A., Eremushkina S.M. Sravnitel'nyi analiz urovnya situativnoi i lichnostnoi trevozhnosti meditsinskikh rabotnikov i drugikh grupp naseleniya v usloviyakh pandemii novoi koronavirusnoi infektsii – COVID-19 [Comparative analysis of the level of situational and personal anxiety of medical workers and other population groups in the context of the pandemic of a new coronavirus infection-COVID-19]. Vestnik vosstanovitel'noi meditsiny= Bulletin of Restorative Medicine, 2020, № 3(97), pp. 110–116. DOI: 10.38025/2078-1962-2020-97-3-110-116. (in Russ, abstr. In Engl.).
15. Petrikov S.S., Kholmogorova A.B., Suroegina A.Yu. et al. Professional'noe vygoranie, simptomy emotsional'nogo neblagopoluchiya i distressa u meditsinskikh rabotnikov vo vremya epidemii COVID-19 [Professional burnout, symptoms of emotional distress and distress in medical workers during the COVID-19 epidemic]. Konsul'tativnaya psikhologiya i psikhoterapiya=Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy, 2020, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 8–45. DOI: 10.17759/cpp.2020280202 (in Russ, abstr. In Engl.).
16. Rasskazova E.I., Gordeeva T.O. Koping-strategii v psikhologii stressa: podkhody, metody i perspektivy [Coping strategies in the psychology of stress: approaches, methods and prospects] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Psikhologicheskie issledovaniya: elektron. nauch. zhurn=Psychological Research: Electronic Scientific Journal, 2011, no. 3 (17), p. 4. (in Russ.). URL: http://www.psystudy.ru/index.php/num/2011n3-17/493-rasskazova-gordeeva17. html (Accessed: 18.09.2021).
17. Tsaranov K.N., Zhil'tsov V.A., Klimova E.M. et al. Vospriyatie ugrozy lichnoi bezopasnosti v usloviyakh pandemii COVID-19 meditsinskimi sotrudnikami SShA i Rossii [Perception of the threat to personal safety in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic by medical personnel of the United States and Russia]. Vestnik Moskovskogo gosudarstvennogo oblastnogo universiteta=Bulletin   of the Moscow   State Regional University, 2020, no. 2, pp. 236–247. URL: https://evestnik-mgou.ru/ru/Articles/View/1008 (Accessed: 15.09.2021). (in Russ.).
18. Adams J.G., Walls R.M. Supporting the health care workforce during the COVID-19 global epidemic. JAMA, 2020, vol. 323, no. 15, pp. 1439–1440. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2020.3972
19. Buijssen H. Collegiale ondersteuning en peer support na een overweldigende ervaring [Peer support and peer support after an overwhelming experience]. Amersfoort: De Vrije Uitgevers, 2020. 172 p. (in Dutch).
20. Kisely S., Warren N., McMahon L. et al. Occurrence, prevention, and management of the psychological effects of emerging virus outbreaks on healthcare workers: rapid review and meta-analysis. BMJ, 2020, no. 5. URL: https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1642 (Accessed 07.09.2021).
21. Lai J., Ma S., Wang Y. et al. Factors associated with mental health outcomes among health care workers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019. JAMA Network Open, 2020, no. 3(3). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.3976
22. Lazarus R.S. Psychological stress and the coping process. NY: McGrawHill Book, 1966. 466 p.
23. Lazarus R., Folkman S. Stress, appraisal and coping. N.Y.: Springer, 1984. 445 p.