Worry, Severity, Controllability, and Preventive Behaviours of COVID-19 and Their Associations with Mental Health of Turkish Healthcare Workers Working at a Pandemic Hospital

Int J Ment Health Addict. 2022;20(4):2306-2320. doi: 10.1007/s11469-021-00515-0. Epub 2021 Mar 3.

Abstract

Previous research suggests that psychological and behavioural factors such as worry, severity, controllability, and preventive behaviours are associated with mental health and well-being. Less is known about simultaneous effects of those factors in predicting mental health and well-being. This study aimed to present the prevalence of mental health problems and identify the predictors of mental health and subjective well-being of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included 245 healthcare workers (M age = 33.16 ± 7.33; 50.61% females) from a pandemic hospital in Turkey. Healthcare workers reported mild/severe depression, anxiety, and stress. Females tended to be more vulnerable to developing psychiatric symptoms. Worry, severity, and controllability significantly predicted depression, anxiety, stress, and subjective well-being while preventive behaviours only predicted subjective well-being. These findings suggest the importance of assessing healthcare workers' experiences of mental health and subjective well-being and their associated factors to assist mental health providers tailor assessments and treatment during a pandemic.

Keywords: Controllability; Mental health problems; Preventive behaviours; Severity; Subjective well-being; Worry.