| Abstract [eng] |
Due to the nature of their work and global health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, medical personnel often face severe psychological difficulties. Due to time constraints and the prevailing stigma among medical professionals, obtaining psychological support can be challenging for them. Cognitive behavioral therapy-based internet interventions can offer flexible means of psychological assistance for healthcare workers, although research in this area is still limited. The aim of this study is to identify changes in the mental health of stressed medical personnel using an cognitive behavioral therapy-based internet intervention. The participants were 26 medical workers (24 females; M (SD) = 39.88 (13.42)). Participants registered and were participating in the internet- based CBT intervention, called FOREST, for six weeks. Participants were assessed before and immediately after the intervention. Among used questionnaires were sociodemographic data questionnaire, Adjustment Disorder New Module-8 (ADNM-8) to identify stressors, Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10) to assess perceived stress, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to assess depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7) to assess anxiety and the World Health Organisation-5 Well-Being Index (WHO-5) to assess psychological well-being. It was found that 80.77% of the medical personnel had experienced severe difficulties due to amount of work, and 65.39% had experienced conflicts in the family. Older medical workers experienced less psychological difficulties and had higher psychological well-being but there was no association of mental health with seniority, workload and thoughts about career change. Finally, it was found that perceived stress, depression and anxiety among medical personnel decreased after using CBT-based internet intervention, but no significant changes in psychological well-being were found. Changes in mental health were not associated with patient death experience. |
