ArticlePloS one2023
Emotional exhaustion and traumatic stress among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: Longitudinal changes and protective factors.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effectiveness and economic evidence of organizational and management interventions to promote mental wellbeing and resilience in elderly care workers and informal caregivers - a systematic review.BMC health services research · 2025Pooled it
- Secondary traumatic stress and burnout in healthcare professional: systematic review and a meta-analysis based on correlation coefficient.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Changes in nurses' quality of work life prior to and during COVID: A repeated cross-sectional analysis.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2026Article
- Professional Quality of Life Among Institution-Based Psychologists in Ecuador: A Multilevel Cross-Sectional Study of Compassion Satisfaction, Burnout, and Secondary Traumatic Stress.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Examination of Relationships Between 24-Hour Movement Behaviors and Mental Health Outcomes in Frontline Workers: Protocol for a Scoping Review.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Work-related quality of life and associated factors among healthcare professionals in public hospitals of Bahir Dar City, Northwest Ethiopia.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Teacher Well-Being and Burnout Resilience: Dimensional Independence, Pandemic Burden, and Profile Analysis in Primary Education.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- The impact of core belief disruption on posttraumatic growth and PTSD in healthcare workers: examining the mediating effect of rumination.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Self-efficacy as a psychological resource in the management of stress suffered by ICU nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective study on emotional exhaustion.Nursing in critical care · 2025Observational
- The Development of a Comprehensive Dimensions Scale for Assessing Clinical Teachers' Occupational Well-Being.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHealthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of experiencing work-related stress, burnout syndrome, and depression, especially during infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19. Contributing factors include increased workload, lack of personal protective equipment, and inadequate support from the healthcare administration. Longitudinal studies have shown that the mental health status of HCWs has deteriorated over time. Social support and compassion satisfaction (CS) are protective factors that can mitigate adverse mental health effects. The present longitudinal study examined the mental health status of HCWs during the COVID-19 outbreak and aimed to identify potential predictors and protective factors.
methodsThe study comprised 386 healthcare workers in Hungary and was conducted in two waves (T1 and T2) from January 2021 to January 2022. Participants completed an online survey including the Professional Quality of Life Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, demographic and work-related background factors. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, and a cross-lagged panel model (CLPM).
resultsFrontline HCWs had higher levels of secondary traumatic stress (STS) and emotional exhaustion (EE) than non-frontline healthcare workers. Both groups experienced significant increases in these measures between T1 and T2. The CLPM indicated that EE had a significant lagged effect on STS among frontline workers, while STS had a significant lagged effect on EE among non-frontline workers. CS had a significant protective effect on both STS and EE in both groups.
conclusionsThe findings suggest that CS protects EE and STS, particularly among frontline HCWs. The study also showed that different causative relationships exist between these factors among frontline and non-frontline HCWs, which underlines the possible cyclical relationship between the two depending on the circumstances. The results provide insights into the protective role of positive work experiences and the importance of considering the needs of both frontline and non-frontline HCWs in preventive intervention programs.
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