








































Special Edition: Junior Clinical Research (2022), Vol. 2 No. S2 
 https://doi.org/10.47488/dhrp.v2iS2.51 

 
 

 DHR Proceedings ǀ http://dhrproceedings.org  20 2022, Vol. 2 No. S2 20-22 

 

COMMENTARY 

How Did COVID-19 Affect the Mental 

Health of Healthcare Workers? 

 
Daniella Garcia1,2, Eleana Alonso1,3, Kaylen Sauceda1,4, Joshua Rivera1,3, Yuliana Valadez1,5, 

Oliver Ledezma1,6  

 

 
1 2nd Annual Junior Clinical Research Internship, South Texas Academy for Education & Training in Research, DHR Health 

Institute for Research & Development 
2 San Benito High School, San Benito, TX 
3 Weslaco High School, Weslaco, TX 
4 Harlingen High School South, Harlingen, TX 
5 Zapata High School, Zapata, TX 
6 Port Isabel High School, Port Isabel, TX  
 

All correspondence should be addressed to Program Director, 2nd Annual Junior Clinical Research Internship Program, DHR 

Health Institute for Research & Development, 5323 S McColl Road, Edinburg Texas, 78539 

 
Received 06/17/2022 

Accepted for publication 07/14/2022 

Published 07/14/2022 

 

Keywords: COVID-19 disease; mental health; healthcare workers

Introduction 

What started out as an epidemic in December 

2019, COVID-19 soon became our new reality when 

it became a global pandemic. During this time, 

healthcare workers around the world began 

experiencing mental illnesses such as depression 

(77.6%), insomnia (50.4%), and anxiety 7(60.2%) due 

to the pandemic [1]. The pressure of saving lives, the 

demand for aid, and the restless nights began to 

become overbearing. As humanity started to panic and 

the world began to slowly shut down, society relied on 

our healthcare practitioners to save us.  

 

Essential Workers  

 

Among the medical professionals who were 

overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic were those 

who worked on the front lines such as nurses, doctors, 

pharmacists, and respiratory therapists. A healthcare 

provider is a person or entity that provides medical 

care or treatment for the sick or injured [2]. The 

community heavily relied on healthcare providers 

during the pandemic to treat patients infected with 

SARS-CoV-2 and healthcare facilities offered higher 

wages as the first step to improve employee retention 

in healthcare. Frontline healthcare workers had 

enormous responsibilities beyond patient care, 

including mass COVID testing for large populations, 

hosting vaccine clinics, acting as liaisons between 

patients and their families, and educating the public 

about SARS-CoV-2 transmission and treatment. 

These burdens caused healthcare workers to be greatly 

overworked and led to physical and emotional 

exhaustion.  

  



Garcia, et al. COVID-19 and Mental Health of Healthcare Workers 
https://doi.org/10.47488/dhrp.v2iS2.51 

 
 

 DHR Proceedings ǀ http://dhrproceedings.org  22 2022, Vol. 2 No. S2 20-22 

Social and Emotional Impact 

 

Rising mental health challenges were 

reported by these professionals including: post-

traumatic stress, burnout, depression, and anxiety. 

This was due to their occupational activities during 

and after the pandemic [3]. Countless reviews have 

been conducted on healthcare workers' mental health 

throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent 

literature review identified 13 studies that reported that 

1 out of every 5 health care workers have insomnia [3]. 

Other researchers identified 20 studies that concluded 

that healthcare workers generally reported more 

anxiety, depression, and sleep problems, compared to 

the general population [3]. Healthcare workers have 

been at risk of emotional strain and physical 

exhaustion from the provision of care to the increasing 

numbers of patients, who rapidly deteriorated [4]. In 

their work environment, they had a higher chance of 

being exposed to critical illnesses and fearing the 

death of their co-workers [4]. Nurses were obligated to 

work in the frontline and risked being exposed and 

infected with SARS-CoV-2. Nurses had to cope with 

not only their physical well-being but also their 

emotional well-being. A study shows that a total of 

34.1% of nurses suffer from emotional exhaustion, and 

12.6% suffer from depression [5]. 

 

Workload 

 

While they worked, healthcare workers 

experienced irregular hours and higher workloads, as 

they had entered new or unfamiliar clinical roles [6]. 

The extreme pressures that were experienced by 

healthcare workers during a pandemic had increased 

their risk of burnout, which has adverse outcomes, not 

only for individuals' well-being but also for patient 

care and the healthcare system [6].  Workloads in the 

night shifts were significantly higher, compared to 

rotational and morning shifts [7]. 8 hour shifts 

compared to 12 hours had lower mental workloads [7]. 

Nurses caring for patients who contract coronavirus 

disease have experienced significant traumas in the 

form of increased workloads, negative patient 

outcomes, and less social support system access [8]. 

This leads them to become paranoid about the risk of 

exposure towards loved ones. Pre-COVID, nurses had 

to do total care on a patient with a 1:1 ratio. As the 

number of nurses gradually decreased, due to the rise 

of COVID-19, the number of patients outnumbered 

the number of nurses, resulting in a 1:4 ratio [9]. The 

increased number of patients per nurse led to job 

dissatisfaction and position burnouts [10]. Burnout 

causes health professionals to leave, resulting in 

shortages that affect the mental health of those left 

behind. They were more likely to feel fatigued 

compared to other healthcare workers, and were 

concerned about exposing family members they lived 

with to COVID-19.  

 

Resource Shortages 

 

The lack of full protection of nurses across 

the health industry has raised ethical questions such as 

the extent of their duty, scarce resources, and the 

failure of personal protective equipment [11]. They 

were faced with deciding which patient to save and 

which they had to watch suffer. A severe shortage in 

gloves, medical masks, goggles, and face shields 

struck fear of the thought of infecting themselves or 

loved ones. In order to protect themselves and their 

families many health care workers resigned. This 

resulted in a significant decline in workers in the 

healthcare field. Not only was there not enough 

equipment, now there were not enough essential 

workers.  

 

Conclusion 

 

There has been a significant negative effect 

on the mental health of healthcare personnel as a result 

of the limited, uncooperative, and life-threatening 

labor in the confined COVID-19 environment. 

Working shorter shifts and adjusting them can help 

improve healthcare workers' cope with crises and 

ensure worker safety. To prevent mental health issues 

in the future, workers' trauma and experiences should 

be kept to a minimum [12]. 

 

Acknowledgments 

 

Dr. Monica Betancourt-Garcia, MD, Scientific 

Director; Melissa Eddie, MS, Program Manager; 

Xochitl Lopez, BS, Program Coordinator 

 

 



Garcia, et al. COVID-19 and Mental Health of Healthcare Workers 
https://doi.org/10.47488/dhrp.v2iS2.51 

 
 

 DHR Proceedings ǀ http://dhrproceedings.org  22 2022, Vol. 2 No. S2 20-22 

Funding 

 

Funded by DHR Health Institute for Research & 

Development; DHR Health; Region One ESC 

GEARUP College Ready, Career Set! Region One 

ESC GEARUP College Now, Career Connected and 

Region One ESC PATHS 

 

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