Objectives The present study sought to examine mental health problems among nursing home workers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, to investigate COVID-19 related fears, and to identify pre-pandemic factors associated with current mental health issues. Design A cross-sectional, online survey was used. Setting and Participants All employees among six nursing homes in southwestern France (N=455) were solicited between November, 2020 and June, 2021. Methods The survey instrument was developed within the World Mental Health consortium to screen for COVID-related fears, probable generalized anxiety, panic attacks, depression, post-traumatic stress and substance use disorders in the past 30 days. Results The survey was completed by 127 workers (89.0% female, mean age = 43.42 years, SD=11.29), yielding a 28.5% response rate. Overall, 48.03% reported experiencing fear of infecting others at least most of the time. One in eight (14.96%) indicated that close others feared being infected by them. One third of the sample (34.65%) met criteria for at least one probable current mental disorder. Panic attacks (22.05%) were the most frequently-reported mental health problem, followed by depression (16.54%). In multivariate analyses, the only factor associated with having a current probable mental disorder was the presence of any pre-pandemic mental health problem (AOR=4.76, 95%CI=2.08-10.89). Type of employment contract, full-time status, or medical vs non-medical staff status were not significantly associated with mental health status. Conclusions and Implications The study reveals that one third of nursing home workers in the sample report current probable mental disorders, and these were largely associated with pre-pandemic mental health status. Screening for common mental health problems and facilitating access to appropriate care should be prioritized in nursing homes.
Nursing home workers’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in France