Psychological Impact of COVID19 Among Doctors in Assiut University Hospitals

Prolonged exposure to stressful working environments resulting in a state of physical and emotional depletion and burnout. Nowadays, while facing corona virus, health care workers are on the front line and directly assist in diagnosis, caring and treatment of patients with COVID, thus keeping them at higher risk developing psychological distress and other mental health symptoms.

According to previous studies, during the outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), frontline medical staff had reported high levels of stress that resulted in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

A lot of factors contribute to increase mental effect among healthcare workers as increasing the suspected cases and workload , depletion of personal protective equipment's , drug shortage and feeling inadequately supported .

In Toronto study(2008), four major risk factors for stress among medical staff during the SARS outbreak were identified; including the perception of the medical of their risk of infection, the impact of SARS on their work, feelings of depression, and working in high-risk medical units. moreover, there are other factors as social stigmatization and contact with infected patients, also has previously been shown to be associated with increased levels of stress and anxiety in medical staff .