The mental health of laboratory and rehabilitation specialists during COVID-19: A rapid review

Liam Ishaky; Myuri Sivanthan; Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia; Andrew Papadopoulos; Basem Gohar; Liam Ishaky; Myuri Sivanthan; Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia; Andrew Papadopoulos; Basem Gohar

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2023006

AIMS Public Health

2023, Volume 10, Issue 1: 63-77. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2023006

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Review

The mental health of laboratory and rehabilitation specialists during COVID-19: A rapid review

1.
Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd E. Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
2.
Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, 27 King's College Cir, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A1, Canada
3.
Centre for Research in Occupational Safety & Health, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Rd, Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada

Received: 26 October 2022 Revised: 22 January 2023 Accepted: 01 February 2023 Published: 17 February 2023

Backgrounds
Healthcare workers have experienced considerable stress and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these healthcare workers are medical laboratory professionals and rehabilitation specialists, specifically, occupational therapists, and physical therapists, who all perform critical services for the functioning of a healthcare system.

Purpose
This rapid review examined the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of medical laboratory professionals (MLPs), occupational therapists (OTs) and physical therapists (PTs) and identified gaps in the research necessary to understand the impact of the pandemic on these healthcare workers.

Methods
We systematically searched “mental health” among MLPs, OTs and PTs using three databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and CINAHL).

Results
Our search yielded 8887 articles, 16 of which met our criteria. Our results revealed poor mental health among all occupational groups, including burnout, depression, and anxiety. Notably, MLPs reported feeling forgotten and unappreciated compared to other healthcare groups. In general, there is a dearth of literature on the mental health of these occupational groups before and during the pandemic; therefore, unique stressors are not yet uncovered.

Conclusions
Our results highlight poor mental health outcomes for these occupational groups despite the dearth of research. In addition to more research among these groups, we recommend that policymakers focus on improving workplace cultures and embed more intrinsic incentives to improve job retention and reduce staff shortage. In future emergencies, providing timely and accurate health information to healthcare workers is imperative, which could also help reduce poor mental health outcomes.
- COVID-19,
- mental health,
- medical laboratory professionals,
- occupational therapists,
- physical therapists,
- rapid review
Citation: Liam Ishaky, Myuri Sivanthan, Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia, Andrew Papadopoulos, Basem Gohar. The mental health of laboratory and rehabilitation specialists during COVID-19: A rapid review[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2023, 10(1): 63-77. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2023006

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Abstract

Backgrounds

Healthcare workers have experienced considerable stress and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these healthcare workers are medical laboratory professionals and rehabilitation specialists, specifically, occupational therapists, and physical therapists, who all perform critical services for the functioning of a healthcare system.

Purpose

This rapid review examined the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of medical laboratory professionals (MLPs), occupational therapists (OTs) and physical therapists (PTs) and identified gaps in the research necessary to understand the impact of the pandemic on these healthcare workers.

Methods

We systematically searched “mental health” among MLPs, OTs and PTs using three databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and CINAHL).

Results

Our search yielded 8887 articles, 16 of which met our criteria. Our results revealed poor mental health among all occupational groups, including burnout, depression, and anxiety. Notably, MLPs reported feeling forgotten and unappreciated compared to other healthcare groups. In general, there is a dearth of literature on the mental health of these occupational groups before and during the pandemic; therefore, unique stressors are not yet uncovered.

Conclusions

Our results highlight poor mental health outcomes for these occupational groups despite the dearth of research. In addition to more research among these groups, we recommend that policymakers focus on improving workplace cultures and embed more intrinsic incentives to improve job retention and reduce staff shortage. In future emergencies, providing timely and accurate health information to healthcare workers is imperative, which could also help reduce poor mental health outcomes.

Acknowledgments

We want to thank librarian Melanie Cassidy (University of Guelph) for her contributions to developing our search strategy for this rapid review. We would also like to acknowledge MLPs, OTs, and PTs for their work and sacrifice during the pandemic. This study was funded through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR: EG7-179466).

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest.

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