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A new multi-center study by CUNY SPH doctoral candidate Thinh Vu and colleagues has uncovered significant long-term psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on frontline health care workers in Vietnam, underscoring an urgent need for comprehensive mental health support systems within the health sector.
Among 462 participating health care workers, researchers found that nearly three in four experienced psychological distress, including symptoms of depression (26.8%), anxiety (20.8%), and insomnia (23.4%) well after the pandemic’s peak. This represents a stark decline from pre-pandemic reports, where 85.3% of participants rated their mental health as good or better, dropping to a low of 40.7% during COVID-19 deployment and only partially recovering to 55.6% at the time of the study.
Key predictors of poor mental health outcomes included pre-existing physical and mental health conditions, deployment during Vietnam’s devastating third and fourth COVID-19 waves, and work assignments in field hospitals. Notably, health care workers with pre-pandemic mental health issues were nearly four times more likely to report anxiety, and those working in field hospitals had more than twice the risk of developing insomnia.
“Our findings underscore the enduring psychological toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on Vietnam’s frontline health care workers,” says Vu. “It is crucial that we recognize their sacrifices and provide them with the necessary mental health resources to support their long-term well-being. This is not only important for the individuals themselves but also for the resilience of the healthcare system as a whole.”
The study strongly advocates for the implementation of early intervention programs, the provision of sustained psychological support services, and the undertaking of future longitudinal research to comprehensively understand and address the evolving long-term mental health needs of frontline health care workers.
