Mental Health of Caregivers Working in Nursing Homes during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: There have been numerous reports of cluster outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in hospitals and nursing homes. Healthcare workers fighting COVID-19 experience mental health issues. Caregivers in nursing homes experienced increased psychological distress and concern about deterioration of their mental health. We conducted a large-scale web-based survey exploring mental health among caregivers working in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic with the aim of identifying their support needs. Methods: Survey participants were caregivers working at 284 nursing homes in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan. The survey period was from September 2020 to March 2021. Participants responded to a questionnaire covering gender, age, occupation, infections at facilities, infection protection, changes in nursing home users, cooperation with other medical institutions, and prejudice/discrimination. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to evaluate participants’ depression and anxiety. Results: In total, 676 participants completed the survey; 350 (52.5%) were with anxiety symptoms and 378 (56.7%) were with depressive symptoms (scores exceeding the HADS cut-off points). The risk for anxiety was associated with being care worker or social worker. The risk of anxiety or depression was high when family caregivers’ mental state changed. Discussion/Conclusion: This study found that caregivers working in nursing homes were exposed to high levels of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic and were at high risk for developing depression and anxiety.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Mental Health of Caregivers Working in Nursing Homes during the COVID-19 Pandemic ; volume:51 ; number:3 ; year:2022 ; pages:233-240 ; extent:8 ; Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders ; 51, Heft 3 (2022), 233-240 (gesamt 8)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Takahashi, Takumi ; Ekoyama, Saori ; Tachikawa, Hirokazu ; Midorikawa, Haruhiko ; Shiratori, Yuki ; Ota, Miho ; Takahashi, Sho ; Arai, Tetsuaki

Further information

• DOI: 10.1159/000524953
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2022081100543952675057
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:33 AM CEST