WER HILFT DEN HELFERINNEN: GESUNDHEITS - UND PFLEGEPERSONAL IN DER PANDEMIEWHO HELPS THE HELPERS: HEALTH AND CARE PERSONNEL IN THE PANDEMIC.

In diesem Beitrag wird aufgezeigt, dass das Gesundheitspersonal während der COVID-19-Pandemie nicht nur physisch, sondern auch psychisch stark belastet war. Unterschiedliche Risikofaktoren wie ein junges Alter, das weibliche Geschlecht, ein niedriger sozioökonomischer Status und bereits bestehende psychische Erkrankungen spielten eine Rolle. Das Gesundheitspersonal zeigte erhöhten Stress, Symptome von Posttraumatischen Belastungsstörungen, Depressionen, Ängsten und Schlafstörungen. Eigene Studien zeigen auch, dass moralische Konflikte und eine unzureichende Unterstützung durch die Organisation und die Gesellschaft zu weiteren Belastungen führten. Die Bedeutung von Resilienz, die auf individueller, team- und organisationsbezogener Ebene gefördert werden sollte, spielt eine entscheidende Rolle. Hierfür sind Maßnahmen wie Stressmanagement-Trainings, Unterstützungssysteme, Kommunikation, Weiterbildung, emotionale Unterstützung und Partizipationsmöglichkeiten erforderlich. Auch politische Maßnahmen sind erforderlich, um das Wohlergehen des Gesundheitspersonals zu fördern, das sie die Gesetzgebung sowie die Verfügbarkeit von Akutunterstützung und die Förderung von Forschung und Innovationen beeinflussen.

The Role of Sense of Coherence During the COVID-19 Crisis: Does it Exercise a Moderating or a Mediating Effect on University Students' Wellbeing?

The COVID-19 crisis caused extensive mental health strains. Sense of coherence (SOC) is considered a protective factor for mental health in crisis that might also be decisive during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the mechanisms are not yet well understood. Using longitudinal survey data of 117 Austrian university students collected in 2020, we tested both moderating and mediating effects of SOC for the association of different stressors with later wellbeing. SOC did not buffer but mediated the effects of stressors on wellbeing. Students especially suffered from reduced feelings of manageability when confronted with financial strains, dissatisfying study situations, or disrupted plans. Supporting them in managing the difficulties of the crisis should therefore be considered a crucial part of psychosocial support.

Getting Through the Crisis Together: Do Friendships Contribute to University Students' Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Social contacts and social support represent resources that contribute to resilience. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated measures, including contact restrictions, posed challenges for young adults' social networks, in particular for their friendships. Employing a mixed-method approach, we investigated the pandemic's effects on friendships and their role in successfully navigating the crisis. We combined a qualitative approach based on narratives and in-depth interviews and a quantitative approach based on online surveys focusing on university students in Austria. Longitudinal data collections allowed investigating changes and developments as the pandemic progressed. Results indicate profound challenges for participants' friendships and difficulties in both building new and maintaining existing friendships. This also impaired the provision of social support by friends, scattering participants' social resources and diminishing their resilience rather than strengthening it. Altogether, the results of this longitudinal study suggest a lasting negative effect of the pandemic on friendships for students.

Discovering emotional patterns for climate change and for the COVID-19 pandemic in university students.

The global crises of climate change and of the COVID-19 pandemic are straining young peoples' mental health and their mitigation behaviours. We surveyed German-speaking university students aged 18 to 30 years on their negative emotions regarding both crises repeatedly before and during the COVID-19 crisis. Different emotional patterns emerged for climate change and for COVID-19 with negative emotions regarding COVID-19 increasing during the pandemic. We were further able to differentiate between emotional responses associated with impaired wellbeing and those associated with mitigation efforts. Our findings emphasise the need to focus on a mixture of highly inactivating and activating emotions regarding COVID-19 as they are associated with both reduced wellbeing and mitigation behaviours. The findings broaden the understanding of how young adults react to the burden of two global crises and what role negative emotions play.

A Scoping Review of Moral Stressors, Moral Distress and Moral Injury in Healthcare Workers during COVID-19.

Ethical dilemmas for healthcare workers (HCWs) during pandemics highlight the centrality of moral stressors and moral distress (MD) as well as potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) and moral injury (MI). These constructs offer a novel approach to understanding workplace stressors in healthcare settings, especially in the demanding times of COVID-19, but they so far lack clear identification of causes and consequences. A scoping review of moral stressors, moral distress, PMIEs, and MI of healthcare workers during COVID-19 was conducted using the databases Web of Science Core Collection and PsycINFO based on articles published up to October 2021. Studies were selected based on the following inclusion criteria: (1) the measurement of either moral stress, MD, PMIEs, or MI among HCWs; (2) original research using qualitative or quantitative methods; and (3) the availability of the peer-reviewed original article in English or German. The initial search revealed n = 149,394 studies from Web of Science and n = 34 studies from EBSCOhost. Nineteen studies were included in the review. Conditions representing moral stressors and PMIEs as well as MD and MI as their potential outcomes in healthcare contexts during COVID-19 are presented and discussed. Highlighting MD and MI in HCWs during COVID-19 brings attention to the need for conceptualizing the impact of moral stressors of any degree. Therefore, the development of a common, theoretically founded model of MD and MI is desirable.

University students' adherence and vaccination attitudes during the COVID-19 pandemic: Focusing on costs and benefits.

Numerous measures were implemented to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Adhering to these measures as well as getting vaccinated is associated with subjective costs and benefits. Since young people like university students largely feel less vulnerable to the virus, other costs and benefits than health might be more decisive for them. This article combines the results of a qualitative and a quantitative longitudinal study conducted with university students mainly living in Tyrol, Austria. The studies focused on the second wave of infections of the COVID-19 pandemic. Health concerns, altruistic concerns, worrying about the economic consequences of the measures and reactance played an important role for students in deciding what measures to follow and their vaccination attitudes. The effects were partially mediated by understanding the measures' necessity. Qualitative results enabled further insights into thought processes during these decisions and revealed additional aspects, such as concerns about mental health consequences. This research suggests that students make their decisions about adherence and vaccinations based on a variety of aspects that they weigh against each other. Understanding the individual assessments of costs and benefits is crucial to promote both adherence to the measures against the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination readiness.