Integrated psychological intervention programme for frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative study / Programa integrado de intervenciones psicológicas de emergencia en sanitarios durante la pandemia de la COVID-19. Estudio cualitativo

Introduction: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic put at risk the resilience of health-care professionals by exposing them to high levels of stress. Our aim was to identify key elements for implementing the STEP programme, a psychological support service for healthcare professionals.Methods: qualitative design. The study participants were hospital healthcare staff. Anon-ymous questionnaires and transcriptions of group interventions and focus groups were used to identify professionals’ preferences to receiving psychological support, needs, concerns, resilience (STEP1.0); constrained emotions and associated thoughts (STEP1.5); perception of self-efficacy on managing emotions (STEP2.0); and the professionals’ profile requiring individual therapy.Results: Three hundred professionals participated in the study, 100.0% in STEP 1.0 , 27.3% in STEP 1.5, 2.7% in STEP 2.0, and 10.0% in individual interventions. Two hundred and three (67.7%) participants reflected in the survey that they would prefer access to a face-to-face psychological service during working hours. Three consecutive phases with specific needs and concerns were identified: The “cognitive” phase, at the beginning of the pandemic, when infection and self-efficacy were major concerns, the “ventilation” phase, when constrained emotions associated with several factors were expressed; and the “recovery” phase, when the clinical overload decreased and professionals were able to focus on emotion manage-ment training. Several personal characteristics associated with referral to individual therapy were identified. Conclusions: The key characteristics of a psychological support service are proximity, face-to-face interaction during working shifts, and a chronological phase system adapted to dif-ferent emerging needs.(AU)

Introducción: El estallido de la pandemia de la COVID-19 puso en riesgo la resiliencia de los profesionales sanitarios exponiéndolos a alto riesgo de estrés. Nuestro objetivo consistió en identificar elementos clave para implementar un servicio de apoyo psicológico para pro-fesionales.Método: Diseño cualitativo. Participaron profesionales a nivel hospitalario. Se utilizaron cuestionarios anónimos, transcripciones de intervenciones grupales y grupo focal. Se consideraron las variables asociadas a las herramientas de intervención psicológica im-plementadas: STEP 1.0, necesidades, preocupaciones y resiliencia; STEP 1.5, emociones contenidas y pensamientos asociados; STEP 2.0, percepción de autoeficacia en gestión de emociones. Características de profesionales asociadas a terapia individual; así como el método elegido para recibir apoyo psicológico. Resultados: Participaron 300 profesionales, 100.0% en STEP 1.0, 27.3% en STEP 1.5, 2.7% en STEP 2.0 y 10.0% en intervenciones individuales. En 203 cuestionarios los profesionales preferían un servicio psicológico presencial y durante las horas de trabajo. Se identificaron 3 fases consecutivas con necesidades y preocupaciones específicas: Fase “Cognitiva”, incial, cuando la infección y autoeficacia preocupaban más. Fase de “Ventilación” cuando se expresaron emociones contenidas asociadas a varios factores. Fase de “Recuperación”, cuando los profesionales afrontaron la gestión de emociones. Se identificaron característi-cas asociadas a la derivación a terapia individual. Conclusión: Las características clave de un servicio de apoyo psicológico son la proximi-dad, presencialidad, activarse en turnos laborales y seguir un sistema cronológico de fases adaptado a las distintas necesidades emergentes.(AU)

Integrated psychological intervention programme for frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic put at risk the resilience of healthcare professionals by exposing them to high levels of stress. Our aim was to identify key elements for implementing the STEP  programme, a psychological support service for healthcare professionals. METHODS: qualitative design.  The study participants were hospital healthcare staff. Anonymous questionnaires and transcriptions  of group interventions and focus groups were used to  identify professionals' preferences to receiving psychological support, needs, concerns, resilience (STEP1.0); constrained emotions and associated thoughts (STEP1.5); perception of self-efficacy on managing emotions (STEP2.0); and the professionals' profile requiring individual therapy. RESULTS: Three hundred professionals participated in the study, 100.0% in STEP 1.0 , 27.3% in STEP 1.5, 2.7% in STEP 2.0, and 10.0% in individual interventions. Two hundred and three (67.7%) participants reflected in the survey that they would prefer access to a face-to-face psychological service during working hours. Three consecutive phases with specific needs and concerns were identified: The "cognitive" phase, at the beginning of the pandemic, when infection and self-efficacy were major concerns, the "ventilation" phase, when constrained emotions associated with several factors were expressed; and the "recovery" phase, when the clinical overload decreased and professionals were able to focus on emotion management training. Several personal characteristics associated with referral to individual therapy were identified.  Conclusions: The key characteristics of a psychological support service are proximity, face-to-face interaction during working shifts, and a chronological phase system adapted to different emerging needs.

Introducción: El estallido de la pandemia de la COVID-19 puso en riesgo la resiliencia de los profesionales sanitarios exponiéndolos a alto riesgo de estrés. Nuestro objetivo consistió en identificar elementos clave para implementar un servicio de apoyo psicológico para profesionales. Método: Diseño cualitativo. Participaron profesionales a nivel hospitalario. Se utilizaron cuestionarios anónimos, transcripciones de intervenciones grupales y grupo focal. Se consideraron las variables asociadas a las herramientas de intervención psicológica implementadas: STEP 1.0, necesidades, preocupaciones y resiliencia; STEP 1.5, emociones contenidas y pensamientos asociados; STEP 2.0, percepción de autoeficacia en gestión de emociones. Características de profesionales asociadas a terapia individual; así como el método elegido para recibir apoyo psicológico.  Resultados: Participaron 300 profesionales, 100.0% en STEP 1.0, 27.3% en STEP 1.5, 2.7% en STEP 2.0 y 10.0% en intervenciones individuales. En 203 cuestionarios los profesionales preferían un servicio psicológico presencial y durante las horas de trabajo. Se identificaron 3 fases consecutivas con necesidades y preocupaciones específicas: Fase "Cognitiva", inicial, cuando la infección y autoeficacia preocupaban más. Fase de "Ventilación" cuando se expresaron emociones contenidas asociadas a varios factores. Fase de "Recuperación", cuando los profesionales afrontaron la gestión de emociones. Se identificaron características asociadas a la derivación a terapia individual.  Conclusión: Las características clave de un servicio de apoyo psicológico son la proximidad, presencialidad, activarse en turnos laborales y seguir un sistema cronológico de fases adaptado a las distintas necesidades emergentes.

Women with compulsive buying or gambling disorder: Similar profiles for different behavioural addictions.

The aim of the present study was to examine the differences in sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of 104 women diagnosed with compulsive buying behaviour (CBB = 55) or gambling disorder (GD = 49) treated at three public hospitals unit specialized in behavioural addictions from January 2004 to December 2015. Significant between-group differences in sociodemographic variables were observed for cohabitation status (living with a partner or not) and educational level, with a higher percentage of women in the GD group cohabiting (х2 (1), p = .029). By contrast, the CBB group had a significantly higher educational level (х2 (1) = 7.4, p = .007). There were no significant differences between the groups in age of onset, age at treatment initiation, age at the onset of behavioural problems, or in the years elapsed until presenting addiction problems. However, there were significant between-group differences in the amount of money spent weekly (F (1.100) = 4.9, p = .028), with women in the CBB group spending on average €289.4/week (SD, 412.4) versus €151/week (SD, 141.23) in the GD group. The CBB group had significantly more depressive disorders compared to the GD group (х2(1) = 5.4, p = .020). In contrast, the GD group presented significantly more tobacco use than the CBB group (х2(1) = 1.19, p = .000). This study suggests that women with CBB or GD share more characteristics than differences and the treatment approaches must take into account gender related factors.

Male and female pathological gamblers: bet in a different way and show different mental disorders

Although in the last years several studies comparing male and female pathological gamblers have been published, most of them have been carried out using only samples of males. The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in a sample of subjects diagnosed with pathological gambling (PG) attending three specialized outpatient units. Retrospective study was carried out of 96 patients (49% female and 51% male), comparing the main socio-demographic, clinical, and behavioral data. Most subjects (94%) met the criteria for pathological gambling. No significant differences between sexes were found in the severity of gambling behavior or the socio-demographic variables studied. Whereas slot machines were the main type of game for most subjects, a higher percentage of women were addicted to bingo (χ2 (1, 4) = 5.19, p = .029 Cohen’s d = 0.48) and had more than one type of game as a secondary addiction χ2 (1, 4) = 7.63, p = .006; Cohen’s d = 0.59) . Women started gambling at a later age than men (t(94) = 2.95, p = .004; Cohen’s d = 0.60), but developed a pattern of addiction faster ( t(94) = 2.95, p = .004; Cohen's d = -0.61) . Women also had higher comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders (χ2 (1) = 7.28, p = .007; Cohen’s d = 0.57), specifically with affective (χ2 (1) = 11.31, p = .001; Cohen’s d = 0.73) and personality disorders (χ2 (1) = 4.71, p = .030; Cohen’s d = 0.45). Our results indicate the existence of differences between women and men in the pattern of gambling behavior and in psychiatric comorbidity. These aspects should be considered in the design of treatment programs for pathological gamblers (AU)

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Male and female pathological gamblers: bet in a different way and show different mental disorders.

Although in the last years several studies comparing male and female pathological gamblers have been published, most of them have been carried out using only samples of males. The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in a sample of subjects diagnosed with pathological gambling (PG) attending three specialized outpatient units. Retrospective study was carried out of 96 patients (49% female and 51% male), comparing the main socio-demographic, clinical, and behavioral data. Most subjects (94%) met the criteria for pathological gambling. No significant differences between sexes were found in the severity of gambling behavior or the socio-demographic variables studied. Whereas slot machines were the main type of game for most subjects, a higher percentage of women were addicted to bingo (χ2 (1, 4) = 5.19, p = .029 Cohen's d = 0.48) and had more than one type of game as a secondary addiction χ2 (1, 4) = 7.63, p = .006; Cohen's d = 0.59) . Women started gambling at a later age than men (t (94) = 2.95, p = .004; Cohen's d = 0.60), but developed a pattern of addiction faster ( t (94) = 2.95, p = .004; Cohen's d = -0.61) . Women also had higher comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders (χ2 (1) = 7.28, p = .007; Cohen's d = 0.57), specifically with affective (χ2 (1) = 11.31, p = .001; Cohen's d = 0.73) and personality disorders (χ2 (1) = 4.71, p = .030; Cohen's d = 0.45). Our results indicate the existence of differences between women and men in the pattern of gambling behavior and in psychiatric comorbidity. These aspects should be considered in the design of treatment programs for pathological gamblers.