First insights into post-pandemic distress in a high secure hospital: correlates among staff and patients
The Journal of Forensic Practice
ISSN: 2050-8794
Article publication date: 8 February 2024
Issue publication date: 19 March 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This preliminary investigation aims to examine the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients and staff within a high secure service.
Design/methodology/approach
To discern the connection between COVID-19-related distress and multiple factors, the study involved 31 patients and 34 staff who completed assessments evaluating coping strategies, resilience, emotional reactivity, ward atmosphere and work-related aspects.
Findings
Results demonstrated that around a third of staff (31.2%) experienced COVID-19-related distress levels that met the clinical cut-off for possible post-traumatic stress disorder. Emotional reactivity, staff shortages, secondary traumatic stress and coping strategies were all positively correlated with COVID-19-related-distress. Resilience was negatively associated with distress, thus acting as a potential mitigating factor. In comparison, the prevalence of distress among patients was low (3.2%).
Practical implications
The authors postulate that increased staff burdens during the pandemic may have led to long-term distress, while their efforts to maintain minimal service disruption potentially shielded patients from psychological impacts, possibly lead to staff “problem-focused coping burnout”. This highlights the need for in-depth research on the enduring impacts of pandemics, focusing on mechanisms that intensify or alleviate distress. Future studies should focus on identifying effective coping strategies for crisis situations, such as staff shortages, and strategies for post-crisis staff support.
Originality/value
The authors postulate that the added burdens on staff during the pandemic might have contributed to their distress. Nonetheless, staff might have inadvertently safeguarded patients from the pandemic’s psychological ramifications by providing a “service of little disruption”, potentially leading to “problem-focused coping burnout”. These findings underscore the imperative for further research capturing the enduring impacts of pandemics, particularly scrutinising factors that illuminate the mechanisms through which distress is either intensified or alleviated across different groups. An avenue worth exploring is identifying effective coping styles for pandemics.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Rebecca Ozanne for her support in the setup of this study.
Since submission of this article, the following author have updated their affiliations: Irma Melunovic is at the School of Language, Education and Psychology, York St John University, York, UK; and Caroline Louise Mead is at the Psychology Department, University of Bolton, Bolton, UK.
Citation
Levtova, Y., Melunovic, I., Mead, C.L. and Ireland, J.L. (2024), "First insights into post-pandemic distress in a high secure hospital: correlates among staff and patients", The Journal of Forensic Practice, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 31-45. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFP-08-2023-0041
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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