Psychological impact of covid-19 pandemic on health care worker in Saudi Arabia: a systematic review

Background : Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused mental health distortion in the among citizens across the globe. Healthcare workers have sustained frontline effort to curb the spread of the virus. However, few studies have investigated the impact COVID-19 on the psychological wellbeing in Saudi Arabia despite being among countries with high prevalence cases. The review aimed to determine the psychological impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on HCWs in Saudi Arabia. Methods: Systematic review was used for literature search in PubMed, Google Scholar, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library. Eligibility criteria was applied to screen and select 10 scholarly studies from the electronic databases. Centre for Evidence-Based Management (CEBMa) checklists were used to assess methodological quality of the studies while critical analysis of the ten studies facilitated data extraction. A narrative synthesis of different themes from the studies was presented. Results: Findings revealed cases of high psychological distress among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia. The HCWs registered stress, depression, insomnia, fear, anxiety, and worries about personal or family health. Female physicians and nurses showed higher distress levels than their male healthcare professionals. Conclusion: COVID-19 has led to psychological distress among Saudi HCWs. Administrators and policymakers should improve organizational resilience, counselling, onsite therapy, and work-life balance. Further studies should establish longitudinal studies to determine the varied mental health outcomes of male versus female HCWs to understand gaps in mental health vulnerabilities due to COVID-19 pandemic.