The effect of Covid-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers: A systematic review

Systematic review👥 19232 participantsPreliminary✓ Source-checked📍 not specified

In plain English. This review summarizes the scale of mental health impact on healthcare workers during COVID-19 across over 19,000 workers in 9 studies, noting that various support interventions including an online EFT program were part of what helped. EFT is only one of several interventions mentioned, not analyzed as a distinct variable, so its specific contribution is unclear from this review.

What they found

studies reviewed

Across 9 studies covering 19,232 healthcare workers, high levels of stress, PTSD symptoms, depression, anxiety, burnout, and self-harm ideation were reported; psychosocial support including an online form of EFT was among interventions found effective in mitigating psychological stress.

How the study worked

Who took parthealthcare workers (19,232 total, 75.2% women) during the COVID-19 pandemic (n=19232)

What they didThis systematic review gathered and appraised the body of published studies against a defined method.

Measured withstress, PTSD, depression, anxiety, burnout symptoms (varied across studies)

💡 Where this could help

If an online tapping option like the one described here proves out on its own, imagine an exhausted nurse between overnight shifts self-administering five free minutes of tapping on a phone to unwind before the next crisis, no counselor or scheduled session required. Health systems stretched thin by burnout or a future pandemic could offer this alongside overtaxed counseling services, precisely because it doesn't need a clinician to deliver it.

🔬 What to study next

Since online EFT was just one intervention among several examined here, the natural next step is an EFT-specific trial in this exact population, healthcare workers mid-pandemic, pairing standard psychological scales with cortisol, sleep actigraphy, and inflammatory markers to see whether online tapping sessions produce measurable physiological recovery, not just symptom relief, in a group already shown to carry high rates of PTSD and burnout. Testing whether brief, repeatable sessions prevent burnout from accumulating over a long pandemic wave, rather than only easing it after the fact, would also be valuable.

The full record

Design	Systematic review
Participants	19232 people
Population	healthcare workers (19,232 total, 75.2% women) during the COVID-19 pandemic
Outcome measures	stress, PTSD, depression, anxiety, burnout symptoms (varied across studies)
Journal	Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research
Year	2021
Country	not specified
Language	English
Method	EFT / tapping
Publication type	Review or meta-analysis
Verification	✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Verification note. Journal, year, design, N=19,232, and n_studies=9 all confirmed exactly. However, the record's authors field lists only 'Uzzi, C.' as sole author, while the actual publication has approximately 12 co-authors (Uzzi, Yoade, Olateju, Olowere, Anugwom, Owolabi, Urhi, Olatunde, Feyikemi, Akinbode, Ogwu, Oladunjoye). Authors field left unchanged per preservation rule since this is not a numeric correction, but flagging the incompleteness here.

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Cite this study

APA

Uzzi, C. (2021). The effect of Covid-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers: A systematic review. Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research.

This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on Burnout & Work Stress · PTSD & Trauma

The effect of Covid-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers: A systematic review

What they found

How the study worked

💡 Where this could help

🔬 What to study next

The full record

Cite this study

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