gms | German Medical Science

Hintergrund: When the SARS-CoV-2 infection began to spread in early 2020 and was subsequently declared as a pandemic, healthcare systems in many countries were strongly challenged in both, the hospital and the outpatient setting. In the latter, professional and informal caregivers of people with physical or psychosocial disabilities had to adapt their care to an unprecedented mix of restrictions, regulations, personnel shortages and uncertainty. Until now, caregivers´ psychosocial burden has not been studied in depth and prospectively. The project reported here is carried out in the context of Bayerischer ambulanter COVID-19-Monitor (BaCoM), a prospective cohort study conducted in the German state of Bavaria since March 2021 that analyze the health needs of people with disabilities during the pandemic. Our aim is to analyze the psychosocial burden suffered by professional and informal caregivers.

Fragestellung: Can we identify individual and institutional level factors associated with clinical significant depression and burnout in formal and informal caregivers of disabled outpatients during the COVID-19 pandemic? To answer this question we will use a prospective cohort design with an embedded qualitative study. An ad-hoc questionnaire on socio-demographic and workplace-related characteristics, the Patient-Health-Questionnaire-9, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory are being administered to caregivers at six months intervals over a three years period. Data are analyzed descriptively and through Cox or logistic regression, where appropriate. Semi-structured interviews are conducted on a purposive sample of enrolled carers, and analyzed via qualitative content analysis based on Kuckartz, to gain in depth-insides of their perspectives and experiences.

Diskussionspunkt: We expect to shed light on short- and medium-term responses to the new strains of the pandemic. A prospective evaluation with multiple follow-ups can reveal changes over time and serve the health system to be better prepared for future health emergencies.