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Helping the Helpers: Mental Health Challenges of Psychosocial Support Workers During the Russian-Ukrainian War

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2024

Hun Kang Open the ORCID record for Hun Kang [Opens in a new window] ,
Ian C. Fischer ,
Irina Esterlis ,
Alla Kolyshkina ,
Liudmyla Ponomarenko ,
Anna Chobanian ,
Viktor Vus  and
Robert H. Pietrzak
Hun Kang
Affiliation:
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
Ian C. Fischer
Affiliation:
US Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
Irina Esterlis
Affiliation:
US Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
Alla Kolyshkina
Affiliation:
Sumy State Pedagogical University named after AS Makarenko, Sumy, Ukraine
Liudmyla Ponomarenko
Affiliation:
Sumy State Pedagogical University named after AS Makarenko, Sumy, Ukraine
Anna Chobanian
Affiliation:
Sumy State Pedagogical University named after AS Makarenko, Sumy, Ukraine
Viktor Vus
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Small Group Psychology, Institute of Social and Political Psychology, Kyiv, Ukraine International Platform on Mental Health, Kyiv, Ukraine
Robert H. Pietrzak*
Affiliation:
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA US Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
*
Corresponding author: Robert H. Pietrzak; Email: robert.pietrzak@yale.edu
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Abstract

Objective:

The ongoing Russian–Ukrainian war has been linked to mental health problems in the Ukrainian general population. To date, however, scarce research has examined the mental health of psychosocial support workers (PSWs) in Ukraine who have a burdensome workload in the context of ongoing conflict. This study aimed to examine the prevalence and correlates of burnout, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal ideation (SI) in PSWs in Ukraine during the Russian–Ukrainian war.

Methods:

One hundred seventy-eight PSWs in Ukraine completed a survey assessing war exposure, mental health, and psychosocial characteristics.

Results:

A total 59.6% of PSWs screened positive for burnout, 38.2% for PTSD, and 10.7% for current SI. Lower optimism was associated with greater odds of burnout. Greater distress from witnessing war-related destruction, lower optimism, lower presence of meaning in life, and lower levels of close social relationships were associated with greater odds of burnout. Lower presence of meaning in life was associated with greater odds of SI.

Conclusions:

Results of this study highlight the mental health challenges faced by PSWs in Ukraine during the ongoing Russian–Ukrainian war. They further suggest that interventions to foster meaning in life and promote social connectedness may “help the helpers” during this ongoing conflict.

Keywords

burnoutepidemiologyposttraumatic stress disordersuicidal ideationwar-related injuries
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 18 , 2024 , e95
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc

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