Covid-19 and its impact is currently the largest topic of discussion in all health care research communities, but there is limited published research on the impact of the virus on the mental health of diagnostic imaging professionals. That’s why four Ultrasound students at The Michener Institute of Education at UHN wrote a literature review called The Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental Health of Diagnostic Imaging Professionals, which was published in the September 2022 edition of the Canadian Journal of Medical Sonography (CJMS).
Ahmed Mohamed, Jessica Routhier, Archana Thayanithy and Junesa Wei finished working on the review in June 2022 as part of their Evidence Based Clinical Practice course.
“Given that we have all been impacted mentally and physically by the pandemic, we were curious to see how it has impacted individuals working on the frontline of health care in our profession,” says Archana Thayanithy.
“After we finished the review, our instructor Sheena Bhimji-Hewitt recommended we make some edits to prepare it for publishing,” says Jessica Routhier. “I think our group felt extra motivated to get published since this topic is poorly researched.”
The students used peer-reviewed scientific articles from various parts of the world for their review, the majority of which were from North America.
“Being able to consolidate pertinent information in a literature review allows us to provide more insight on this topic to professionals in the field,” says Ahmed Mohamed.
“This topic remains relevant with the ongoing pandemic and hopefully our work can raise awareness of areas that may need improvement in regard to supporting the mental health of diagnostic medical professionals during this time,” says Junessa Wei.
