Table 2 Emotional support programs and interventions (n = 19) for healthcare professionals, and students following pandemics

Intervention studies (n = 6)

 Amsalem et al. 2022 [34*], USA

Nurses (n = 237), physicians (n = 52) and emergency medical technicians (n = 30)

The 3 min video to increase treatment-seeking by healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: it derived a 45 min interview of a 28-year-old intensive care unit female nurse, who described her difficulty in coping with her life stressors, how she faced her anxieties and depression, her prior false assumptions about treatment and how she overcame them.

 Chen et al. 2006 [35*], Taiwan

Nursing staff (n = 116)

In-service training, manpower allocation, gathering sufficient protective equipment, and establishment of a mental health team were included.

 Chochol et al. 2021 [36*], USA

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) trainees (n = 6)

Eight 60-min sessions held every 2 weeks were co-facilitated by a psychologist and psychiatrist who developed the curricular content. Five of the eight semi-structured sessions combined a brief emotional awareness enhancing module with a Balint-based approach to case review.

 Coifman et al. 2021 [37*], USA

Medical personnel, support staff and emergency responders (n = 28)

Low-dose or high-dose intervention, one time daily for 1 week via smartphone application. Each daily intervention included expressive writing, adaptive emotion regulation activity and (one vs two) positive emotion activities, lasting 3–6 min a day.

 Fiol-DeRoque et al. 2021 [38*], Spain

Frontline health care workers (n = 482)

the PsyCovidApp intervention (a mobile phone-based app targeting emotional skills, healthy lifestyle behavior, burnout, and social support) or a control app (general recommendations about mental health care) for 2 weeks

 Procaccia et al. 2021 [31*], Italy

Healthcare professionals (n = 55) in the frontline

Expressive writing (EW) intervention. EW is a tool through which subjects describe their deepest thoughts and feelings about emotional events.

Cross-sectional survey studies (n = 6)

 Blake et al. 2020 [39*], UK

Hospital employees (n = 819) from any site of an acute hospital

Supported Wellbeing Centres: The intention was that the centres would be relaxing spaces, and as such they had comfortable seating, relaxing music, low-level lighting, plants and an aromatherapy pod. Refreshments were also available.

 Geoffroy et al. 2020 [32*], France

Hospital workers (n = 149)

The psychological assistance hotline team was composed of certified psychologist volunteers.

 Monette et al. 2020 [40*], USA

Emergency clinicians (n = 68)

a video-based debriefing program (Zoom) to support emergency clinician well-being

 Petrella et al. 2021 [41*], UK

All staff working for the hospital (n = 1127)

Supportive services

 Sockalingam et al. 2020 [42*], Canada

Health care professionals (HCPs) (n = 426)

ECHO-CWC was scheduled as two 1-h sessions per week and included the following components: introductions, a mindfulness exercise, COVID-19 information question and answer, a library update on resources, a didactic presentation based on the curriculum topic, case-based discussion to illustrate stress management skills, and a closing section based on health humanities education (eg, poem or art) to stimulate reflection and community connectedness.

 Teall et al. 2021 [33*], USA

Nurses (n = 104)

Areas in the program that were emphasized included (1) personalized support for wellness; (2) prioritizing physical activity, healthy eating, sleep, and stress management; and (3) establishment of strength-based, sustainable solutions to improve well-being.

Qualitative interview studies (n = 3)

 Blake et al. 2021 [43*], UK

Employees (n = 24) from an acute hospital trust in the UK

Supported wellbeing centres were set up in UK hospital trusts as an early intervention aimed at mitigating the psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers. These provided high quality rest spaces with peer-to-peer psychological support from wellbeing buddies trained in psychological first aid.

 San Juan et al. 2020 [44*], UK

Front-line healthcare workers (n = 33)

Well-being guidelines

 Yoon et al. 2021 [45*], Singapore

Frontline workers (n = 42)

Mobile Health Apps to Support Psychosocial Well-being Among Frontline Health Care Workers Involved in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Reviews (n = 4)

 Ardekani et al. 2021 [23*], Iran

Undergraduate medical students (n = 10 studies)

Two major themes were identified: (a) academic support and (b) mental health support. All of the included studies utilized online methods whether for transitioning from previous support systems or developing novel approach

 Buselli et al. 2021 [24*], Italy

Healthcare workers outbreak (n = 7 studies)

Only few countries have published specific psychological support intervention protocols for HCWs. All programs were developed in university associated hospitals and highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration. All of them had as their purpose to manage the psychosocial challenges to HCW’s during the pandemic in order to prevent mental health problems.

 Drissi et al. 2021 [25*], United Arab Emirates, Spain, Morocco

Healthcare workers (n = 11 studies)

The identified e-mental health interventions consisted of social media platforms, e-learning content, online resources and mobile applications

 Hooper et al. 2021 [26*], Australia

Healthcare workers and security forces (n = 12 studies)

Early psychological interventions for individuals trained to provide services in emergency or disaster settings