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Corresponding author: Narimasa KatsutaDepartment of Psychiatry, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, JapanTEL: +81-3-5802-1071　FAX: +81-3-5802-1071　E-mail: nkatsuta@juntendo.ac.jp354th Triannual Meeting of the Juntendo Medical Society “Recent topics in Psychiatry” 〔Held on sep. 9, 2021〕〔Received　Oct. 13, 2021〕〔Accepted　Nov. 4, 2021〕J-STAGE Advance published date: Feb. 4, 2022Copyright © 2022 The Juntendo Medical Society. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original source is properly credited. doi: 10.14789/jmj.JMJ21-0032-R　On January 16, 2020, the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Japan was reported. In the spring of the same year, the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as surgical masks became a significant issue. In addition, the medical staff had to encounter discrimination during this period. Thus, the mental health of these staff has been greatly affected by the social situation, the media coverage of the COVID-19 epidemic, and the shortage of PPE in hospitals.　Various factors make it difficult for the medical staff to seek professional help for mental well-being. Therefore, self-care plays an important role in the prevention of depression and anxiety disorders among healthcare workers. When the healthcare workers face problems in their work environment, they should coordinate with the hospital to promptly improve the system.COVID-19 resulted in new societal norms and changed our lifestyles significantly. Insomnia is a particular issue among healthcare workers. Lifestyle analysis is thus necessary if insomnia needs to be addressed.　Because the opportunities for communication are reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, conscious communication is essential. During this difficult time, the staff may not receive sufficient guidance from their superiors at work, for example for guidance received by resident doctors from their seniors. This will also provide opportunities to communicate vital information about matters such as infection control. Therefore, quality communication and accurate information should be directed toward all healthcare workers.Juntendo Medical Journal2022. 68(1), 25-30Special ReviewsMental Health of Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 PandemicIntroductionIn the winter of 2019, a new viral pneumonia was detected in Wuhan, China, and the causative pathogen was identified as severe acute respira-tory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). On January 16, 2020, the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Japan was reported. Since then, COVID-19 has spread across the globe. In the spring of the same year, patients began to complain of suspected COVID-19 at their local medical practices based on misinformation about the growing epidemic. Healthcare workers were inundated with demands for tests and treatment. In addition, the shortage of personal protective Key words: COVID-19, healthcare workers, mental health, pandemic, JapanDepartment of Psychiatry, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo, Japanequipment (PPE) such as surgical masks became a big problem during this period. Many medical insti-tutions had to impose restrictions such as one mask per person per week. The supply of gowns ran out, and aprons fashioned from plastic bags had to be used instead. At that time, there was no cure for the new coronavirus, and infection control guide-lines had to be hastily established. Both the “sword” of treatment and the “shield” of PPE proved inade-quate against COVID-19.In addition, there was discrimination against medical staff during this period. Specifically, medical professionals who responded to COVID-19 were bullied in the workplace and discriminated against by children’s nursery schools and kinder-25Narimasa KATSUTA