Monitoring the Mental Health and Professional Overload of Health Workers in Brazil

A Longitudinal Study Considering the First Wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Dados Bibliográficos

ID15522011
AutoresFlávia de Lima Osório (0000-0003-1396-555X, Universidade de São Paulo, autor correspondente), Antonio Waldo Zuardi (0000-0002-0479-6670, Universidade de São Paulo), Isabella Lara Machado Silveira (0000-0001-6449-6787, Universidade de São Paulo), José Alexandre S Crippa, José A Crippa (0000-0001-9520-6746, Universidade de São Paulo), Jaime E C Hallak (0000-0002-8784-0189, Universidade de São Paulo), Karina Pereira‐Lima (0000-0003-4313-743X, Universidade Federal de São Paulo), Karina Pereira-Lima, Sônia R Loureiro (0000-0001-9423-2897, Universidade de São Paulo)
Ano2022
Volume13
Páginas852157-852157
Data de publicação2022-04-08
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoFrontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640
EditoraFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2022.852157
PMID35463516
OpenAlexW4225506149
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas48

Few longitudinal studies assessed the less immediate consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on health workers' mental health, especially in less developed countries. The objective was to assess the evolution of mental health indicators of Brazilian health workers providing care to COVID-19 patients, considering the beginning and first wave of the pandemic, identifying risk and protective factors. A non-probabilistic sample of health professionals was assessed for 6 months at seven different points in time using standardized instruments to measure anxiety, depression, insomnia, posttraumatic stress, and burnout symptoms. Risk and protective factors were assessed using a questionnaire addressing socio-demographic, clinical, occupational variables, and COVID-19 risk perception. The results indicate high rates for all the indicators (>30%) throughout the follow-up; only anxiety symptoms decreased in the different phases compared to the baseline. Depression and insomnia symptoms showed a significant drop in isolated points of the assessment, which were not maintained at the final follow-up. Burnout indicators concerning emotional exhaustion and depersonalization remained stable (40 and 20%), while professional achievement decreased by approximately 19%. Occupational and personal characteristics (profession and work setting), perceptions regarding protective measures imposed by the institutions, and future professional prospects stood out as risk/protective factors in mental health. Unlike European and Asian countries, where mental distress symptoms tended to decrease over the pandemic, this study's results suggest alarming indicators of mental health problems remaining stable with burnout symptoms on the rise. Hence, the different contexts across countries, with different management resources and investments in health actions, seem to influence workers' mental health differently, demanding constant attention and monitoring and measures to minimize the impacts on individuals and collectives, especially in less developed countries like Brazil

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Environmental health · Longitudinal study · Mental health · Outbreak · Pandemic · Pathology · Psychiatry · Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout · Medicine · Occupational Health and Burnout · Psychology · Internal Medicine · Virology