ABSTRACT
Objective:
To evaluate the influence of occupational and mental health variables, religiosity and posttraumatic stress (PTSD) on depression, anxiety and stress in front-line healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
An observational and cross-sectional study was conducted in a hospital in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, with 151 health professionals working on the front-line of COVID-19. Sociodemographic, occupational and mental health, religiosity (P-DUREL), PTSD (PCL-C) and screening for depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21) questionnaires were used. Descriptive, bivariate and multiple linear regression were used.
Results:
There was a predominance of female, white, Catholic, married, complete higher education, with children, sedentary and without a history of chronic or psychiatric diseases. The minority presented symptoms of COVID-19, tested positive for the virus or needed isolation. Most of them had deprivation of contact with family members and did not receive psychological/psychiatric support. Most professionals had mild or minimal symptoms of depression (68.2%), anxiety (64.9%) or stress (69.5%). The prevalence of PTSD symptoms was 17.2%. A previous history of psychiatric disorder and the presence of PTSD symptoms were associated with current symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Low intrinsic religiosity scores were associated with high depression scores and females were associated with higher depression and stress scores.
Conclusions:
During the pandemic, symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress were common in this sample of health professionals. The factors associated with these symptoms can be used to identify vulnerable professionals who need psychological/psychiatric support.
KEYWORDS
Health personnel; mental health; psychological stress; spirituality; COVID-19