Associations between sociodemographic and health characteristics of Ministry of Health workers and COVID-19

Abstract

The present study aimed to describe sociodemographic and health characteristics of Ministry of Health workers and possible associations with work affected by COVID-19. This was an observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional study, conducted between July and October 2021. This study counted on the participation of 821 workers (67.6% women and 32.4% men), 53.3% of white race/color, 66.7% with a postgraduate degree, 38.7% with an income of 5 to 10 minimum wages. In addition, 65.4% reported having some form of disease, 69.2% had health insurance, 64.5% consumed alcohol, 6.1% were smokers, 67.4% practiced physical activity, and 53.8% and 52.2%, respectively, considered their physical and mental health to be good. For 81.8%, work was affected by the pandemic. Factors associated with work affected by the pandemic, after controlling for confounding variables, were level of education and mental health. According to 55%, the emotional aspects represent the variable that most affected their work. The results pointed out characteristics of Ministry of Health workers that can contribute to the planning of health protection and promotion actions. Investment in future studies is warranted, especially as regards the issue of health workers that are not directly in the “frontline” of COVID-19 but who are essential for crisis management during a pandemic.