Mental Health Burden of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Healthcare Workers in Four Latin American Countries

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the mental health burden of the COVID-19 pandemic in healthcare workers in four Latin American countries in 2020. An online survey was carried out with 1721 participants from Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico in 2020. A non-probabilistic convenience sampling method was used to recruit voluntary participants. Post-traumatic stress symptoms were assessed with the SPRINT-E scale, Perceived Discrimination was assessed with a Spanish version of the scale developed by Molero, and anxiety toward death was assessed with the Spanish version of the Templer scale. All instruments were assessed for internal consistency. The overall frequency of post-traumatic stress symptoms was 23.9%. The frequency by countries was 26.4% in Argentina, 29.8% in Chile, 19.9 in Colombia, and 23.8% in Mexico. Post-traumatic stress symptoms were associated with individual subtle discrimination, anxiety toward the death of the elderly, lack of Personal Protective Equipment, and exposition to the death. The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a mental health burden on health workers in the countries included in the study, not only due to the implications of the disease in the face of exposure to death, but also due to institutional conditions and in which they carry out their work.

COVID‐19 in Latin America and the Caribbean: Two years of the pandemic

“…This was especially the case in low‐ and middle‐income countries, where difficult triage decisions had to be made due to the deficiencies in healthcare [ 51 ]. In particular, 23.9% of healthcare professionals in LAC experienced post‐traumatic stress disorder symptoms, with Argentina and Chile scoring the highest amongst the region (26.4% and 29.8%, respectively) [ 52 ]. In addition, the fear that healthcare professionals might be carrying the virus led to them facing an enormous amount of discrimination, particularly in Colombia and Mexico [ 52 ].…”

“…In particular, 23.9% of healthcare professionals in LAC experienced post‐traumatic stress disorder symptoms, with Argentina and Chile scoring the highest amongst the region (26.4% and 29.8%, respectively) [ 52 ]. In addition, the fear that healthcare professionals might be carrying the virus led to them facing an enormous amount of discrimination, particularly in Colombia and Mexico [ 52 ]. Moreover, resilience has been tested constantly during the pandemic, with many falling ill. A meta‐analysis estimated that over 50% of healthcare personnel were reported to be infected with COVID‐19 just during the first 6 months of the pandemic [ 53 ].…”

Anxiety in Mexican adults throughout the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross sectional study

“…Several studies that have examined the psychological consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic have reported that the affected individuals show an increase of negative feelings such as fear, hopelessness, anger, confusion, frustration, desperation or loneliness, and symptoms of emotional distress such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety ( Liu et al, 2020 ; Salari et al, 2020 ; Serafini et al, 2020 ). Moreover, susceptible groups such as healthcare professionals have faced specific stressors related to diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients with COVID-19, as well as increased workload, shortages in personal protective equipment and discrimination, which is why they are considered at greater risk of developing numerous psychiatric symptoms including anxiety, depression, acute and posttraumatic stress, and insomnia ( Abeldaño Zuñiga et al, 2021 ; Lai, Ma, et al, 2020 ; Marvaldi et al, 2021 ; Pappa et al, 2020 ; Sahebi et al, 2021 ; Santabárbara, Bueno-Notivol, et al, 2021 ). Furthermore, according to previous studies performed in healthcare workers, it has been observed that nurses are particularly affected by emotional distress and exhibit higher rates of affective and anxiety symptoms compared to other medical professionals ( Lai, Ma, et al, 2020 ; Pappa et al, 2020 ; Sahebi et al, 2021 ; Santabárbara, Bueno-Notivol, et al, 2021 ).…”