Depression, anxiety, and stress in health professionals working during the covid-19 pandemic in Peru: An analytical cross-sectional study

Alan Quispe-Sancho, Katerin Lesly Chambi-Macedo, Verónica Laurel-Vargas, Edson Huamani-Merma, Katherine Vanesa Cuzcano-Gonzales, Milagros Alexandra Huaita-Rocha, Lesly Mendoza-Guillen, Akemi Diana Sanchez-Choquepata, Jheampiero Fuentes-Casani, António Bandeira, Marcos Roberto Tovani-Palone, Christian R. Mejia

Research output: Contribution to journalOriginal Articlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: To determine the association between depression, anxiety, and stress according to sociodemographic and occupational factors in Peruvian health professionals during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: Cross-sectional analytical and multicentre study, based on a virtual survey sent to Peruvian health personnel (from the 25 Peruvian regions) working during the COVID-19 pandemic. The three dependent variables (depression, anxiety, and stress) were measured with the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) (Cronbach’s Alpha: 0.93) and compared with sociodemographic and occupational variables. P-values were obtained through generalized linear models, adjusted for each location where the survey was sent. Results: Of the 550 participants, 2%, 13%, and 3% of them had severe or very severe depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, we observed that professionals with a greater number of children had a lower frequency of severe depression (adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR): 0.37; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.17-0.79; p = 0.010). In addition, physicians had a lower frequency of severe anxiety (aPR: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.18-0.75; p = 0.036), and professionals who lived in the Central region (aPR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.25-0.97; p = 0.042) and in the South of the country (aPR: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.19-0.71; p = 0.003) had lower anxiety levels compared to those in the Northern region. With regard to severe stress, those who lived in the Central (aPR: 0.15; 95% CI: 0.03-0.75; p = 0.021) and South regions (aPR: 0.19; 95% CI: 0.04-0.79; p = 0.011) had lower stress levels. Conclusion: There were significant percentages of deteriorating mental health in Peruvian health professionals during the pandemic, which may have negative repercussions in the short-, medium-, and long-term. In this sense, additional governmental actions should be necessary to provide specific psychological and psychiatric support programs to these workers.

Original languageAmerican English
Article numberem319
JournalElectronic Journal of General Medicine
Volume18
Issue number6
DOIs
StateIndexed - 2021

Bibliographical note

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Keywords

  • Coronavirus
  • Health personnel
  • Mental health
  • Occupational health
  • Pandemics

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