ABSTRACT
Few are the studies and epidemiological data published and updated in Venezuela, regarding generalized anxiety disorder in health workers, whose worldwide prevalence is 30 % to 50 %, with a recent increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder in the health workers of the ambulatory healthcare centers of Salud Chacao, during June- August 2021. The authors carried out a descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative, and population study, with a sample of 110 health workers, including specialist medical doctors, general physicians, and nurses. The female sex was predominant, and the mean age was of 36.75 ± 12.307 years. 50 % (n = 55) of said sample presented mild anxiety, especially specialist medical doctors (61.8 %;n = 34);44 % (n = 48) referred moderate to severe anxiety, mainly nurses (43.7 %;n = 21);and the remaining 6 % (n = 7) presented mild to moderate anxiety, especially general physicians (85.7 %;n = 6). The prevalence of stress was 67.9 % (n = 75). This study determined that there is a high and statistically significant prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder in the health workers of Salud Chacao, which can be extrapolated to the rest of said workers, both nationally and internationally. © 2021 Academia Nacional de Medicina. All rights reserved.