Impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of public university hospital workers in Brazil: A cohort-based analysis of 32,691 workers.
PLoS One
; 17(6): e0269318, 2022.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2140417
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed the world and exposed the fragility of health systems in the face of mass illness. Health professionals became protagonists, fulfilling their mission at the risk of physical and mental illness. The study aimed to evaluate absenteeism indirectly related to SARS-CoV-2 infection in a large population of health care professionals.METHODS:
An observational longitudinal repeated measures study was performed, including workers linked to 40 public university hospitals in Brazil. All causes of absenteeism were analyzed, focusing on those not directly attributed to COVID-19. Results for the same population were compared over two equivalent time intervals prepandemic and during the pandemic.FINDINGS:
A total of 32,691 workers were included in the study, with health professionals comprising 82.5% of the sample. Comparison of the periods before and during the pandemic showed a 26.6% reduction in work absence for all causes, except for COVID-19 and mental health-related absence. Concerning work absence related to mental health, the odds ratio was 39.0% higher during the pandemic. At the onset of the pandemic, there was an increase in absenteeism (all causes), followed by a progressive reduction until the end of the observation period.INTERPRETATION:
Work absence related to mental illness among health care professionals increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the need for health care managers to prioritize and implement support strategies to minimize absenteeism.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
South America
/
Brazil
Language:
English
Journal:
PLoS One
Journal subject:
Science
/
Medicine
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Journal.pone.0269318
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS