The impact of workplace violence on the mental health of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a new set ofwork-related stressors for health care workers. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the associations between exposure to violence and common mental disorders among health care workers in emergency care settings during COVID-19 in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: We randomly selected two emergency care units. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire was used to assess common mental disorders among emergency health care workers (n = 100). We examined the relationships between common mental disorders and COVID-19 pandemic-related variables, including availability of personal protective equipment, exposure to violence, discrimination, harassment, and confidence in the workplace to handle the pandemic. We used multivariate Poisson regression with robust variance to estimate prevalence ratios for common mental disorders. Results: Overall, 50% (95%CI 39.8-60.1) of participants had a common mental disorder. In addition, 71% reported being victims of at least one type of violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher risks ofcommon mental disorders were found among those who reported lacking personal protective equipment, being victims of discrimination, violence, or harassment, and reporting less confidence in the workplace to handle the pandemic. Participants exposed to two types of violence and three types of violence had higher prevalence ratios, with prevalence ratios of 2.28 (95%CI 1.23-4.21) and 3.14 (95%CI 1.62-6.08), respectively. Conclusions: Promoting access to personal protective equipment, addressing mistreatment of health workers as well as promoting their well-being at work, and building confidence in the workplace to deal with the pandemic are critical.

Introdução: A pandemia de covid-19 trouxe uma nova gama de estressores relacionados ao trabalho para os profissionais de saúde. Objetivos: Este estudo examina as associações entre a exposição à violência e os transtornos mentais comuns entre os profissionais de saúde durante as situações de emergência na pandemia de covid-19 em São Paulo, Brasil. Métodos: Selecionamos aleatoriamente dois serviços de emergência. O Questionário Geral de Saúde 12 foi utilizado para avaliar os transtornos mentais comuns entre os trabalhadores de saúde de urgência (n = 100). Investigamos as relações entre transtornos mentais comuns e variáveis relacionadas com a pandemia: disponibilidade de equipamento de proteção pessoal, exposição à violência/discriminação/assédio e nível de confiança no local de trabalho para lidar com a pandemia. Realizamos uma regressão multivariada de Poisson com uma variação robusta para estimar as razões de prevalência para transtornos mentais comuns. Resultados: Entre os participantes, 50% (intervalo de confiança de 95% [IC95%] 39,8-60,1) apresentaram transtornos mentais comuns e 71% relataram ter sido vítimas de pelo menos um tipo de violência durante a pandemia de covid-19. Foi encontrado maior risco de transtornos mentais comuns entre aqueles que reportaram falta de equipamento de proteção pessoal, sendo vítimas de discriminação, violência ou assédio; e que reportaram menor confiança no local de trabalho para lidar com a pandemia. Os participantes expostos a dois tipos e a três tipos de violência apresentaram razão de prevalência 2,28 (IC95% 1,23-4,21) e razão de prevalência 3,14 (IC95% 1,62-6,08) mais elevados, respectivamente. Os resultados indicam domínios que podem ser cruciais para mitigar os transtornos mentais comuns entre os trabalhadores da saúde. Conclusões: É crucial promover o acesso a equipamento de proteção pessoal, combater os maus tratos e promover o bem-estar e confiança no local de trabalho para lidar com a pandemia.

Burnout among primary health care workers in Brazil: results of a multilevel analysis.

PURPOSE: Burnout among health care workers may hamper the quality of care and effectiveness of health systems. Hence, we examined the prevalence of burnout in primary care teams, including community health workers; and investigated associations between individuals' characteristics, team and primary care center factors, and burnout. METHODS: We carried out a cross-sectional study among primary care teams in the city of São Paulo, Brazil (n = 2940). We randomly selected 66 primary care centers. The Maslach burnout inventory was used to investigate burnout. We used multilevel modelling to examine the associations between individuals' characteristics, team and primary care center variables with burnout. RESULTS: We addressed 351 primary care teams, with 11.4% of participants presenting severe burnout. The variance in burnout among primary care workers was partially explained by individuals' characteristics, and by team and primary care center factors. Severe burnout was associated with the following: (1) individuals' characteristics: being black, being younger, a higher length of employment in primary care, and presenting a lack of feedback from supervisors; (2) team factors: working in deprived areas and not receiving the support of a multidisciplinary team; and (3) primary care center factors: inadequate infrastructure (less than one office available per team), and having a bad/very bad relationship with the community council. CONCLUSIONS: To reduce burnout among primary care teams, stakeholders should: (1) train managers/supervisors on leadership styles that prioritize performance feedback, support, and communication skills; (2) allocate catchment areas to teams according to each community's vulnerability; (3) provide a multidisciplinary team to support primary care workers; and (4) offer suitable facilities and infra-structure.

Enhancing mental health research capacity: emerging voices from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) global hubs.

BACKGROUND: Emerging researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) face many barriers, including inadequacies in funding, international exposure and mentorship. In 2012, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded five research hubs aimed at improving the research core for evidence-based mental health interventions, enhancing research skills in global mental health, and providing capacity building (CB) opportunities for early career investigators in LMIC. In this paper emerging researchers contextualize their experiences. CASE PRESENTATION: Each of the five hubs purposively selected an emerging researcher who had experienced more than one hub-related CB opportunity and actively participated in hub-related clinical trial activities. The five 'voices' were invited to contribute narratives on their professional backgrounds, CB experience, challenges and successes as an emerging mental health researcher, and suggestions for future CB activities. These narratives are presented as case studies. CB activities provided broader learning opportunities for emerging researchers. Benefits included the receipt of research funding, hands-on training and mentorship, as well as exposure to networks and collaborative opportunities on a global scale. To overcome ongoing challenges of access to funding, mentoring, networking and global exposure, the emerging voices recommend making mentorship and training opportunities available to a wider range of emerging mental health researchers. CONCLUSIONS: Investing in CB is not enough to ensure sustainability and leave a legacy unless it is accompanied by ongoing mentorship and international exposure. Financial investment in building research capacity, promotion of mentorship and supervision, and international networking are essential to yield well-prepared young investigators in LMIC as experienced by these rising stars. Governments and policymakers should prioritize educational policies to support the continuous development and international engagement of emerging researchers. This can advance strategies to deal with one of most important and costly problems faced by healthcare systems in LMIC: the mental health treatment gap.

Integration between Primary Health Care and Emergency Services in Brazil: Barriers and Facilitators.

INTRODUCTION: Characteristics of primary health care and emergency services may hamper their integration and, therefore, reduce the quality of care and the effectiveness of health systems. This study aims to identify and analyse policy, structural and organizational aspects of healthcare services that may affect the integration between primary health and emergency care networks. THEORY AND METHODS: We conducted a qualitative research study based on grounded theory that included: (1) interviews with 30 health care leaders; and (2) documental analysis of the summaries of Regional Interagency Committee meetings from two regions in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. RESULTS: The integration between primary health and emergency care network is inefficient. The barriers that contributed to this situation are as follows: (1) policy: the municipal health department is responsible for providing primary health care and the regional health department provides emergency care, but there is a lack of space for the integration of services; (2) structural: distinct criteria for planning mechanisms; and (3) organizational: ineffective point of interaction between different levels of the health system. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION: Our findings have implications for health management and planning in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) with suggestions for interventions for overcoming the aforementioned barriers.

Generalized anxiety disorder and associated factors in adults in the Amazon, Brazil: A population-based study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in adults using the seven-item GAD scale (GAD-7) and to evaluate the properties of the two-item (GAD-2) as a population screening tool. METHODS: We carried out a cross-sectional population-based study in the Manaus Metropolitan Region in 2015, Brazil. Adults aged 18 years or more were eligible to participate. We performed probabilistic three-phase sampling and collected sociodemographic and clinical variables. Descriptive statistics and a Poisson regression with robust variance with corrections for complex sampling were used. The accuracy of GAD-2 was assessed using GAD-7 as the gold standard. RESULTS: We included 4001 participants. The prevalence of GAD was 8.4% (95% confidence interval 7.6-9.4%) and was significantly associated with self-reported poor health status and presenting depressive symptoms (p < 0.01). GAD-2 sensitivity was 63.9%, and its specificity was 97.4%. LIMITATIONS: Because of the cross-sectional design of the study, the results are prone to reverse causality and recall bias. The surveyed people were not questioned about their medical diagnosis of anxiety, access to mental health services, or alcohol, tobacco or other drug use. The screening tools were not validated in the Brazilian or Amazon population. CONCLUSION: About eight in 100 adults living in Manaus presented GAD, and it is more prevalent among people with a poorer health status and depression. Because of its low sensitivity, GAD-2 is not useful as a screening tool.

Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms among adults living in the Amazon, Brazil: A population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Depression is an affective disorder and one of the main contributors to the burden of disease worldwide. Our purpose is to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and associated factors in the population of the Manaus Metropolitan Region. METHODS: We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional study with a probabilistic three-phase sampling in 2015, based on a previously calculated sample size. Adults living in Manaus and seven inner cities of the metropolitan region were surveyed for depressive symptoms using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and a cutoff score of ≥ 9. We performed a Poisson regression with robust variance using a hierarchical approach to calculate the prevalence ratio (PR) of depression and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Among 4001 participants (response rate 76%), the prevalence of current depressive symptoms was 7% (95% CI: 6-8%). Depressive symptoms were more frequent in inhabitants of Manaus than in those from the countryside (PR = 6.13, 95% CI: 2.91-12.91); in women than in men (PR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.96-3.33); in indigenous than in white people (PR = 2.56, 95% CI: 1.24-5.30); and in those with hypertension (PR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.13-1.92), cardiac disease (PR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.12-2.33), and poor health status (fair: PR = 5.10, 95% CI: 2.50-10.37; bad: PR = 10.27, 95% CI: 4.92-21.44 very bad: PR = 21.14, CI 95%: 10.16-43.99). High school education (PR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.32-0.95) and middle class economic status (PR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.12-0.89) were protective factors. LIMITATIONS: Limitations include the lack of measurement of physical activity, religious beliefs, leisure time, and use of alcohol and other drugs since these factors can affect depression and health status. CONCLUSION: Seven out of every 100 adults from the Manaus Metropolitan Region have depressive symptoms. This rate is higher in women, individuals living in Manaus, indigenous people, people with hypertension or chronic cardiac disease, and those with a poor health status.

Work-Related Depression in Primary Care Teams in Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: To identify work-related factors associated with depressive symptoms and probable major depression in primary care teams. METHODS: Cross-sectional study among primary care teams (community health workers, nursing assistants, nurses, and physicians) in the city of São Paulo, Brazil (2011-2012; n = 2940), to assess depressive symptoms and probable major depression and their associations with job strain and other work-related conditions. RESULTS: Community health workers presented higher prevalence of probable major depression (18%) than other primary care workers. Higher odds ratios for depressive symptoms or probable major depression were associated with longer duration of employment in primary care; having a passive, active, or high-strain job; lack of supervisor feedback regarding performance; and low social support from colleagues and supervisors. CONCLUSIONS: Observed levels of job-related depression can endanger the sustainability of primary care programs. Public Health implications. Strategies are needed to deliver care to primary care workers with depression, facilitating diagnosis and access to treatment, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Preventive interventions can include training managers to provide feedback and creating strategies to increase job autonomy and social support at work.

Violence at work and depressive symptoms in primary health care teams: a cross-sectional study in Brazil.

PURPOSE: Implementation of primary care has long been a priority in low- and middle-income countries. Violence at work may hamper progress in this field. Hence, we examined the associations between violence at work and depressive symptoms/major depression in primary care teams (physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, and community health workers). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was undertaken in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. We assessed a random sample of Family Health Program teams. We investigated depressive symptoms and major depression using the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and exposure to violence at work in the previous 12 months using a standardized questionnaire. Associations between exposure to violence and depressive symptoms/major depression were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 3141 eligible workers, 2940 (93 %) completed the interview. Of these, 36.3 % (95 % CI 34.6-38.1) presented intermediate depressive symptoms, and 16 % (95 % CI 14.6-17.2), probable major depression. The frequencies of exposure to the different types of violence at work were: insults (44.9 %), threats (24.8 %), physical aggression (2.3 %), and witnessing violence (29.5 %). These exposures were strongly and progressively associated with depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio 1.67 for exposure to one type of violence; and 5.10 for all four types), and probable major depression (adjusted odds ratio 1.84 for one type; and 14.34 for all four types). CONCLUSION: Primary care workers presenting depressive symptoms and those who have experienced violence at work should be assisted. Policy makers should prioritize strategies to prevent these problems, since they can threaten primary care sustainability.