Mental health of nursing professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

Luciane Prado Kantorski; Michele Mandagará de  Oliveira; Carlos Alberto dos Santos Treichel; Ioannis Bakolis; Poliana Farias Alves; Valéria Cristina Christello  Coimbra; Gustavo Pachon Cavada; Lilian Cruz Souto de Oliveira Sperb; Ariane da Cruz  Guedes; Milena Hohmann Antonacci; Janaína Quinzen Willrich

doi:10.11606/s1518-8787.2022056004122

Authors

Luciane Prado Kantorski Universidade Federal de Pelotas. Faculdade de Enfermagem. Departamento de Saúde Coletiva. Pelotas, RS, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9726-3162
Michele Mandagará de Oliveira Universidade Federal de Pelotas. Faculdade de Enfermagem. Departamento de Saúde Coletiva. Pelotas, RS, Brasil http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7914-9339
Carlos Alberto dos Santos Treichel Universidade de Campinas. Departamento de Saúde Coletiva. Escola de Ciências Médicas. Campinas, SP, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0440-9108
Ioannis Bakolis Kings College. Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience. London, United Kingdom https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4800-1630
Poliana Farias Alves Universidade Federal de Pelotas. Faculdade de Enfermagem. Departamento de Saúde Coletiva. Pelotas, RS, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6800-9536
Valéria Cristina Christello Coimbra Universidade Federal de Pelotas. Faculdade de Enfermagem. Departamento de Saúde Coletiva. Pelotas, RS, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5327-0141
Gustavo Pachon Cavada Universidade Federal de Pelotas. Faculdade de Enfermagem. Departamento de Saúde Coletiva. Pelotas, RS, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3280-8579
Lilian Cruz Souto de Oliveira Sperb Universidade Federal de Pelotas. Faculdade de Enfermagem. Departamento de Saúde Coletiva. Pelotas, RS, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9654-7470
Ariane da Cruz Guedes Universidade Federal de Pelotas. Faculdade de Enfermagem. Departamento de Saúde Coletiva. Pelotas, RS, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5269-787X
Milena Hohmann Antonacci Universidade Federal de Pelotas. Faculdade de Enfermagem. Departamento de Saúde Coletiva. Pelotas, RS, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8365-9318
Janaína Quinzen Willrich Universidade Federal de Pelotas. Faculdade de Enfermagem. Departamento de Saúde Coletiva. Pelotas, RS, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7427-9305

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/s1518-8787.2022056004122

Keywords:

Nursing, Team, psychology, COVID-19, nursing, Mental Disorders, epidemiology, Mental Health, Occupational Health, Cross-Sectional Studies

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To identify the prevalence of and factors associated with: (1) major depressive episodes; (2) minor psychiatric disorders (MPDs); and (3) suicidal ideation among nursing professionals from a municipality in southern Brazil. METHODS Using a cross-sectional design, we recruited 890 nursing professionals linked to 50 Primary Care units, 2 walk-in clinics, 2 hospital services, 1 emergency room service, 1 mobile emergency care service, and 1 teleconsultation service, in addition to the municipal epidemiological surveillance service and the vacancy regulation center between June and July 2020. We used the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the Self-Reporting Questionnaire to evaluate the studied outcomes. Associations between the outcomes and variables related to sociodemographic profile, work, health conditions, and daily life were explored using Poisson regression models with robust variance estimators. RESULTS The observed prevalence of depression, MPDs, and suicidal ideation were 36.6%, 44%, and 7.4%, respectively. MPDs were associated with the assessment of support received by the service as ‘regular’ (PR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.19–1.85) or ‘poor’ (PR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.23–1.94), with a reported moderate (PR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.29–2.07), or heavy (PR: 2.54; 95% CI: 2.05–3.15) workload, and with suspected COVID-19 infection (PR: 1.44; 95% CI: 1.25–1.66). Major depressive episodes were associated with a reported lack of personal protective equipment (PR: 1.20; 95% CI: 1.01–1.42), whereas suicidal ideation was inversely related to per capita income > 3 minimum monthly wages (PR: 0.28; 95% CI: 0.11–0.68), and positively related to the use of psychotropic drugs (PR: 3.14; 95% CI: 1.87–5.26). CONCLUSION Our results suggest that nursing professionals’ working conditions are associated with their mental health status. The need to improve working conditions through adequate dimensioning, support and proper biosafety measures is only heightened in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Mental health of nursing professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

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