Factors Associated with Mental Health Outcomes in Hospital Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study

Jeff Huarcaya-Victoria, Beltran Villarreal-Rao, Matilde Luna, Wendoline Rojas-Mendoza, Christoper A. Alarcon-Ruiz, David Villarreal-Zegarra, Ana L. Vilela-Estrada and Samantha Ramírez
Additional contact information
Jeff Huarcaya-Victoria: Departamento de Psiquiatría, Hospital Nacional Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen, EsSalud, Lima 15033, Peru
Beltran Villarreal-Rao: Departamento de Psiquiatría, Hospital Nacional Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen, EsSalud, Lima 15033, Peru
Matilde Luna: Departamento de Psiquiatría, Hospital Nacional Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen, EsSalud, Lima 15033, Peru
Wendoline Rojas-Mendoza: Departamento de Salud Mental, Hospital Nacional Edgardo Rebagliati Martins, EsSalud, Lima 15072, Peru
Christoper A. Alarcon-Ruiz: Neurociencia, Efectividad Clínica y Salud Pública, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima 15067, Peru
David Villarreal-Zegarra: Dirección de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación, Instituto Peruano de Orientación Psicológica, Lima 15046, Peru
Ana L. Vilela-Estrada: Dirección de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación, Instituto Peruano de Orientación Psicológica, Lima 15046, Peru
Samantha Ramírez: Independent Researcher, Lima 15001, Peru

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: Background: We investigated some of the factors associated with depression, perceived stress, and anxiety in clinical and nonclinical healthcare workers of two hospitals. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used. The sample included clinical (physicians, nurses, and others) and nonclinical (security and cleaning staff) healthcare workers of two tertiary hospitals in Peru. Participants completed an online self-survey. In the qualitative analysis, data were subjected to thematic analysis. Results: We analyzed data from 613 participants, of which 8.6%, 9.0%, and 78.2% had moderate-to-severe anxiety, depression, and perceived stress, respectively. Having a previous mental health problem, being concerned about losing one’s job, having at least two COVID-19 symptoms in the preceding two weeks, and being afraid of infecting family members increased the prevalence of experiencing moderate-to-severe depression and anxiety. The qualitative analysis allowed us to identify five recurring factors that caused a negative impact on workers’ lives during the pandemic: emotional distress linked to hospital experiences of suffering and death, modification of routines, fear of COVID-19, exacerbation of mental disorders, and physical problems associated with emotional distress. Conclusions: Clinical and nonclinical healthcare workers in Peru have experienced depression, anxiety, and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research and interventions are necessary to improve psychological support for hospital workers.

Keywords: anxiety; stress; psychological; depression; COVID-19; health personnel; Peru (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/9/5346/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/9/5346/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:9:p:5346-:d:804046

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().