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PERCEPTIONS AND FEELINGS OF BRAZILIAN HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS REGARDING THE EFFECTS OF COVID-19: CROSS-SECTIONAL WEB-BASED SURVEY
SARS-CoV-2
Profissionais de saúde
Pandemia
Saúde Mental
Planejamento de saúde
Brasil
Author
Affilliation
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Programa de Educação em Biociências e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Programa de Educação em Biociências e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Universidade Federal Fluminense. Ciência, Tecnologia e Inclusão. Niteroí, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Genômica Funcional e Bioinformática. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Programa de Educação em Biociências e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Inovações em Terapias, Ensino e Bioprodutos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Programa de Educação em Biociências e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Inovações em Terapias, Ensino e Bioprodutos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Programa de Educação em Biociências e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Genômica Funcional e Bioinformática. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Inovações em Terapias, Ensino e Bioprodutos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Programa de Educação em Biociências e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Universidade Federal Fluminense. Ciência, Tecnologia e Inclusão. Niteroí, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Genômica Funcional e Bioinformática. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Programa de Educação em Biociências e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Inovações em Terapias, Ensino e Bioprodutos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Programa de Educação em Biociências e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Inovações em Terapias, Ensino e Bioprodutos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Programa de Educação em Biociências e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Genômica Funcional e Bioinformática. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Inovações em Terapias, Ensino e Bioprodutos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Abstract
Background: The importance of health professionals has been recognized in COVID-19 pandemic–affected countries, especially
in those such as Brazil, which is one of the top 3 countries that have been affected in the world. However, the workers’ perception
of the stress and the changes that the pandemic has caused in their lives vary according to the conditions offered by these affected
countries, including salaries, individual protection equipment, and psychological support.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of Brazilian health workers regarding the COVID-19
pandemic impact on their lives, including possible self-contamination and mental health.
Methods: This cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted in Brazil by applying a 32-item questionnaire, including
multiple-choice questions by using the Google Forms electronic assessment. This study was designed to capture spontaneous
perceptions from health professionals. All questions were mandatory and divided into 2 blocks with different proposals: personal
profile and COVID-19 pandemic impact.
Results: We interviewed Brazilian health professionals from all 5 Brazilian regions (N=1376). Our study revealed that 1 in 5
(23%) complained about inadequate personal protective equipment, including face shields (234/1376, 17.0%), masks (206/1376,
14.9%), and laboratory coats (138/1376, 10.0%), whereas 1 in 4 health professionals did not have enough information to protect
themselves from the coronavirus disease. These professionals had anxiety due to COVID-19 (604/1376, 43.9%), difficulties in
sleep (593/1376, 43.1%), and concentrating on work (453/1376, 32.9%). Almost one-third experienced traumatic situations at
work (385/1376, 28.0%), which may have led to negative feelings of fear of COVID-19 and sadness. Despite this situation, there
was hope and empathy among their positive feelings. The survey also showed that 1 in 5 acquired COVID-19 with the most
classic and minor symptoms, including headache (274/315, 87.0%), body pain (231/315, 73.3%), tiredness (228/315, 72.4%),
and loss of taste and smell (208/315, 66.0%). Some of their negative feelings were higher than those of noninfected professionals
(fear of COVID-19, 243/315, 77.1% vs 509/1061, 48.0%; impotence, 142/315, 45.1% vs 297/1061, 28.0%; and fault, 38/315,
12.1% vs 567/1061, 53.4%, respectively). Another worrying outcome was that 61.3% (193/315) reported acquiring an infection
while working at a health facility and as expected, most of the respondents felt affected (344/1376, 25.0%) or very affected
(619/1376, 45.0%) by the COVID-19. Conclusions: In Brazil, the health professionals were exposed to a stressful situation and to the risk of
self-contamination—conditions that can spell future psychological problems for these workers. Our survey findings showed that
the psychological support for this group should be included in the future health planning of Brazil and of other hugely affected
countries to assure a good mental health condition for the medical teams in the near future.
Keywords in Portuguese
COVID-19SARS-CoV-2
Profissionais de saúde
Pandemia
Saúde Mental
Planejamento de saúde
Brasil
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