Aim: The study aimed to investigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Brazilian healthcare workers who work directly with patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
Material and methods: 634 individuals divided into three groups. Non-health workers (n= 372) with a mean age of 36.6 years (SD= 9.14) and 85.5% female; Health Workers (n= 94) with a mean age of 37 years (SD= 7.97) and 90% female; COVID-19 Health Workers (n= 168) with a mean age of 36.23 years (SD= 7.97) and 90% female. We administer the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist–Civilian Version, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7, and Burnout Inventory. We conduct data collection via Google Forms.
Results: Health workers working in the front line in the fight against COVID-19 showed higher levels of anxiety and psychological distress when compared to health professionals who do not deal directly with COVID-19 and professionals who are not in the area of health.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that health professionals who work on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19 tend to have higher levels of concern and anguish about the future, a high level of stress, mental tiredness, irritation, and fatigue. The findings indicate that these public demands psychological and psychiatric support to face the pandemic’s challenges. pandemics, psychological symptoms, mental health