Socio-occupational factors associated with psychological distress in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic; Factores socio-laborales asociados al malestar psicológico en trabajadores sanitarios durante la pandemia por la COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction: Psychological distress due to the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has become very common, especially in health care workers, who have been one of the most affected populations. Objective: To determine the socio-occupational factors associated with psychological distress in health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Peruvian highlands. Methods: Cross-sectional design study, where 3 previously validated scales measuring psychological distress, fear of being infected with COVID-19 and workload were applied (alpha values: 0.79, 0.91 and 0.83, respectively). These were added to other socio-occupational variables; descriptive and analytical statistics were obtained. Results: When multivariate analysis was performed, it was found that those who had a higher score of fear of contagion by COVID-19 (RPa: 1.45; IC95%: 1.12-1.87; valor p= 0.005) and those who had a higher perception of work overload (RPa: 1.45; IC95%: 1.12-1.87; valor p= 0.005) were those who had greater perception of psychological distress, moreover, compared to physicians, psychologists had more psychological distress (RPa: 2.73; IC95%: 1.67-4.46; valor p< 0.001). Conclusion: Significant associations were found, with the predominant finding being that there is a strong association between psychological distress and fear of possible infection with COVID-19, as well as with the perception of work overload, mainly in professional psychologists. © 2022 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.