However, only a third of those who needed psychological help received it and not in all countries, according to a study in collaboration with the UN health agency in the American continent.
Health workers in eleven Latin American countries present high rates of depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts and psychological distress, according to the results of a study led by the universities of Chile and Columbia, with the collaboration of the Pan American Health Organization ( OPS).
The COVID-19 HEalth caRe wOrkErs Study (HEROES) report shows that between 14.7% and 22% of healthcare workers interviewed in 2020 presented symptoms that suggested a depressive episode, while between 5 and 15% of staff said that He thought about committing suicide. The study also shows that in some countries only about a third of those who said they needed it received psychological care.
“The pandemic shows the wear and tear of health personnel. In countries where the health system collapsed, staff suffered grueling hours and ethical dilemmas that impacted their mental health,” said Anselm Hennis, director of the UN agency’s Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health. “The pandemic is not over. It is essential to take care of those who take care of us,” he stressed.
The HEROES report is based on interviews with 14,502 health workers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Uruguay, and included the participation of academics and researchers from dozens of institutions in those countries. .
Various factors affected mental health
The need for emotional and financial support, concern about infecting family members, conflicts with family members of infected people, and changes in usual work functions were some of the main factors that affected the mental health of staff.
On the other hand, trusting that the health institution and the government could handle the pandemic, having the support of coworkers, and considering themselves a spiritual or religious person were mentioned as some of the factors that helped protect their mental health.
“The pandemic increased stress, anxiety and depression among healthcare workers and revealed that countries have not developed specific policies to protect their mental health. There is a health debt that must be paid off,” said Rubén Alvarado, an academic in the mental health program at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Chile and one of the main researchers of the study.
The report emphasizes that it is urgent to develop specific policies that allow organizing actions that protect the mental health of these workers. In this sense, it recommends a series of measures such as:
- Modify the work environment and guarantee adequate working conditions.
- Provide decent remuneration and stable contractual conditions.
- Create spaces where teams can talk, vent, and carry out self-care practices.
Likewise, the document calls for providing support to health workers to care for their children and elderly people in their care, given that the majority are women and caregivers . It also recommends putting into practice guidelines to protect the mental health of staff in health centers and making mental health services accessible to these workers.
“After two years of the pandemic, many workers still do not receive the support they need and that can cause them to develop different mental disorders in the coming years , something for which we have to be prepared,” warned Ezra Susser, from Columbia University and another of the report’s lead researchers.
Learn to take care of yourself to take care of others
To help emergency responders prevent mental health problems and promote healthy lifestyles, the Pan American Health Organization today launched a free virtual self-care course .
The course will allow participants to recognize work stress and associated risks, identify risk and protective factors, detect warning signs of mental health problems, and incorporate self-care strategies to achieve healthy habits.
