Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency that has affected health professionals around the world, causing physical and mental exhaustion with a greater probability of developing mental disorders in professionals who provide healthcare. Objective: The objective of this study was to know the psychological impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on the nursing professionals working for the Rioja Health Service. Methods: We conducted an observational and descriptive cross-sectional study. The nursing staff at the Rioja Health Service were invited to respond to a self-administered questionnaire between June and August 2020. Results: A total of 605 health professionals participated in the questionnaire; 91.9% were women, 63.14% were registered nurses, and 36.28% were auxiliary nurses. Risk factors for mental health professionals were identified in more than 90% of nurses (p = 0.009), affecting their psychological state with feelings of exhaustion, emotional overload (p = 0.002), and less use of coping strategies among women. Younger professionals with less experience had higher levels of stress compared to those with more than five years of experience, who showed a progressive reduction in the impact of stressors (p < 0.001). Professionals with dependent family members presented higher levels of emotional overload and coping problems (p = 0.009). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant psychological impact on health professionals in terms of stress, emotional well-being, and the use of coping strategies. Female health professionals with dependents, a temporary contract, and less work experience have been more psychologically affected.

Background The complications from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been the subject of study in diverse scientific reports. However, many aspects that influence the prognosis of the disease are still unknown, such as frailty, which inherently reduces resistance to disease and makes people more vulnerable. This study aimed to explore the complications of COVID-19 in patients admitted to a third-level hospital and to evaluate the relationship between these complications and frailty. Methods An observational, descriptive, prospective study was performed in 2020. A sample of 254 patients from a database of 3,112 patients admitted to a high-level hospital in Madrid, Spain was analyzed. To assess frailty (independent variable) the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) was used. The outcome variables were sociodemographic and clinical, which included complications, length of stay, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and prognosis. Results A total of 13.39% of the patients were pre-frail and 17.32% were frail. Frail individuals had a shorter hospital stay, less ICU admission, higher mortality and delirium, with statistical significance. Conclusion Frailty assessment is a crucial approach in patients with COVID-19, given a higher mortality rate has been demonstrated amongst frail patients. The CFS could be a predictor of mortality in COVID-19.

Quality of life (QOL) is a complex and multifaceted concept that has been used to study different aspects of people’s lives, including physical and psychological wellbeing, financial independence, social relationships, personal beliefs and living situation. In this study, we aimed to assess the QOL of a group of Spanish university students and identify associated factors. Method: We completed a cross-sectional study of the QOL of 868 university students using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. In addition, data regarding sociodemographic information and self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire—Short version), diet (Spanish Index of Healthy Eating), alcohol consumption (CAGE questionnaire) and sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) were collected. Results: A total of 66.2% of participants assessed their QOL positively, while 58.8% favorably evaluated their overall health. Students reported the highest scores for the physical health domain of QOL, whereas they gave the lowest scores for the psychological health domain. Age was inversely associated with QOL. Higher self-esteem and satisfaction with academic performance, as well as sleep and diet quality, were directly associated with higher QOL. The physical health domain of QOL was scored more highly by participants who had a healthy body weight or those who reported moderate levels of physical activity. Higher scores in the social relationships domain of QOL were directly linked to alcohol intake, smoking and low body weight in addition to being inversely associated with screen time. The psychological domain of QOL was lower for those who were overweight or lived alone. Conclusion: Many sociodemographic, academic and behavioral variables are associated with university students’ QOL. The present findings underscore the need to direct further initiatives toward identifying and overcoming barriers to increased QOL for university students.