Health-related factors of psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic among non-health workers in Spain

Abstract

Background Non-health workers engaged in essential activities during the pandemic are less researched on the effects of COVID-19 than health workers. Objective to study the differences between those who work away from home and those who do so from home, when the effects of fear of contagion cross with those of confinement, about the psychological distress during the COVID-19 in Spain. Design Observational descriptive cross-sectional study . Data sources The study was carried out receiving 1089 questionnaires from non-health workers that were working away from home and doing so from their homes. The questionnaire included sociodemographic and occupational data, physical symptoms, self-perceived health, use of preventive measures and possible contacts, and the Goldberg GHQ-12. Results 71.6% of non-health female workers and 52.4% of non-health male workers had psychological distress, with differences among those working away from home and those working from home. The level of psychological distress among non-health workers is predicted by 66.5% through the variables: being a woman, 43 years old or younger, having a home with no outdoor spaces, poor perception of health, number of symptoms, and having been in contact with contaminated people or material. Among workers who work away from home, being self-employed is another predictive variable of distress . Conclusion More than the half of the sample showed inadequate management of the psychological distress. There are modifiable factors which provide necessary elements to support a positive attitude of the workers, such as: knowledge of hygiene, transmission of the virus, protective measures, and social distancing measures.

Risk Perception of COVID−19 Community Transmission among the Spanish Population

“…Meanwhile, it can be observed that workers who work outside the home have a high-risk perception. This is attested by studies such as Ruiz-Frutos et al [46], which affirm that people working outside the home present higher levels of loss of sleep, unhappiness and depression. The authors associate this fact with the existence of a greater perception of risk of infection for the subjects or their families, compared to people working from home.…”

Will Healthcare Workers Accept a COVID-19 Vaccine When It Becomes Available? A Cross-Sectional Study in China

“…Before initiating the formal study, we first consulted psychologists working at our institution. The final questionnaire included an assessment of demographics (such as sex, age, education level, current position, marital status, children), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) ( 14 – 16 ), Myers-Briggs Type Indicator questionnaire (MBTI) ( 17 – 19 ), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS-21) ( 20 – 23 ), and the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) ( 24 – 27 ). This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Third People's Hospital of Chengdu ( 2021 -S-51), and all responders provided written informed consent before participating in this study.…”

“…GHQ-12 is widely used in many studies to identify common psychiatric conditions ( 14 , 15 ). According to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, the GHQ-12 questionnaire is frequently used with the 0-0-1-1 scoring method where the first two and last two choices are scored as 0 and 1 points, respectively, leading to a total score ranging between 0 and 12 points.…”

Efectos de la pandemia por COVID-19 en la salud mental de la población trabajadora

“…En el colectivo de los sanitarios, en la primera fase de la pandemia, hemos encontrado tasas de distrés psicológico (Cuestionario de Salud General de Goldberg GHQ-12≥ 3) en el 80,6% de los profesionales sanitarios del ámbito asistencial, con niveles más elevados en atención especializada (82.2%) en comparación con atención primaria (77.3 %) (10) , siendo inferior en el conjunto de la población (71.98%) (11) , y más baja en el subgrupo de trabajadores no sanitarios (65.1%) (12) . En todos los casos el distrés psicológico es mayor en las mujeres y los más jóvenes.…”

“…Niveles bajos de SOC y de engagement laboral, han demostrado ser factores protectores ante la presencia de distrés, ayudando en el afrontamiento de esta complicada situación (16) . Entre las variables que predicen el distrés psicológico en los trabajadores no sanitarios encontramos ser mujer, tener una vivienda interior, una mala percepción de salud durante los últimos 14 días, el número de síntomas, haber estado en contacto con personas o material contaminado y ser trabajador autónomo (12) .…”