Knowledge, Emotions and Stressors in Front-Line Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Mexico

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the knowledge, emotions and perceived stressors by healthcare workers who were in contact with infected patients during the COVID-19 outbreak. An online cross-sectional survey was applied. Data were collected from N = 263 healthcare workers in Tabasco State, Mexico. We developed and administered a questionnaire, which consisted of sociodemographic characteristics, plus four sections. The sections evaluated were (1) knowledge of COVID-19; (2) feelings/emotions during the COVID-19 outbreak; (3) factors that caused stress and (4) factors that helped to reduce stress. Surveyed individuals were divided into three groups: physicians, nurses and other healthcare workers. When we evaluated their knowledge of COVID-19 we observed that the majority of healthcare workers in the three groups reported that they knew about COVID-19. Physicians indicated that they felt insecure about practicing their profession (62.5%) due to the high risk of being in contact with SARS-CoV-2. With regards to stressor factors, the risk of transmitting COVID-19 to their families was the main factor causing moderate to high stress (95.4%). Finally, we found that “your profession puts your life at risk” was the only factor associated with feeling nervous and scared (PR: 3.15; 95% CI: 1.54–6.43). We recommended health education campaigns, introductory courses on COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, management protocols and the provision of protection equipment to health workers in order to reduce personal and professional fears of contagion and to improve the health system in Mexico when facing epidemics.

The Prevalence of Symptomatology and Risk Factors in Mental Health in Mexico: The 2016–17 ENCODAT Cohort

“…Telephone Interviews reported higher prevalences of these two disorders, reaching a third of the population [ 25 , 27 ]. Data from this study, combined with information obtained during the pandemic, point to the importance of attending to an important problem affecting an important part of the population [ 28 ].…”

Association and Genetic Expression between Genes Involved in HPA Axis and Suicide Behavior: A Systematic Review

“…Alterations in stress-induced regulation via any genetic factor could have important influences on SB. Some stress pathways genes that have been studied in SB include NR3C1, [19,20]; FKBP5 [21,22]; CRHR1 [23,24]; and SKA2 gene [25,26]. Candidate gene studies have shown differentially expressed mRNA patterns and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Caucasian and African American populations associated with SB [27,28].…”

“…Eighteen studies [19,21,22,28,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] analyzed the association between FKBP5 SNPs and SB phenotypes comprising 4239 cases and 9646 controls. The first study conducted in 2007 by Papiol et al [31] highlighted a significant association between the rs1360780 SNP and SA.…”

E-Health Psychological Intervention for COVID-19 Healthcare Workers: Protocol for its Implementation and Evaluation

“…In developed countries the data about the impact on mental health workers is abundant; however, in low-income and middle-income countries, such as Mexico, the data is scarce. Regarding the data for Mexico, the most common psychological consequences reported are insomnia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, with physicians and paramedics the most affected [12,13]. In a study that evaluated the psychological impact on 462 Mexican nurses, the researchers identified that 46.72% of them had traumatic stress responses from moderate to severe, and that 42.40% of participants exhibited a high level of emotional exhaustion [14].…”