The current pandemic, a complex emergency? Mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on highly vulnerable communities in Guatemala

Abstract

Background: On March 5th, Guatemala declared a ‘State of Calamity’ in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and strict lockdown measures were initiated. The psychological consequences of these measures are yet to be fully understood. There is limited research on the psychological impact of the virus in the general population, and even less focused on Latin America and high-risk communities characterized by poverty, limited mental health resources, and high rates of stigma around mental illness. The goal of this study is to examine the psychological impact of COVID-19 across several highly vulnerable districts in Guatemala. Methods: A semi-structured phone interview was conducted of 295 individuals in multiple districts in Guatemala City to assess self-perceived mental health consequences related to the pandemic. Sociodemographic, medical, and mental health data were collected. Chisquares and t-tests used for categorical and continuous variables, as appropriate, to describe the sample. Binary logistic regressions were estimated to examine associations between sociodemographic characteristics and mental health symptoms (anxiety, stress, depression, burnout, escalation of pre-existing mental health symptoms, and a sense of safety). Results: The results indicate high levels of anxiety and stress in all target communities. Significant differences based on gender, age, and the number of children in the household were identified: women and older adults experience higher rates of stress and anxiety associated with the pandemic; while families with greater number of children experience higher levels of burnout. Conclusion: Contextualizing the current pandemic as a complex emergency can help inform further studies focusing on socioeconomic challenges and higher vulnerabilities as preconditions affecting the impact of the pandemic on mental health. Given the limited available resources for mental health care in Guatemala, informal networks of care may play an important role in meeting the needs of those individuals experiencing increased psychological distress resulting from the pandemic.

Latin American authors in the scientific production on depression in times of COVID-19

“…There is little information about the psychological impact of COVID − 19 in the world and even less in Latin America. Therefore, it is important to know studies carried out about it ( Alonzo et al, 2021 ).…”

Long-term impacts and implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health

“…The findings from the studies examining the mental health of adults living in highly vulnerable communities in Guatemala during the lockdown period found moderate to high rates of anxiety and stress along with significant increases in pre-existing mental health symptoms (Alonzo et al, 2021a(Alonzo et al, , 2021b. More specifically, just under half of the participants (46%) reported high levels of anxiety, 68% reported severe symptoms of stress and 38% reported an increase in pre-existing mental health symptoms.…”

“…The follow-up survey was designed by the study. It was informed by qualitative feedback and quantitative data obtained during the baseline study (see Alonzo et al, 2021a) and by relevant research focused on the impact of previous epidemics (i.e., SARS).…”

“…Clinically significant depression and anxiety, along with stress, anger, irritability and fatigue, have been identified as common experiences in multiple countries across Europe, the United States and Asia. Far fewer studies have focused on Latin America and of those, only three focused specifically on Guatemala (Alonzo et al, 2021a(Alonzo et al, , 2021b(Alonzo et al, , 2021c(Alonzo et al, , 2021d.…”

“…For many communities around Guatemala city, pre-existing pandemic conditions were already perilous and contributed to chronic malnutrition, high rates of non-communicable diseases and mental health stressors. In these 'red zone' districts (highly vulnerable communities), high rates of extreme poverty, violent and gang-related crime, substance use and limited employment and educational opportunities prevail as do high rates of teen pregnancy, delinquency, violence against women and domestic violence (Alonzo, Popescu, & Zubaroglu, 2021a).…”