Factors associated with the development of stress, anxiety and depression in the context of COVID-19 pandemic in Peruvian healthcare facilities

Abstract

Objective: To describe the sociodemographic characteristics and determine the factors associated with psychological manifestations of depression, anxiety, and stress in healthcare workers in the context of COVID-19 pandemic in health facilities in Peru during the month of May 2020. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted out in healthcare workers of hospital establishments in Peru. To evaluate the outcome of interest, we administered a structured questionnaire that asked about type of healthcare personnel; sociodemographic characteristics; Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7); Patient Health Questionnaire scale (PHQ-9); and the Revised Stressor Impact scale (IES-R). We used generalized linear Poisson models, with a logarithmic link function and robust variance. Results: Out of 258 respondents, 254 completed the survey; 61.8% were women; the most common work area was emergency department or hospitalization (inpatient) services (62.2%). The median PHQ-9 score was 4 points (IQR: 2-7); for the GAD-7, it was 6 points (IQR: 4-8), and for the IES-R, 16 points (IQR: 8-24). The multivariate analysis showed that being a physician was associated with less anxiety (PR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.62-0.94), whereas living alone was associated with a greater risk of depression (PR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.11-1.92). Conclusions: Healthcare personnel are at risk of manifesting psychological alterations, mainly associated with the female gender, non-medical personnel and living alone.