Association among physical activity practice with the mental health and the quality of life perception in nursing professionals from Ribeirao Preto and the region during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: At the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic are health professionals who carry out intense work, including nursing professionals, who represent a large number of health professionals working in health and hospital institutions. The high pressures in the work environment with expended workloads and journeys increased the demands due to the responsibility of their attributions. This context can negatively affect these professionals' physical activity practices, mental health, and perceived quality of life. Objective: Analyze the association between physical activity practice, mental health, and perceived quality of life in nursing professionals from Ribeirao Preto, SP, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed with nursing professionals from the Ribeirao Preto and region area in 2021 through an online form on the Google Forms tool. Questions related to sociodemographic data, professional activity, questionnaires to measure physical activity levels and sedentary behavior (IPAQ - short version), quality of life perception (SF - 12v2), and mental health (DASS-21) were used. Regarding the statistical analysis, the Chi-square test was used to verify the association of two categorical variables; the Student's T-test to compare two means, and the ANOVA to compare three means from unpaired samples. The significance level was 5%. Results: 125 professionals participated in the study, such as assistants, technicians, nurses, and coordinating nurses. Among them, 79.2% were women, 56.0% worked in the private sector, 34.4% were overweight, and 29.6% were obese. Professionals who practiced physical exercise or sport had a lower risk of depression (57.9% among non-practicing professionals, 47.9% among practicing one type of exercise, and 18.2% among practicing two or more types of exercise or sports, p = 0.04). In addition, professionals with moderate or high physical activity levels and who practiced physical exercises or sports had a better score in multiple domains and physical and mental quality of life components compared with low physical activity levels and not practicing physical exercises or sports, respectively. Conclusion: Nursing professionals who reported practicing more physical exercises or sports had lower mental health-related risks, and those who reported moderate or high physical activity levels had a better perception of quality of life.