Quality of life of the Brazilian speech therapist facing the covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the quality of life (QoL) of Brazilian speech therapists and relate it to sociodemographic and professiographic aspects, and to their role in the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Population-based, crosssectional epidemiological study. The research involved speech therapists from Brazil, who were invited to answer, online, the WHOQOL-bref form about their health and QoL, in addition to sociodemographic and professional questions. Results: 609 speech therapists aged between 21 and 65 years, average age of 34 years, participated in the study. Lower scores in the physical domain of QoL were given by female speech therapists, providing outpatient care, who did not work in private clinics, acted indirectly in the pandemic, were absent from work due to psycho-emotional aspects; in the psychological domain, they were female, without a partner, working in a private clinic or elsewhere and acted directly or indirectly in the pandemic; in the social relations domain, they had no partner, worked in outpatient care, but not in private clinics; and in the environment domain, lower scores were in black and brown race/color, without a partner, attending home care, but not in a private clinic or management/administrative or other. Conclusion: Brazilian speech therapists had the lowest QoL scores in the psychological and environmental domains; their QoL is related to factors such as sex, color/race, presence of a partner, council region, service environments, direct action with COVID-19 patients and COVID-19 diagnosis.