Longitudinal Distress among Brazilian University Workers during Pandemics.

Murilo Ricardo Zibetti,Fernanda Barcellos Serralta,Chris Evans

doi:10.3390/ijerph18179072

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine changes in mental distress in Brazilian university workers during the pandemic. All workers (n ≃ 1850) of an institution were invited to respond to a survey that took place in three stages, with collections in May (n = 407), June/July (n = 258), and August (n = 207) 2020, and included questions on demographic, health, general and psychological support, and psychometric assessment of mental distress (Clinical Outcome Routine Evaluation- CORE-OM) combined with an open question about major concerns. The results of the Multilevel Modeling analysis pointed to the absence of significant differences across the repeated measures of distress. The only variable associated with increased psychological distress over time was a lower level of support for household chores. Qualitative analysis of the reported major concerns was carried out with a sub-sample who showed reliable deterioration in CORE-OM across time (n = 17). The diversity of concerns reported by this group reinforced that work–life imbalance contributes to mental distress of university workers during the pandemic. Low response rate, although not unexpected due to the circumstances, limits the generalization of findings. The present data suggest that in addition to issues related to contagion and specific restricted measures to contain the spread of the disease, the personal reorganization of life required to maintain activities at home and work can be an important contributor to pandemic-related psychological distress.

Highlights

In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO), declared the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus had reached pandemic levels
The first analyses checked for change in participants who answered at least two stages
Most respondents worked remotely and voluntarily complied with the measures of social distancing so the effects of the containment measures cannot be separated from the effect of the pandemic itself, as so few did not comply with the measures

Summary

Introduction

In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO), declared the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus had reached pandemic levels. The main one involved social distancing that resulted in extensive home confinement [2]. It has varied locally, from instructions to stay at home to compulsory isolation, guidelines for social distancing were adopted by several countries. In addition to the possibility of contagion and the isolation, economic losses, changes in routine, and loss of social support contributed to increased mental struggle [3]. Since the beginning of the pandemic, researchers have warned of the impacts on mental health and warned that health systems should be prepared to provide psychosocial support to the general population [2,3,4]

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