Abstract
The study aimed to explore mental distress during COVID-19 quarantine in a sample of university workers in Brazil. The survey included sets of questions about demographics, health, and support, an open question about major concerns, and the Clinical Outcome Routine Evaluation (CORE-OM), a measure of mental distress. A total of 407 professionals, mean age 40, SD 11.2, fulfilling social distancing (99%) participated in the study. Participants were mostly female (67.8%) and married (64.8%). Using the Consensual Qualitative Research process for simple qualitative data (CQR-M), the main areas of concern were grouped into six domains, as follows: work, health, isolation, personal life and routine, social environment, and future. Many responses were multiple. They form categories indicating specific concerns within these domains. Quantitative data were analyzed by identifying the simple effects of potential predictors of mental distress. The results indicated medium effects of help with household chores (η2 = 0.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.022–0.095)), psychiatric treatment (η2 = 0.06, CI (0.030–0.110)), age (η2 = 0.12, CI (0.070–0.170)), and physical exercise (η2 = 0.12, CI (0.079–0.180)). Having someone available to listen was the only variable with a large effect associated with reduced mental suffering (η2 = 0.18; CI (0.118–0.227)). Psychological experiences of the pandemic are multifaceted and complex. Thus, substantially larger surveys, with both quantitative and qualitative components, are needed.
Highlights
IntroductionOn 11th March 2020, the WHO announced the pandemic status of COVID-19 (CV-19) infection
On 11th March 2020, the WHO announced the pandemic status of COVID-19 (CV-19) infection.Worldwide social distancing measures were adopted to prevent virus exposure
Thematic axes capturing general population social representations in days the pandemic in per Brazil identified by Do Bú and collegues [15], the scope of our health domain is relatively narrower and most of our categories could be understood in relation to their psycho-affective and social implications of the pandemic and our findings corroborate the argument that multiple elements parallel to contagion are potentially harmful to psychological health [27]
Summary
On 11th March 2020, the WHO announced the pandemic status of COVID-19 (CV-19) infection. In the USA, a national representative study conducted during an acute period of COVID-19 spread found increased symptoms of anxiety and depression over time, and estimated that, in the most affected states, each day past since March 10 implied an 11% greater chance of moving to the category of distress (e.g., moving from mild to moderate symptoms) [9] These kind of effects of the pandemic have been reported by several other countries, including in Latin. Another study conducted during lockdown in Spain found that university workers, in comparison to students, reported more concerns about health, social and economic issues [19] In both studies, moderate to severe symptoms of common mental disorders, like anxiety and depression, were prevalent in approximately a third of the sample, but higher among students [18,19]. We believe that this kind of mental health applied research can be useful to inform public health research and programs
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