Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university professors at a University Institution in North Lima

Abstract

Introduction: Psychological distress is one of the events that compromise the mental health of University professors in a situation that puts their physical and mental well-being at risk, therefore, the objective of the research is to determine psychological distress in University professors that are of a University Institution in North Lima.Methods: It is a quantitative, descriptive, non-experimental cross-sectional study, with a total population of 147 participating health professionals, who responded to a questionnaire of sociodemographic data and the depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21).Results: The results show that in health professionals, 61 (41.5%) present high psychological distress, 44 (29.9%) medium psychological distress and 42 (28.6%) low psychological distress.Conclusions: It is concluded that strategies should be sought to improve the mental health of health professionals, who are in the first line of care for COVID-19 patients and this should be increased in mental health services that allow attending to professionals who are at a higher risk of psychological distress.