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. 2024 Sep 24;22(2):e20231152.
doi: 10.47626/1679-4435-2023-1152. eCollection 2024 Apr-Jun.

The impact of workplace violence on the mental health of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Larissa Harada  1 , Renata de Melo Branco  1 , Thamires Ferreira Barbosa  2 , Dinarte Ballester  1   3 , Maria Tavares Cavalcanti  4 , Andrea Tenorio Correia da Silva  5
Affiliations

The impact of workplace violence on the mental health of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Larissa Harada et al. Rev Bras Med Trab. .

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a new set ofwork-related stressors for health care workers.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the associations between exposure to violence and common mental disorders among health care workers in emergency care settings during COVID-19 in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

Methods: We randomly selected two emergency care units. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire was used to assess common mental disorders among emergency health care workers (n = 100). We examined the relationships between common mental disorders and COVID-19 pandemic-related variables, including availability of personal protective equipment, exposure to violence, discrimination, harassment, and confidence in the workplace to handle the pandemic. We used multivariate Poisson regression with robust variance to estimate prevalence ratios for common mental disorders.

Results: Overall, 50% (95%CI 39.8-60.1) of participants had a common mental disorder. In addition, 71% reported being victims of at least one type of violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher risks ofcommon mental disorders were found among those who reported lacking personal protective equipment, being victims of discrimination, violence, or harassment, and reporting less confidence in the workplace to handle the pandemic. Participants exposed to two types of violence and three types of violence had higher prevalence ratios, with prevalence ratios of 2.28 (95%CI 1.23-4.21) and 3.14 (95%CI 1.62-6.08), respectively.

Conclusions: Promoting access to personal protective equipment, addressing mistreatment of health workers as well as promoting their well-being at work, and building confidence in the workplace to deal with the pandemic are critical.

Introdução: A pandemia de covid-19 trouxe uma nova gama de estressores relacionados ao trabalho para os profissionais de saúde.

Objetivos: Este estudo examina as associações entre a exposição à violência e os transtornos mentais comuns entre os profissionais de saúde durante as situações de emergência na pandemia de covid-19 em São Paulo, Brasil.

Métodos: Selecionamos aleatoriamente dois serviços de emergência. O Questionário Geral de Saúde 12 foi utilizado para avaliar os transtornos mentais comuns entre os trabalhadores de saúde de urgência (n = 100). Investigamos as relações entre transtornos mentais comuns e variáveis relacionadas com a pandemia: disponibilidade de equipamento de proteção pessoal, exposição à violência/discriminação/assédio e nível de confiança no local de trabalho para lidar com a pandemia. Realizamos uma regressão multivariada de Poisson com uma variação robusta para estimar as razões de prevalência para transtornos mentais comuns.

Resultados: Entre os participantes, 50% (intervalo de confiança de 95% [IC95%] 39,8-60,1) apresentaram transtornos mentais comuns e 71% relataram ter sido vítimas de pelo menos um tipo de violência durante a pandemia de covid-19. Foi encontrado maior risco de transtornos mentais comuns entre aqueles que reportaram falta de equipamento de proteção pessoal, sendo vítimas de discriminação, violência ou assédio; e que reportaram menor confiança no local de trabalho para lidar com a pandemia. Os participantes expostos a dois tipos e a três tipos de violência apresentaram razão de prevalência 2,28 (IC95% 1,23-4,21) e razão de prevalência 3,14 (IC95% 1,62-6,08) mais elevados, respectivamente. Os resultados indicam domínios que podem ser cruciais para mitigar os transtornos mentais comuns entre os trabalhadores da saúde.

Conclusões: É crucial promover o acesso a equipamento de proteção pessoal, combater os maus tratos e promover o bem-estar e confiança no local de trabalho para lidar com a pandemia.

Keywords: COVID-19; health personnel; mental health; violence.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Type of mistreatment reported by health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic (%).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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