Dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic: prevalence of common mental disorders in "invisible" health workers and their association with occupational stressors.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association between occupational stressors and common mental disorders (CMD) among "invisible" health workers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHOD

Cross-sectional study including a probabilistic sample of 1,014 health workers from three municipalities in Bahia. CMDs were assessed using the SRQ-20. The Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) scale and the Demand-Control Model assessed occupational stressors. Descriptive, bivariate, and multiple analysis to evaluate the association between the variables of interest.

RESULTS

The global prevalence of CMD was 39.9%; it was higher among CHA/EDCA (47.2%), followed by management and surveillance staff (38.6%), technicians (35.4%), and support/maintenance/cleaning staff (29.9%). The association between occupational stressors and CMD varied among occupations: 1. Excessive work commitment (EWC), effort-reward imbalance (ERI), and psychological demand were associated with CMD among support/maintenance/cleaning workers; 2. EWC and ERI were associated with CMD among CHA/EDCA; 3. EWC, ERI, and low control over work were associated with CMD among technicians; 4. Among management and surveillance workers, only ERI remained associated with CMD.

CONCLUSIONS

Occupational stressors played a relevant role in mental illness, with variation between occupational strata, demanding attention, monitoring, and control.