The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported this Thursday that, after the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the congestion in hospital centers, medical personnel from 11 nations in the region developed recurrent depressive states, suicidal thoughts and psychological illnesses.
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In a report, PAHO released the information after interviewing 14,502 health workers from countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay.
Of the sample, it was evidenced that between 14.57 and 22 percent presented signs of a depressive episode, while between five and 15 percent thought of suicide as the first option.
The report The COVID-19 HEalth caRe wOrkErs Study (HEROES) shows that between 14.7% and 22% of the health personnel interviewed in 2020 presented symptoms that allowed to suspect a depressive episode, while between 5 and 15% said that they thought to commit suicide.https: //t.co/W8AHoDifqE
– PAHO / WHO (@opsoms)
January 13, 2022
With the arrival of Covid-19, in several countries of the world health systems collapsed, health personnel covered long working hours, aggravated by the concern of infecting their families, as well as the change of routines in hospital centers.
“The pandemic increased stress, anxiety and depression in health workers and revealed that countries have not developed specific policies to protect their mental health,” said the member of the mental health program of the Faculty of Medicine. from the University of Chile, Rubén Alvarado.
If you are a health or public health professional and work in hospital settings, learn about and take the new basic course ️ on prevention and control of multidrug-resistant infections in hospitals.
INFO: https://t.co/CwdjLArKus pic.twitter.com/VsJiETT1R8
– Campus Virtual SP (@campusvirtualsp)
January 13, 2022
The document seeks to help doctors, nurses and other health personnel, by enabling more psychological care services, as well as supporting working mothers in caring for their children.
Accordingly, a free virtual self-care course will be developed by PAHO, through which participants will be taught the signs to diagnose work stress, the symptoms of mental disorders, as well as the essential actions for social well-being.