Distress and pleasure indicators in health care workers on the COVID-19 front line

Abstract

Abstract Objective to evaluate distress and pleasure indicators in health care workers on the front line of care for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases. Method an exploratory, analytical and cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. The studied sample consisted of 437 health professionals invited by electronic means, who answered the questionnaire on sociodemographic information, occupational aspects and clinical conditions. Distress and pleasure at work were considered as outcomes, which were analyzed with multinomial logistic regression regarding the associated independent variables. Results Most of the participants were female (71.0%), nurses (55.6%), with a weekly working shift of 40 hours or more (75.8%); 61.6% of the participants suffered from mental distress. The psychosocial characteristics of high-strain work and low social support were reported by 23.8% and 52.9% of the participants, respectively. In the multiple analysis, distress and lack of pleasure at work were associated with high job strain, low support from co-workers and mental distress. The profession is also associated with distress at work. Conclusion distress and lack of pleasure at work are associated with occupational characteristics and mental strain among health care workers in the COVID-19 scenario.