• Alfonso Urzúa, Antonio Samaniego, Alejandra Caqueo-Urízar, Antonio Zapata Pizarro, and Matías Irarrázaval Domínguez.
• Escuela de Psicología, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile.
• Rev Med Chil. 2020 Aug 1; 148 (8): 1121-1127.

BackgroundCOVID-19 has effects on the mental health of health care workers.AimTo explore the presence of symptoms associated with mental health problems and associated risk factors in health workers.Material And MethodsThe questionnaires PHQ-9 for depression, GAD-7 for anxiety, ISI-7 for insomnia and IES-R-22 for psychological distress were applied to 125 health care workers aged 18 to 67 years (32 physicians, 22 nurses and 71 of other professions) laboring in hospitals and primary care facilities along Chile.ResultsSixty five percent reported depression symptoms, 74% anxiety, 65% insomnia and 57% distress. Physicians had lower median scores in all scales than nurses and other health professionals. Professionals attending patients with respiratory infections or with COVID-19 had higher median scores in the scales that their counterparts.ConclusionsThe frequency of mental health problems among these professionals is high and preventive measures should be taken.

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