Evaluating Healthcare workers’ Mental health after four waves of COVID-19

INTRODUCTION: Health workers faced many challenges during the Pandemic of COVID-19. Continuous work stress and workload may affect their physical and mental health. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to evaluate mental health among healthcare workers after the four peaks of COVID-19. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study on personnel working in a COVID-19 unit after four waves. We carried out a self-administrated questionnaire that included sociodemographic and professional data. To assess the level of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms we used the depression anxiety and stress scale (DASS 21). RESULTS: The study included 69 healthcare workers. Their mean age was 31.7 ± 6.32 years and 52.2 % of them were male. Thirty-two per cent were technicians, 29% were administrators and 21,7% were nurses. Sixty-eight per cent had either direct or indirect contact with positive patients. The vast majority of them were vaccinated against SARS COV2 and 72,5 % received more than 1 dose. Regarding DASS-21, we found that 10,1% presented mild to moderate stress, 23% had mild to moderate anxiety and 16% had mild to moderate depression symptoms. Depression was correlated with the male gender (p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed a regression in terms of stress levels, anxiety, and depression among healthcare workers after the fourth wave, announcing the amelioration of mental health in case the pandemic gets to its end. A tight follow-up remains needed. DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST: None Declared