Depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation in health care professionals attended at a psychological helpline for COVID-19 pandemic sufferers

The aim of this study was to examine the levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among health care professionals who sought professional help for psychological problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. These psychopathological constructs were measured using the PHQ-2, the GAD-2, and the su...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Navarro McCarthy, Ashley, Sanz García, Ana, Altungy Labrador, Pedro Rafael, Liébana Puado, Sara, Fernández Hermida, José Ramón, Berdullas Saunders, Silvia, Santolaya Ochando, Francisco, García Vera, María de La Paz, Sanz Fernández, Jesús
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/127344
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/127344
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Depression
Anxiety
Suicidal ideation
Health personnel
COVID-19
Health care seeking behavior
Depresión
Ansiedad
Ideación suicida
Personal sanitario
Conducta de búsqueda de atención sanitaria
Psicología (Psicología)
Psicología clínica y psicodiagnóstico
Estrés y relajación
Psiquiatría
61 Psicología
6101.04 Psicopatología
3201.05 Psicología Clínica
3211 Psiquiatría
Descripción
Sumario:The aim of this study was to examine the levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among health care professionals who sought professional help for psychological problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. These psychopathological constructs were measured using the PHQ-2, the GAD-2, and the suicide item from the PHQ-9, respectively, in a sample of 238 health care professionals who contacted a nationwide psychological helpline. Findings show that 52.5% had clinical levels of depression, 71% had clinical levels of anxiety, and 7.1% reported suicidal ideation, with no differences across health care roles (nurses, physicians, other roles). These figures, for depression and anxiety, are two to three times higher than those found in the general population of health care professionals during the pandemic but are similar for suicidal ideation. The results also indicate a higher prevalence of clinical levels of depression and anxiety among professionals who were currently receiving or had received professional help for psychological problems (67.2% and 84.6%, respectively). These findings confirm global concerns about the psychological impact of the pandemic on health care professionals and underscore the importance of integrating mental health into future health crisis response planning.