Impact of the COVID pandemic on mental health and training opportunities of Public Health Residents from 4 European countries: A cross-sectional study

• Published in: Frontiers in public health Vol. 11; p. 1044171
• Main Authors: Failla, Giovanna, Caminiti, Marta, Chen-Xu, José, Lo Moro, Giuseppina, Berselli, Nausicaa, Cabral Ferreira, Madalena, Malcata, Filipa, Peyre-Costa, David, Croci, Roberto, Soldà, Giorgia, Capodici, Angelo, Morcavallo, Caterina, Traglia, Francesco, Cedrone, Fabrizio, Storti, Ilaria, Jaquete, Alfonso Alonso, Antinozzi, Martina, Vasiliu, Anca
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 07.03.2023
• Subjects: COVID-19 - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression - psychology; Europe; Female; healthcare workforce; Humans; medical residents; Mental Health; pandemic; Pandemics; Public Health; public mental health; SARS-CoV-2; medical residents; pandemic; healthcare workforce; Europe; public mental health
• ISSN: 2296-2565; 2296-2565
• DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1044171

There is little evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Public Health Residents' (PHR) mental health (MH). This study aims at assessing prevalence and risk factors for depression, anxiety and stress in European PHR during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between March and April 2021, an online survey was administered to PHR from France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The survey assessed COVID-19 related changes in working conditions, training opportunities and evaluated MH outcomes using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21. Multivariable logistic regressions were applied to identify risk factors. Among the 443 respondents, many showed symptoms of depression (60.5%), anxiety (43.1%) and stress (61.2%). The main outcome predictors were: female gender for depression (adjOR = 1.59, 95%CI [1.05-2.42]), anxiety (adjOR = 2.03, 95%CI [1.33-3.08]), and stress (adjOR = 2.35, 95%CI [1.53-3.61]); loss of research opportunities for anxiety (adjOR = 1.94, 95%CI [1.28-2.93]) and stress (adjOR = 1.98, 95%CI [1.26-3.11]); and COVID-19 impact on training (adjOR = 1.78, 95%CI [1.12-2.80]) for depression. The pandemic had a significant impact on PHR in terms of depression, anxiety and stress, especially for women and who lost work-related opportunities. Training programs should offer PHR appropriate MH support and training opportunities.