The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of academics in the health area

Higher education has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic with changes to online learning, work policies and social distancing. Assessing quality of life (QoL), minor mental disorders (MMD) and resilience (R) among academics in the health area and comparing the first and second years of the pandemic was the objective. Quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study, carried out among students in the health areas, during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020 and 2021. Four self-administered instruments: Questionnaire of Sociodemographic and Professional Variables, Quality of Life Assessment Instrument (The World Health Organization Quality of Life – WHOQOL-Bref), Screening Tool for Minor Mental Disorders (Self-Report Questionnaire – SRQ-20) and Wagnild & Young Resilience Scale. The survey was conducted through an online questionnaire (GoogleForms). 355 university students participated in the study (2021, n=159, and 2022, n=196). Increase in the global prevalence of MMD in the year 2021 when compared to the year 2020 (p< 0.05). QoL averages in all domains, except psychological, were higher in the first year of the pandemic. There was no difference in resilience between the years studied. As a result, negative changes were identified in the mental and emotional health and quality of life of most academics in the second year of the pandemic.