Mental health of basic education teachers during the return to face-to-face education

Estrada-Araoz E.G.; Gallegos-Ramos N.A.; Velásquez-Giersch L. · Revista Cubana de Medicina Militar (2023)

Resumen

Introduction: The return to face-to-face attendance after the health emergency caused by COVID-19 is causing a lot of concern in the workplace for teachers, therefore, it is necessary to evaluate their mental health. Objective: To describe the levels of depression, anxiety and stress of basic education teachers upon return to face-to-face education. Method: Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of 233 teachers who were administered the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). The messaging application Whatsapp was used to invite teachers to participate. Descriptive statistical methods were applied to categorize the variables according to cutoff points (mild, moderate, and high), and the non-parametric Chi-square test was used to determine if they were associated with the proposed sociodemographic and work-related variables. Results: 56.2% of all teachers had mild levels of depression, 45.1% had moderate levels of anxiety and 42.9% also had moderate levels of stress. Likewise, it was determined that gender was significantly associated with the study variables (p< 0.05). Conclusions: Basic education teachers experience mild levels of depression and moderate levels of anxiety and stress upon returning to in-person instruction. On the other hand, women show more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress than men.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre de Dios; Universidad Andina del Cusco