Mental health of healthcare workers of Latin American countries: a review of studies published during the first year of COVID-19 pandemic

•To date it is the first review investigating mental health of healthcare workers (HCW) of Spanish-speaking Latin American countries during COVID-19 pandemic.•Elevated levels of anxiety, depression and stress symptoms were observed among HCW of Latin American countries during COVID-19 pandemic.•In general, professional specialty of the HCW, age, gender, and concerns and fear about COVID-19 were relevant factors associated with the presence of mental disorders.•Distance from the regional epicentre of COVID-19 outbreak was a significant variable in the development of mental health disorders among HCW in Latin America.•The collapse of healthcare systems, lack of qualified professionals, long working hours shifts, and unavailability of personal protective equipment might have played a fundamental role in the deterioration of emotional well-being of HCW. Identify and review articles that evaluated mental health of HCW of Latin American countries (except Brazil), published during the first year of COVID-19 pandemic. We systematically searched EMBASE, PsycINFO, Scopus, PUBMED/ Medline, Web of Science, PePSIC, and Scielo for articles published during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two independent researchers reviewed titles and abstracts and then, for eligible studies, extracted data from full texts. Outcomes included mental health variables, country where the study was conducted, period of data collection, healthcare professional categories, study design, mental health measurements and main outcomes. The quality and risk assessment was also performed. Out of 248 records identified, 24 initially were assessed for eligibility. From those, 17 studies matched eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Higher scores of anxiety were reported in different studies, as well as an increased level of depression among HCW. Being a female, younger age, and closer distance of the epicenter of the outbreak increased the likelihood to develop mental health disorder. Concerns and fear related to COVID-19 have a greater impact on stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms. Our findings highlight that COVID-19 pandemic had been worse for HCW from Latin America, showing the harmful effects of burnout on their health. Greater psychological distress, as well as anxiety and depression had been experienced by HCW from Latin America in their fight against COVID-19, demonstrating the importance of psychological well-being policies for them during and post- the pandemic.