Well-being status and post-traumatic stress symptoms in health workers attending mindfulness sessions during the early stage of the COVID-19 epidemic in Mexico

Introduction. In Mexico, a National Mental Health Strategy was implemented to identify and attend the mental health repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. It included the creation of five virtual clinics for health workers, being the Burnout, Post-traumatic Stress and Compassion Fatigue clinic one of them. Objective. To describe the basal sociodemographic and psychological characteristics of health workers attending online mindfulness sessions as part of the treatment of the aforementioned clinic. Method. This is a cross-sectional report part of a major nationwide and longitudinal project. All attendants responded to digital sociodemographics and COVID-19 questionnaires, the Extended Physician Well-Being Index (EP-WBI), and the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) TOP-8 index. Results. Of the 507 health workers that participated, 70.02% of them were at risk of burnout according to the Extended Well-Being Index and 57.31, 7.91 and 2.77% had a mild, moderate, and severe risk of PTSD, respectively. The most affected were the female health workers, from metropolitan or central areas of the country, and those diagnosed with COVID-19 or exposed to a person with the diagnosis. Discussion and conclusion. Mexican health workers attending mindfulness sessions presented high frequencies of PTSD symptoms and burnout. Female workers at urban hospitals could be at a special risk for developing PTSD or Well-ness alterations, and thus, they must be cared for closely, particularly those having direct contact with COVID 19 positive persons. The early participation in mental health strategies might lessen the immediate and long-term pandemic effects. Keywords: Well-being, burnout, post-traumatic stress disorder, mindfulness, COVID-19. Introducción. En México se crearon cinco clínicas virtuales de salud mental para los trabajadores de la salud como parte de la respuesta nacional de salud mental ante la pandemia por COVID-19. La clínica de desgaste, estrés postraumático y fatiga por compasión es una de ellas. Objetivo. Describir las características sociodemográficas y psicológicas basales de los trabajadores de la salud que asistieron a las sesiones virtuales de atención plena, que constituyeron una de las estrategias de atención en la clínica. Método. Estudio transversal, parte de un proyecto nacional y longitudinal. Los participantes contestaron un cuestionario digital con preguntas sociodemográficas y sobre la situación actual del COVID-19, el Índice Extendido de Bienesta