AUTHOR=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 

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

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1044171

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2023.1044171

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Objectives
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. Methods
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 DASS-21. Multivariable logistic regressions were applied to identify risk factors.
Results
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.
Conclusions
Our study appreciated a significant impact on PHR during the pandemic 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.