The arrival of COVID-19 brought with it many more challenges than the disease itself. The pandemic has had implications as serious as the death of almost a million people in the world and the suffering due to the loss of a loved one with the concomitant complications in the development of grief. To all this a new problem has been added; medical suicide.
COVID-19: Mental illness
Thus, out of all the tragedies, a new adversary is added; mental illness. Which have emerged and have been implanted in all groups: among them doctors and health personnel.
In fact, a study published on the portal Medscape in 2018 it concluded that doctors have twice the risk of committing suicide than the rest of the population.
This is an alarming statistic that remains valid to this day. It is also a global problem that is present in health professionals around the world.
Suicide of doctors in Mexico
In Mexico in 2020 and so far in 2021, there has been
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reported suicide linked to the pandemic caused by Covid-19 and, particularly, with the confinement and its associated elements.
The content of Vol. 32 No. 1 (2021) of the Anahuac Journal of Medicine and Ethics gives us a glimpse of these data. Starting by remembering that the profession of doctors has been considered for some years as one of the professions with the highest risk of suicidal behavior.
The burn out syndrome
The above, due to work overload, job demands, the tendency to manifest burn out syndrome. As well as the difficulties in having adequate means to carry out the requested activities
During the pandemic, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts have increased. And unfortunately, so have completed suicides.
What motivates suicides?
Among the possible motivations for these events is the requirement, which not only consists of strenuous working hours. But on many occasions it is accompanied by a request to perform tasks other than those of doctors, given the shortage of personnel available to hospital institutions.
In addition to poor nutrition and hydration and little rest. In this sense, health personnel face feelings of frustration and helplessness. The fear of infecting family members (consequently, the isolation of the family nucleus) and the trauma of seeing colleagues fall ill and die.
To this is added the burn out syndrome and compassion fatigue, which tend to produce pictures of depression, anxiety, acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Mental health in this sector is also on the rise
Despite the social stigma that still exists about mental illness and the request for psychiatric and psychological care. A large part of health workers have approached institutions that offer specialized mental health services. This, in order to attend to the psychological conditions they present, which prevents the chronicity of mental disorders and contributes to the prevention of suicidal behavior.
OVERVIEW: COVID-19 in the medical sector
However, one in ten active cases of Covid-19 in the country was registered among workers in the health sector. This is how 2020 was closed, according to the federal SSA report.
This constant did not vary much during the last three months of the pandemic. In October (as of October 26) 12.1% of active cases in the country correspond to health personnel.
Thus, 2020 culminated with 5,044 active cases of coronavirus among health personnel. Although the SSA report specifies that the information collected by the Epidemiological Surveillance System for Viral Respiratory Disease does not allow to identify whether the contagion occurred in the workplace, at home or in the community.
Mexico City (1,175 cases), State of Mexico (564), Jalisco (487), Guanajuato (461) and Nuevo León (386) topped the list with the most active cases of infected doctors.
Related Notes:
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