Healthcare Worker's Distress and Perceived Discrimination Related to COVID-19 in Colombia.

The purpose of this study was to associate perceived discrimination related to COVID-19 and psychological distress in healthcare workers in the Colombian Caribbean. To do so, the authors designed and applied a cross-sectional study. They contacted a non-probabilistic sample by mail or instant messaging. The participants filled out a questionnaire that included scales for measuring perceived discrimination, anxiety, depression, perceived stress related to COVID-19, and suicide risk. One hundred and fifty healthcare workers between the ages of 18 and 68 participated in the research. Of these, 72% were women, 39.3% nursing assistants, 18.0% nurses, and 42.7% physicians. The perceived discrimination scores showed positive correlations with the scores on depressive symptoms among nursing assistants and physicians (rs = 0.34) and suicide risk in nursing assistants (rs = 0.35) and physicians (rs = 0.31). Among nurses, all measurements were independent of perceived discrimination. Nursing assistants scored higher in perceived discrimination than nurses and physicians. Physicians scored higher for COVID-19 perceived stress than nursing assistants, and nurses showed similar scores to the physicians' scores. In conclusion, perceived discrimination is related to depressive symptoms and suicide risk among nursing assistants and physicians. Nursing assistants report more perceived discrimination than nurses and physicians.