tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
BMJ Open
. 2024 Aug 25;14(8):e081838.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-081838. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and mental health of school staff: a cross-sectional study of schools from four areas of Montreal, Quebec in 2021
Katia Charland[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Matteo Pannunzio[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Eleanor Greenspan-Ardman[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Adrien Saucier[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Laura Pierce[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Marie-Eve Hamelin[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Margot Barbosa Da Torre[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Julie Carbonneau[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Cat Tuong Nguyen[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Gaston De Serres[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Jesse Papenburg[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Guy Boivin[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Caroline Quach[SUP] 1 8 [/SUP], Kate Zinszer[SUP] 9 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Objectives: To assess the seroprevalence of infection-acquired SARS-CoV-2 and the mental health of school/daycare staff in the months after reopening of schools in Montreal, Quebec (Canada) in the Fall of 2020 and whether these varied by school and participant characteristics.
Design: A cross-sectional design based on a convenience sample of schools/daycares and staff was used as the originally planned longitudinal design was no longer feasible due to obstacles in recruitment, for example, teacher's strike.
Setting: Forty-nine schools/daycares in four Montreal neighbourhoods from March to October 2021.
Participants: Three-hundred and sixty-two participants completed both questionnaires and serology tests.
Primary and secondary outcome measures: SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and prevalence of anxiety, depression, resilience and burnout/emotional exhaustion.
Results: The seroprevalence estimate made representative to the Quebec population of educators was 8.6% (95% CI 5.2 to 13.0). The adjusted seroprevalence in high school was 20% that of elementary school (aRR=0.20, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.58). Thirty per cent of seropositive staff were exposed to a household member with confirmed COVID-19. Prevalence of high emotional exhaustion/burnout was 35%, 44% and 53% in daycare, elementary school and high school staff, respectively. However, moderate/severe anxiety and depression and low resilience did not exceed 18%. After adjusting for confounders, being very afraid of catching COVID-19 at school was associated with moderate-severe anxiety, moderate-severe depression and high emotional exhaustion (aRR=4.4, 95% CI 2.2 to 8.9; aRR=2.8, 95% CI 1.5 to 5.4; aRR=2.2, 95% CI 1.6 to 3.0, respectively).
Conclusion: The seroprevalence, anxiety and depression among school/daycare staff were comparable to the reported levels in the adult population of Quebec. The prevalence of emotional exhaustion/burnout was high across all school levels and exceeding the average across all occupations in the USA and in teachers in Germany.
Keywords: COVID-19; MENTAL HEALTH; SARS-CoV-2 Infection; Schools.
. 2024 Aug 25;14(8):e081838.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-081838. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and mental health of school staff: a cross-sectional study of schools from four areas of Montreal, Quebec in 2021
Katia Charland[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Matteo Pannunzio[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Eleanor Greenspan-Ardman[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Adrien Saucier[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Laura Pierce[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Marie-Eve Hamelin[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Margot Barbosa Da Torre[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Julie Carbonneau[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Cat Tuong Nguyen[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Gaston De Serres[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Jesse Papenburg[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Guy Boivin[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Caroline Quach[SUP] 1 8 [/SUP], Kate Zinszer[SUP] 9 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 39182934
- DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-081838
Objectives: To assess the seroprevalence of infection-acquired SARS-CoV-2 and the mental health of school/daycare staff in the months after reopening of schools in Montreal, Quebec (Canada) in the Fall of 2020 and whether these varied by school and participant characteristics.
Design: A cross-sectional design based on a convenience sample of schools/daycares and staff was used as the originally planned longitudinal design was no longer feasible due to obstacles in recruitment, for example, teacher's strike.
Setting: Forty-nine schools/daycares in four Montreal neighbourhoods from March to October 2021.
Participants: Three-hundred and sixty-two participants completed both questionnaires and serology tests.
Primary and secondary outcome measures: SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and prevalence of anxiety, depression, resilience and burnout/emotional exhaustion.
Results: The seroprevalence estimate made representative to the Quebec population of educators was 8.6% (95% CI 5.2 to 13.0). The adjusted seroprevalence in high school was 20% that of elementary school (aRR=0.20, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.58). Thirty per cent of seropositive staff were exposed to a household member with confirmed COVID-19. Prevalence of high emotional exhaustion/burnout was 35%, 44% and 53% in daycare, elementary school and high school staff, respectively. However, moderate/severe anxiety and depression and low resilience did not exceed 18%. After adjusting for confounders, being very afraid of catching COVID-19 at school was associated with moderate-severe anxiety, moderate-severe depression and high emotional exhaustion (aRR=4.4, 95% CI 2.2 to 8.9; aRR=2.8, 95% CI 1.5 to 5.4; aRR=2.2, 95% CI 1.6 to 3.0, respectively).
Conclusion: The seroprevalence, anxiety and depression among school/daycare staff were comparable to the reported levels in the adult population of Quebec. The prevalence of emotional exhaustion/burnout was high across all school levels and exceeding the average across all occupations in the USA and in teachers in Germany.
Keywords: COVID-19; MENTAL HEALTH; SARS-CoV-2 Infection; Schools.