Nagila Lima Fontenele, Daisyanne Augusto de Sales Santos, Isabela Araújo Linhares Castro, Felipe Moreira de Paiva, Fabíola Chaves Fontoura, Natalia Rodrigues Oliveira, Rhaiany Kelly Lopes de Oliveira, Maria Vera Lúcia Moreira Leitão Cardoso
mothers with children confirmed to have COVID-19 presented moderate anxiety levels, with elevated levels in those with low education and low income.
OBJECTIVES: to assess the anxiety level of mothers of children who had COVID-19 in a city in northeastern Brazil using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.
METHODS: this cross-sectional study included mothers of children with COVID-19 in their first year of life, reported in e-SUS Notifica from February 2020 to January 2021. Data collection was conducted via telephone contact, using a questionnaire on maternal sociodemographic and epidemiological variables, as well as the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The Fisher-Freeman-Halton exact test was used to assess associations between variables.
RESULTS: maternal anxiety was moderate (percentile between 25 and 75) for both the Trait Anxiety Inventory (50%) and the State Anxiety Inventory (50%). There was statistical significance for elevated anxiety among education level (p=0.010), income (p=0.027), and the State Anxiety Inventory.
CONCLUSIONS: mothers with children confirmed to have COVID-19 presented moderate anxiety levels, with elevated levels in those with low education and low income.