Mental disorders and related factors in higher education professors working remotely: a correlational study

Recent changes in labor relations and the employment market in university education have posed significant challenges and increased workloads for faculty a situation that has been exacerbated by the global epidemiological status in 2020.

To investigate the presence of mental disorders and associated factors in faculty members at a private university in São Paulo, Brazil.

This is a quantitative, descriptive, exploratory cross-sectional study conducted in June 2021, using online questionnaires to collect social and demographic and lifestyle data, namely, Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The presence of associations between variables was investigated using odds ratio and relative risk.

Participants included 49 professors, mostly women, aged between 29-78. Among the subjects, 61.2% had a body mass index above the recommended level and 40.8% were considered sedentary. A chronic illness was reported by 40.8% and 65.3% reported continued-use medication. A common mental disorder was reported by 28.5%, and the same prevalence was found for depression, with a positive association with being considered sedentary, overweight or obese, drinking alcohol at least once a week, and having worked as a professor for less than 5 years.

The study showed a significant level of emotional distress among professors, associated with lifestyle habits that can compromise their quality of life and professional performance.