Belief in a COVID-19 conspiracy theory as a predictor of mental health and well-being of health care workers in Ecuador: cross-sectional survey study

Chen, Xi; Zhang, Stephen X.; Jahanshahi, Asghar Afshar; Alvarez-Risco, Aldo; Dai, Huiyang; Li, Jizhen; Ibarra, Verónica García

Belief in a COVID-19 conspiracy theory as a predictor of mental health and well-being of health care workers in Ecuador: cross-sectional survey study

Author

Chen, Xi

Zhang, Stephen X.

Jahanshahi, Asghar Afshar

Alvarez-Risco, Aldo

Dai, Huiyang

Li, Jizhen

Ibarra, Verónica García

Date

2020

Keywords

coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, mental health, psychiatric identification, Latin America, COVID-19, conspiracy, well-being, health care worker, social media, prediction

Abstract (summary)

Objective: Our aim was to provide the first evidence that belief in conspiracy theories regarding the COVID-19 pandemic is a predictor of the mental health and well-being of health care workers. Methods: We conducted a survey of 252 health care workers in Ecuador from April 10 to May 2, 2020. We analyzed the data regarding distress and anxiety caseness with logistic regression and the data regarding life and job satisfaction with linear regression.

Publication Information

Chen, X., Zhang, S. X., Jahanshahi, A. A., Alvarez-Risco, A., Dai, H., Li, J., & Ibarra, V. G. (2020). Belief in a COVID-19 Conspiracy Theory as a Predictor of Mental Health and Well-Being of Health Care Workers in Ecuador: Cross-Sectional Survey Study. JMIR public health and surveillance, 6(3), e20737. https://doi.org/10.2196/20737