Context:

The nurse is considered a professional reference for individuals, families and the community, an important reason for them to feel good about themselves to provide care. Lack of mental health can negatively reflect the quality of care provided. To take care of users, nurses need to know how to take care of themselves and must ensure their own mental health.

Objective:

(i) To analyze whether the respondents' mental health level differs between those working in the primary healthcare units and those working in tertiary healthcare , (ii) To assess the nurses' mental health level and its relationship with biosocial and professional characteristics.

Methodology:

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study for comparison between groups. A questionnaire was applied that includes two parts, the first part characterizes the sample based on biosocial and professional variables, while the second part integrates the “Mental Health Inventory” by Pais Ribeiro (2001). The data analysis strategy included a descriptive analysis, as well as inferential analysis to detect statistically significant differences between groups.

Results:

The sample consists of 81 nurses, 84.0% (n=68) were women, 75.3% (n=61) were nurses of tertiary healthcare facilities and 54.3% (n=44) provided care to Covid-19 patients. The total MHI score is significantly lower among primary care nurses compared to their colleagues in tertiary healthcare facilities (63.5±17.71 versus 72.5±16.15 p=0.027), as well as in nurses who provided care to Covid-19 patients compared to those who do not provide such care (68.6±15.83 versus 75.5±15.71 p<0.001).

Conclusion:

Although the level of mental health of these nurses was high, the results demonstrate a risk of deterioration of mental health in nurses in primary healthcare services, as well as in those who provided health care to Covid-19 patients.

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