Mental Health and Access to Resources in a Schoolteacher Population Impacted by Earthquakes and the Pandemic in Puerto Rico.

OBJECTIVE

A study was conducted to evaluate the mental health status and access to essential resources in a sample of schoolteachers impacted by earthquakes and the COVID-19 pandemic in Southwestern Puerto Rico.

METHODS

From November 2020 through September 2021, an online survey was administered to schoolteachers working in municipalities listed in the Federal Emergency Management Agency earthquake disaster declaration. The prevalences of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression were calculated based on scores from the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) (PCL-5), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D-7) scale, respectively.

RESULTS

Most of the teachers in the sample (N = 58) reported serving students of low socioeconomic status (93.1%). Forty-eight percent (48.3%) reported having trouble making necessary home repairs, and 32.8%, accessing medical care. Twenty-one percent (20.7%) of the teachers met the clinical cutoff for PTSD, and 12.1% scored within the range of severe anxiety. Twenty-four percent (24.1%) of the teachers obtained scores indicative of depression.

CONCLUSION

The survey findings highlight the need to provide mental health services to schoolteachers in the aftermath of a natural disaster in Puerto Rico.