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Objectives: The aim of this study was to test the association between the sense of coherence, work engagement, and psychological distress in healthcare workers in Ecuador during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study in a sample of 803 healthcare professionals from all regions of Ecuador between 2 April and 17 May 2020. A self-administered questionnaire was used, which contained sociodemographic and work environment variables, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13). Results: The mean value of sense of coherence was M = 65.04; SD = 12.74; for work engagement, it was M = 39.36; SD = 10.53; and for psychological distress, M = 4.58; SD = 3.44. There is a positive correlation (p < 0.01) between the sense of coherence and work engagement, and a negative correlation with psychological distress. Conclusion: During the pandemic in Ecuador, healthcare professionals have suffered a major deterioration of their mental health. Sense of coherence has been associated with work engagement and psychological distress. They have perceived a worsening of the quality of care and working conditions compared to those existing before COVID-19.

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Hydrocarbon activities over the years have been one of the main sources of environmental pollution, creating short and long-term impacts. This study aims to analyze the scientific production of the American continent through a bibliographic review of scientific articles published from the 1970s to the present, in order to contrast relevant scientific information about the types of pollution, water, atmospheric, and acoustic, published in the most important scientific repositories in the world, such as Scopus and Web of Science. The Prisma methodology was adopted for its development. From the plethora of articles collected, a sample of 3879 scientific articles was extracted, from which 3322 of them were excluded, leaving 557 records with remarkable information such as: country, year of publication, type of contamination, remediation if applicable, the associated oil & gas sector, and publication registration on the indexed website. It was noted that the countries with the highest scientific production are the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. Furthermore, the Web of Science, unlike Scopus, contains more indexed publications related to the types of contamination objects relevant to this study. On the other hand, publications focused on water pollution are the only ones that come up with remediations; the rest release a smaller number of publications on these topics.

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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2022.1604626.].

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Work environments can interfere with the mental health of workers as generators or reducers of psychological distress. Work engagement is a concept related to quality of life and efficiency at work. The aim of this study was to find the relationship between work environment factors and work engagement among the Ecuadorian general population during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic to assess their levels of psychological distress. For this purpose, a cross-sectional, descriptive study using a set of questionnaires was performed. Sociodemographic and work environment data, work engagement (UWES-9 scale) scores, and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) scores were collected. The variables that predicted 70.2% of psychological distress during the first phase of the pandemic were being female, with a low level of vigour (work engagement dimension), being stressed at work, and low job satisfaction. The sample showed an intermediate level of engagement in both the global assessment and the three dimensions, being higher in those without psychological distress. With effective actions on work environment factors, mental health effects may be efficiently prevented, and work engagement may be benefited. Companies can reduce workers' psychological distress by providing safe and effective means to prevent the risk of contagion; reducing the levels of work conflict, work stress, or workload; and supporting their employees with psychological measures in order to maintain ideal working conditions.

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Objective: The global COVID-19 pandemic has challenged health systems. Healthcare professionals had to face harsh conditions that have caused psycho-emotional consequences. Ecuador has been one of the countries hit hardest by the pandemic in Latin America. The objective of this study was to analyse the levels of psychological distress among healthcare workers in Ecuador during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with a convenience sample of 1,056 healthcare professionals, assessing their psychological distress, physical symptoms of COVID-19, state of health, the preventive measures adopted, and the history of contact with people infected with the SARS-CoV2 virus. Results: showed that 66.0% of the participants manifested psychological distress, with significantly higher levels in women with symptoms of COVID-19 and previous contact with infected people or objects (p < 0.001). However, adherence to preventive measures and perception of health were associated with less psychological distress (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The importance of monitoring the mental health of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed, having identified factors associated with the development of psychological distress among professionals in Ecuador.

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Objective: The psychological distress that the COVID-19 pandemic has produced has generated negative effects on workers, and in one way or another this has affected their work engagement within companies. The aim of this research was to assess the relationship between psychological distress, burnout and work engagement in workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA methodology, taking articles from the Scopus, Pubmed, and Web of Science databases from the beginning of the pandemic until November 2022. The methodological quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tools for non-randomised studies. Results: 24 articles were selected. All the articles found an association between psychological distress, burnout or other factors and work engagement. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on work engagement and a negative relationship with psychological distress and burnout, hence the importance of companies taking measures to minimise levels of psychological distress and burnout.

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Resumen Introducción: a partir de la Encuesta Nacional de Empleo, Desempleo y Subempleo (ENEMDU), realizada por el Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos de Ecuador (INEC) en junio 2018, que representa uno de los instrumentos estadísticos más importantes para conocer la situación laboral en el país, se realiza el presente estudio. Objetivo: describir y analizar la percepción de la seguridad y salud, asociadas a características socio-demográficas y laborales en Ecuador. Metodología: consistió en un estudio de tipo cuantitativo, descriptivo y transversal, se aplicó un muestreo probabilístico y se determinó que 28.636 personas cumplen con la condición de estar laborando actualmente; se utilizó el software SPSS para el desarrollo de frecuencias absolutas y relativas, y el cálculo de prueba chi-cuadrado. Resultados: el 3,7 % de los encuestados afirman que se les ha realizado un examen preocupacional y el 7,2 % afirman que se les ha realizado un examen periódico; a su vez, el 42 % ha sido informado sobre los riesgos en su trabajo y el 14 % ha sido capacitado sobre el riesgo al que está expuesto. Discusión: lo que indica un déficit de la gestión de seguridad y salud a nivel nacional. Conclusión: se pone en manifiesto la necesidad de identificar los factores de riesgos laborales y su impacto en la salud, que en conjunto a registros oficiales permitan conocer las realidades de las organizaciones para establecer nuevas políticas de seguridad y salud en el país.

Abstract Introduction: this study was carried out based on the National Survey of Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment (ENEMDU), conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses of Ecuador (INEC) in June 2018, which represents one of the most important statistical tools to know the labor situation in the country. Objective: To describe and analyze the perception of safety and health, associated with socio-demographic and work characteristics in Ecuador. Methodology: it consisted of a quantitative, descriptive and transversal research. A probabilistic sampling method was applied being 28.636 people who meet the condition of being working at this time. SPSS software was used for the development of absolute and relative frequencies and calculation of chi-square test. Results: the results show that 3.7 % of the respondents have had a pre-occupational exam and 7.2 % have been periodically examined; in turn, 42 % have been informed about the risks at work and 14% have been trained on the risk to which they are exposed. Discussion: these results indicate a deficit of Health and Safety Management at the national level, Conclusion: This work highlights the need to identify the factors of Occupational risks and their impact on health, which together with official records allow to know the realities of organizations to establish new health and safety policies in the country.

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