Since the first nationwide movement control order was implemented on 18 March 2020 in Malaysia to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, to what extent the uncertainty and continuous containment measures have imposed psychological burdens on the population is unknown. This study aimed to measure the level of mental health of the Malaysian public approximately 2 months after the pandemic’s onset. Between 12 May and 5 September 2020, an anonymous online survey was conducted. The target group included all members of the Malaysian population aged 18 years and above. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to assess mental health. There were increased depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms throughout the study period, with the depression rates showing the greatest increase. During the end of the data collection period (4 August–5 September 2020), there were high percentages of reported depressive (59.2%) and anxiety (55.1%) symptoms compared with stress (30.6%) symptoms. Perceived health status was the strongest significant predictor for depressive and anxiety symptoms. Individuals with a poorer health perception had higher odds of developing depression (odds ratio [OR] = 5.68; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.81–8.47) and anxiety (OR = 3.50; 95%CI 2.37–5.17) compared with those with a higher health perception. By demographics, young people–particularly students, females and people with poor financial conditions–were more vulnerable to mental health symptoms. These findings provide an urgent call for increased attention to detect and provide intervention strategies to combat the increasing rate of mental health problems in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic since its onset has had a dramatic and often devastating impact, both physical and psychological, on all healthcare workers. This study aimed to assess the impact of psychological distress that COVID-19 has on nurses, as well as the coping strategies that they employed. This is a cross-sectional national online survey. A total of 859 nurses actively involved in caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 in Malaysia participated in the study. More than three-quarters of the nurses experienced stress (77.2%). A total of 88.7% and 7.2% of nurses revealed a moderate and high stress level, respectively. Approximately one in eight (12.1%) nurses reported feeling depressed. Nurses working in the outpatient departments reported significantly higher stress levels than nurses working in inpatient care departments. Nurses having chronic health problems reported significantly higher depression levels than nurses with no chronic health problem. Highly stressed or depressed nurses tend to adopt avoidance coping strategies while religion and emotional support were used regardless of the stress or depression levels experienced. The findings of the study provide insight into the mental health and coping strategies of nurses actively involved in caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 in Malaysia. This would be of tremendous help to nursing administrators in implementing mental health services for nurses during and following the COVID-19 global pandemic.

No single instrument was found to be optimal for use. Studies of high methodological quality are needed to properly assess the measurement properties of the instruments that are currently available. Until such studies are available, we recommend using existing instruments with caution.

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BACKGROUND: Adaption to clinical work during the internship can induce several stressors among medical students, especially in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Particularly, job stress could be linked to the development of psychological traits and the formation of the professional identity of medical interns. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the relationship between job stress, psychological capital, and professional identity through a mediation analysis of Chinese medical interns. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 30 hospitals and clinics in China from June 2021 to March 2022. A total of 665 medical interns filled out questionnaires related to demographic questions, psychological capital, job stress, and professional identity. Data analysis was executed using the IBM SPSS version 22.0 software and its add-in PROCESS Windows version 4.0. RESULTS: The findings indicated a statistically significant mediating effect of psychological capital between job stress and professional identity. Job stress and job stress combined with psychological capital accounted for 5.3% and 37.9%, respectively, of the variance in professional identity. The bootstrapping method corroborated the significance of the indirect effect of job stress through psychological capital (95% bootstrap CI = –4.7921, –2.4345). CONCLUSION: The current findings underscore the need for increased attention on improving the psychological capital of medical interns.