COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia: Actions taken by the Malaysian government

Shah, Ain Umaira Md; Safri, Syafiqah Nur Azrie; Thevadas, Rathedevi; Noordin, Nor Kamariah; Rahman, Azmawani Abd; Sekawi, Zamberi; Ideris, Aini; Sultan, Mohamed Thariq Hameed

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2020.05.093

Cited by 337 publications

(285 citation statements)

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“…The first Malaysian citizen to contract COVID-19 was reported on 4 February 2020 [ 4 , 5 ]. Following an annual mass religious assembly in Kuala Lumpur which was held between 27 February to 1 March 2020, the cases of COVID-19 in Malaysia drastically increased from mid-March 2020 and peaked in May 2020 [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. During the period, Malaysia was one of the top 20 countries with the highest number of COVID-19 cases worldwide.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The COVID-19 pandemic changed the daily routines of each individual worldwide in tandem with efforts to prevent and control the transmission of COVID-19 [ 6 ]. The increasing trend of suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 required healthcare workers, particularly doctors, to be involved in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic such as contact tracing, diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients with COVID-19 [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. In this situation, doctors may face a higher level of work demands related to the mental (such as working on diagnosis as COVID-19 symptoms mimic other mild common diseases), physical (such as prolonged working in complete personal protective equipment attire under hot and humid conditions), temporal (such as managing multiple urgent cases under time constraints) and emotional (such as dealing with patients’ death and dying) context.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Being mentally or emotionally attached to work as a consequence of high mental or emotional demands may also make psychological detachment from work difficult during the intershift period [ 9 ]. The implementation of movement control order or lockdown could also limit involvement in outdoor physical activities that potentially affect recovery [ 6 ]. As a result, it is plausible that doctors do not recover from their ever-increasing job demands, which could lead to multiple adverse consequences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Doctors’ Mental Health in the Midst of COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Work Demands and Recovery Experiences

Fauzi

Yusoff

Robat

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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The COVID-19 pandemic potentially increases doctors’ work demands and limits their recovery opportunity; this consequently puts them at a high risk of adverse mental health impacts. This study aims to estimate the level of doctors’ fatigue, recovery, depression, anxiety, and stress, and exploring their association with work demands and recovery experiences. This was a cross-sectional study among all medical doctors working at all government health facilities in Selangor, Malaysia. Data were collected in May 2020 immediately following the COVID-19 contagion peak in Malaysia by using self-reported questionnaires through an online medium. The total participants were 1050 doctors. The majority of participants were non-resident non-specialist medical officers (55.7%) and work in the hospital setting (76.3%). The highest magnitude of work demands was mental demand (M = 7.54, SD = 1.998) while the lowest magnitude of recovery experiences was detachment (M = 9.22, SD = 5.043). Participants reported a higher acute fatigue level (M = 63.33, SD = 19.025) than chronic fatigue (M = 49.37, SD = 24.473) and intershift recovery (M = 49.97, SD = 19.480). The majority of them had no depression (69.0%), no anxiety (70.3%), and no stress (76.5%). Higher work demands and lower recovery experiences were generally associated with adverse mental health. For instance, emotional demands were positively associated with acute fatigue (adj. b = 2.73), chronic fatigue (adj. b = 3.64), depression (adj. b = 0.57), anxiety (adj. b = 0.47), and stress (adj. b = 0.64), while relaxation experiences were negatively associated with acute fatigue (adj. b = −0.53), chronic fatigue (adj. b = −0.53), depression (adj. b = −0.14), anxiety (adj. b = −0.11), and stress (adj. b = −0.15). However, higher detachment experience was associated with multiple mental health parameters in the opposite of the expected direction such as higher level of chronic fatigue (adj. b = 0.74), depression (adj. b = 0.15), anxiety (adj. b = 0.11), and stress (adj. b = 0.11), and lower level of intershift recovery (adj. b = −0.21). In conclusion, work demands generally worsen, while recovery experiences protect mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic with the caveat of the role of detachment experiences.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Doctors’ Mental Health in the Midst of COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Work Demands and Recovery Experiences

Fauzi

Yusoff

Robat

et al. 2020

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In Singapore and Malaysia, similar preventive actions are also being employed. Additionally, local legal control authorities have prohibited pet salon activities during lockdowns 5 …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%