Psychological distress among health service providers during COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal

Abstract

Background COVID-19 pandemic has provoked a wide variety of psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and panic disorders, especially among health service providers. Due to a greater risk of exposure to the virus, increased working hours, and fear of infecting their families, health service providers are more vulnerable to emotional distress than the general population during this pandemic. This online survey attempts to assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 and its associated variables among healthcare workers in Nepal. Materials and methods For data collection purposes, Covid-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) Questionnaire, was used whose content validity was verified by Shanghai mental health center. Data for the survey were collected from 11 to 24 October 2020 which was extracted to Microsoft Excel-13 and analyzed. Results A total of 254 health care workers from different provinces of the country participated in this study with a mean age of 26.01(± 4.46) years. A majority 46.9% (n = 119) of the participants were not distressed (score ≤28) while 46.5% (n = 118) were mild to moderately distressed (score >28 to ≤51) and 6.7% (n = 17) were severely distressed (score ≥52) due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Female participants (p = 0.004) and participants who were doctors by profession (p = 0.001) experienced significantly more distress. Conclusions COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the psychological distress amongst health care service providers. The findings from the present study may highlight the need for constructing and implementing appropriate plans and policies by relevant stakeholders that will help to mitigate the distress among health service providers in the current pandemic so that we can have an efficient frontline health workforce to tackle this worse situation.

Psychological Distress Among Healthcare Providers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Gaza Strip: A Cross-sectional Study

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Sleep quality among undergraduate students of a medical college in Nepal during COVID-19 pandemic: an online survey

“…27 Previous studies in the Nepalese general population and health care workers found a low level of psychological distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal which may explain better sleep quality among medical students in Nepal. 28,29 One of the positive findings of this study is that none of the participants had to take medication to help them sleep whereas 10.2% of Saudi Arabian physicians used sleeping pills once or twice a week during the COVID-19 pandemic. 30 14.3% of our study participants had trouble falling asleep within 30 minutes thrice or more in a week, which was less compared to 24.7% in Saudi Arabian physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Prevalence of Anxiety, Depression, and Perceived Stigma in Healthcare Workers in Nepal During Later Phase of First Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey

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“…The total scores of 5, 10, and 15 are taken as the cut-off points for mild, moderate, and severe anxiety, respectively. Similarly, the score of the PHQ-9 scale which measures the depression in the past two weeks was categorized as minimal (0-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10)(11)(12)(13)(14), moderately severe (15)(16)(17)(18)(19), and severe (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27).…”