The psychological impact of COVID-19 outbreak on medical staff and the general public

Abstract

To assess the psychological effects of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on medical staff and the general public. During the outbreak of COVID-19, an internet-based questionnaire included The Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used to assess the impact of the pandemic situation on the mental health of medical staff and general population in Wuhan and its surrounding areas. Among the 1493 questionnaires completed, 827 (55.39%) of these were men, and 422 (28.27%) of these were medical personnel. The results suggest that the outbreak of COVID-19 has affected individuals significantly, the degree of which is related to age, sex, occupation and mental illness. There was a significant difference in PSS-10 and IES-R scores between the medical staff and the general population. The medical staff showed higher PSS-10 scores (16.813 ± 4.87) and IES-R scores (22.40 ± 12.12) compared to members of the general population PSS-10 (14.80 ± 5.60) and IES-R scores (17.89 ± 13.08). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the SDS scores of medical staff (44.52 ± 12.36) and the general public (43.08 ± 11.42). In terms of the need for psychological assistance, 50.97% of interviewees responded that they needed psychological counseling, of which medical staff accounted for 65.87% and non-medical staff accounted for 45.10%. During the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, great attention should be paid to the mental health of the population, especially medical staff, and measures such as psychological intervention should be actively carried out for reducing the psychosocial effects.

RETRACTED: The Association of COVID-19 Pandemic Stress With Health-Related Quality of Life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study

“…Mean stress score in our study was 19.44 (Table 4), which is higher than that found by Limcaoco et al (17.4) in their survey done in 41 countries (24), and by Chen et al in Wuhan and surrounding areas where mean PSS scores in the general population and healthcare workers were found to be 14.8 and 16.8, respectively (25). Earlier researchers have consistently reported high-stress levels during current and past epidemics (24)(25)(26)(27). The reasons for this stress may be multifactorial, like uncertainty about future and the disease, confusion and lack of information regarding the illness, loss of freedom, separation from family members, social isolation and taboo and many a times loss of wages due to lockdown as suggested by Brooks et al (3).…”

“…A similar study conducted in Colombia reported a 15% prevalence of high perceived stress during the current pandemic (23). Mean stress score in our study was 19.44 (Table 4), which is higher than that found by Limcaoco et al (17.4) in their survey done in 41 countries (24), and by Chen et al in Wuhan and surrounding areas where mean PSS scores in the general population and healthcare workers were found to be 14.8 and 16.8, respectively (25). Earlier researchers have consistently reported high-stress levels during current and past epidemics (24)(25)(26)(27).…”

COVID-19 among Chinese high school graduates: Psychological distress, growth, meaning in life and resilience

“…Recent studies demonstrate that traumatic events not only bring psychological distress to people, but also provide opportunities for the emergence of positive changes (Kalaitzaki et al, 2020;Tedeschi and Calhoun, 2004). On the one hand, the COVID-19 epidemic undoubtedly has brought people the obvious negative outcomes such as increased levels of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (Li et al, 2020;Xiong et al, 2020;Zhou et al, 2020). On the other hand, the experience of a traumatic event may facilitate the development of positive changes termed as posttraumatic growth (Kalaitzaki et al, 2020;Tedeschi and Calhoun, 2004), which is manifested by improved relationship to others, new possibilities, personal strength, spiritual change, and appreciation of life Calhoun, 1996, 2004).…”

A moderated-mediation model of fear of illness and subjective psychological well-being during COVID-19 pandemic

“…It is a vociferous call of the researchers (e.g. Chen et al, 2020;Mamun & Gri ths, 2020) to identify preventive factors to curb negative mental health repercussions of the pandemic, which is still untapped.…”