The Psychological Impacts During the Initial Phase of the COVID-19 Outbreak, and its Associated Factors Among Pastoral Community in West Omo Zone, South-West Ethiopia, 2020: A Community-Based Study

Abstract

Background COVID-19 is a global pandemic and a major health crisis affecting several nations. Such outbreaks are associated with adverse mental health consequences to any group of the population. Despite its negative effects, no study has addressed the potential psychological impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak among the pastoral community. This study aims to assess psychological experiences during the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak and the factors that contributed to it among pastoral community residents in West Omo, South-West Ethiopia. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out from May to June 2020. The study subjects were selected through a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews, and entered into EpiData 3.1, then exported to SPSS version 24 for statistical analysis. The psychological impact was assessed by the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). P-value < 0.20 during bi-variable analysis was considered as a candidate for multivariable logistic regression. Independent factors of depression, anxiety, and stress were assessed using adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence level s at P-value < 0.05 cut-off point. Results A total of 845 eligible pastoral residents were interviewed, with a 94.4% response rate. The prevalence of a positive response for anxiety, depression and stress was 30.8%, 26.3% and 24.4%, respectively. Being female was highly associated with developing anxiety and depression. Anxiety was found to be three times more prevalent among the respondents with ≥ 3 family members. Furthermore, participants with a history of mental illness, poor social support, and a high perceived life threat were also at a higher risk of experiencing anxiety, depression, and stress. Conclusion The prevalence of positive depression, anxiety and stress results were high. As a result, special attention should be paid, by governmental and non-governmental health organizations, to psychosocial and mental health programs for pastoral residentsduring the COVID-19 pandemic.

Psychological Impacts of COVID-19 and Its Associated Factors Among People Living in Abha City, Saudi Arabia

“…In the current study, the 19-25 and 36-45 age groups reported significant associations with depression. A published study from China confirmed that the young adult group (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30) suffered from mental health issues (Qiu et al, 2020). 13 A study published in Spain demonstrated a similar finding of high depression and stress in young adults 18-33 years old (Jiménez et al, 2020).…”

“…This study's cut-off scores were derived from Lovibond and Lovibond (1995). After multiplying each subscale by 2, the results were categorized as follows: depression-normal (0−9), mild (10−13), moderate (14−20), severe (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27), and extremely severe (≥28); anxiety-normal (0−7), mild (8−9), moderate (10−14), severe (15)(16)(17)(18)(19) and extremely severe (≥20); and stress-normal (0−14), mild (15−18), moderate (19−25), severe (26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33) and highly severe (≥34). Summed scores of 10 and above indicated depression, eight and above marked anxiety, and 15 and above labeled it as stress.…”

“…A study in Ethiopia found a lower prevalence of psychological impacts, reporting 30.8% for depression, 26.3% for anxiety, and 24.4% for stress (Shifra et al, 2021 ( . 21 A study from India also found the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress to be 34.7%, 32%, and 35.5%, respectively (Hazarika et al, 2021). 6 A study that investigated COVID-19's immediate psychological impact and associated factors during the initial stages of the pandemic in China recorded the prevalence of severe depression and stress at 16.5% and 8.1%, respectively (Wang et al, 2020).…”