Journal Article

Psychological Effects of COVID-19 Among Health Care Workers, and How They Are Coping: A Web-Based, Cross-Sectional Study During the First Wave of COVID-19 in Pakistan

Mallhi, Tauqeer Hussain, Asif, Noman, Salman, Muhammad, Shehzadi, Naureen, Tahir, Humera, Khan, Yusra Habib, Saleem, Fahad, Hussain, Khalid, Raza, Muhammad Husnnain, Khan, Tahir Mehmood, Sultana, Kishwar, Mustafa, Zia Ul

2022

Overview

The aim of this study is to ascertain the psychological impacts of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among the Pakistani health care workers (HCWs) and their coping strategies. This web-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs (N = 398) from Punjab Province of Pakistan. The generalized anxiety scale (GAD-7), patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), and Brief-COPE were used to assess anxiety, depression, and coping strategies, respectively. The average age of respondents was 28.67 years (SD = 4.15), with the majority being medical doctors (52%). Prevalences of anxiety and depression were 21.4% and 21.9%, respectively. There was no significant difference in anxiety and depression scores among doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. Females had significantly higher anxiety ( = 0.003) and depression ( = 0.001) scores than males. Moreover, frontline HCWs had significantly higher depression scores ( = 0.010) than others. The depression, not anxiety, score was significantly higher among those who did not receive the infection prevention training ( = 0.004). The most frequently adopted coping strategies were religious coping (M = 5.98, SD = 1.73), acceptance (M = 5.59, SD = 1.55), and coping planning (M = 4.91, SD = 1.85). A considerable proportion of HCWs are having generalized anxiety and depression during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings call for interventions to mitigate mental health risks in HCWs.

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Subject: Adaptation, Psychological / Adult / Anxiety / Brief Report / Coping / COVID-19 / COVID-19 - epidemiology / COVID-19 - psychology / Cross-Sectional Studies / Data collection / Demographics / Depression - epidemiology / Depression - etiology / Depression - psychology / Drug stores / Drug use / Female / Females / Gender / Health care / Health Personnel - psychology / Health risks / Humans / Infections / Internet / Male / Medical personnel / Mental depression / Middle age / Nurses / Pakistan - epidemiology / Pandemics / Polls & surveys / Post traumatic stress disorder / Prevention / Questionnaires / Sample size / SARS-CoV-2 / Surveys and Questionnaires / Variables / Variance analysis