Anxiety and Depression among Nepalese Nurses During COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: Nurses work as frontline health workers and are the savior of the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Because of the stressful situation, they are susceptible to the mental health problems like anxiety and depression. The objectives of the study were to assess anxiety and depression among Nepalese nurses working in Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic and to find out the association of anxiety and depression with selected demographic variables.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from September 2020 to May 2021 among 280 Nepalese nurses working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ethical clearance was obtained from Purbanchal University School of Health Sciences- Institutional Review Committee (PUSHS-IRC) and informed consent were taken from study participants. A standard tool Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used in the Nepali version. Data was collected through a web link in the google form. The Chi-square test was used to find out the association between anxiety and depression with sociodemographic variables. P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: More than half (56.4%) of nurses had experienced symptoms of anxiety (borderline anxiety 34.6% and abnormal anxiety 21.8) and 26.1% of nurses had symptoms of depression (borderline 20.7 % and abnormal 5.4%). There was a significant association of anxiety with socio-demographic variables like qualification (p=0.040), adequate supply of Personal Protective Equipment PPE (p=0.038), confidence in using PPE (p=0.001), provision of health insurance (p=0.037), and depression with qualification (p=0.043) of the Nepalese nurses. Conclusion: Considerable number of nurses working during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced symptoms of anxiety and depression. Training programs on COVID-19, stress management, and good logistic support would help to improve nurses’ psychological well-being.