Assessment of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Health Care Professionals due to Covid - 19

Abstract

Abstract: Background: The emergence of an undisclosed pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 led to the global spread of Corona virus Disease (COVID-19), declared a pandemic by the WHO on March 12, 2020. Healthcare workers (HCPs) faced unprecedented challenges, with studies revealing elevated stress, depression, and anxiety. Despite differing roles, direct health care providers reported higher psychological distress. The absence of a definitive treatment compounded fears, resulting in anxiety, depression, and stress among patients, Healthcare professionals and normal subject. Objective: To identify the level of anxiety, depression, and stress among health care professionals due to the wave of Covid- 19. Materials and Methods: Analytical cross-sectional survey was done among health care workers who were working in a tertiary care hospitals, Sohail Trust Hospital Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi, and Medicare Cardiac and Dental Hospital, Tariq Road, Karachi from January 2022 to April 2022 in the third wave of Covid-19. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 Items (DASS-21) self reporting scale based questionnaire was used to examine mental health. During data analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated in SPSS. Result: Out of 416 participants, 56% were females and 56.2% were single. The mean age of the respondents was 29.36 years (± 5.5). The symptoms of anxiety were reported by 47%, depression by 35% and stress was reported by 21% of participants. The level of anxiety, depression, and stress was higher in male technicians, frontline workers, HCP with chronic illnesses, and those who got covid-19 infection. Based on the results, it was identified that male had higher odds of developing anxiety while female, HCPs belonging to age groups of above 25 years and those with work experience lesser than 5 years showed to have greater odds of having stress. Conclusion: COVID-19 has caused Anxiety, Depression, and Stress among Pakistani healthcare workers. Early intervention with focused strategies and psychological therapies could help to prevent more serious problems.