Assessment of fear, anxiety, obsession and functional impairment of COVID-19 amongst health-care workers and trainees: A cross-sectional study in Nepal.

Alok Atreya,Chandra Kumari Garbuja,Anu Marhatta,Sristi Ghimire,Md Nazmul Islam,Sana Qazi,Arbin Dev Sapkota,Muskaan Doulat Ram,Samata Nepal,Muhammad Shariq Usman,Qazi Shurjeel,Ritesh G Menezes

doi:10.12688/f1000research.76032.1

Abstract

The emergence of the COVID-19 epidemic threw the world into turmoil. The medical community bore the brunt of the pandemic's toll. Long work hours, and a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and social support all had an influence on mental health. This cross-sectional study was conducted among Lumbini Medical College Teaching Hospital students and employees in Palpa, Nepal. Data entailing their demographic details, pre-existing comorbidities, or death in the family due to COVID-19 was collected using a self-administered survey.In addition, the level of fear, anxiety, obsession, and functional impairment due to COVID-19 was recorded using previously validated respective scales. In total, 403 health-care workers and trainees participated in our study. The average age of the study participants was 23±4 years, and more than half of them (n=262, 65%) were females. A significant association was found between fear score with age (p-value=0.04), gender (p-value <0.01) and occupation (p-value<0.001). The participants suffering from chronic diseases (p-value=0.36), and those who had experienced a COVID-19 death in the family (p-value=0.18), were not found to be significantly obsessed with COVID-19. However, for those who had experienced a COVID-19 death in the family (p-value=0.51) and age (p-value=0.34), these factors were not found to be significantly associated with higher anxiety levels. Nursing students suffered from a significantly greater functional impairment than other medical professionals (mean score=269.15, p-value < 0.001). A moderately positive correlation was observed between fear, anxiety, obsession, and functional impairment scales. This study revealed various socio-demographic characteristics as risk factors for psychological stress in the people related to the health-care profession of Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic. A viable answer to this quandary might be adequate psychosocial intervention by health-care authorities, increased social support, and the introduction of better mental health management measures for the front-line medical workers.

Highlights

Viral pandemics and epidemics are notoriously known in history for their public health risks and widescale destruction
This study revealed various socio-demographic characteristics as risk factors for psychological stress in the people related to the healthcare profession of Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic
Characteristics Age 18–28 29–38 39–48 Gender Male Female Occupation Doctor Medical student Nurse Nursing student Other health-care staff Marital status Married Unmarried Divorced Monthly family income (Nepalese Rupee) 5,000–50,000 > 50,000–1,00,000 >1,00,000 Do you have any chronic disease/comorbidity? No Yes Was there a COVID-19 death in your family? No Yes Did you have any direct contact with a COVID-19 patient? No Yes scores between 10 and 20 were considered to have a significant functional impairment, but less severe clinical symptomatology, and those who scored less than ten were considered to have subclinical impairments

Summary

Introduction

Viral pandemics and epidemics are notoriously known in history for their public health risks and widescale destruction. Previous literature on the SARS-CoV epidemic has implicated medical staff to be susceptible to anxiety, depression, and stress.[6] This may be due to high exposure and, greater risk of contracting the disease or the added workload. These findings can be implicated during the current COVID19 pandemic because of the same mode of transmission of the infection and a greater patient load than the previous SARSCoV epidemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among Lumbini Medical College Teaching Hospital students and employees in Palpa, Nepal Data entailing their demographic details, pre-existing comorbidities, or death in the family due to COVID-19 was collected using a selfadministered survey. The participants suffering from chronic diseases (p-value=0.36), and those who had experienced a COVID-19 death in the family (p-value=0.18), version 1

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