Abstract
Introduction: Worldwide, COVID-19 pandemic caused millions of infected people and thousands of deaths. Due to enormous pressure on health-care systems and its inadequate preparedness, utter collapse is expected. In the current epidemic response, healthcare workers’ (HCWs) knowledge and practice are crucial, while the impact on their mental health is still unknown.Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs redeployed to COVID points in the Public Institution Health Centre of Sarajevo Canton. According to guidelines and information provided by the World Health Organization and Ministries of Health, a questionnaire was developed. In addition, General Anxiety Disorder-7 as a screening tool for anxiety disorders was used.Results: Of 180 respondents, 26 (14.4%) were in direct contact with the sick patient. In total, 79 (43.9%) respondents consider their personal protective equipment is in accordance with the guidelines of the world health authorities. A total of 72 (39.7%) of respondents used the same mask for several days. In general, the danger from new coronavirus was considered minimal by 59 (32,6%) HCWs. Based on the achieved score for assessing the anxiety disorder, in 63 (35%) subjects, the presence of severe symptoms was detected.Conclusion: This study found that most HCWs do not have enough knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic. We identified that there are differences in the sources of information and gap in perceptions of the native origin of the virus. Considering the frequency of anxiety symptoms among HCWs, interventions are necessary in order to preserve their mental health.
Highlights
Worldwide, COVID-19 pandemic caused millions of infected people and thousands of deaths
The biggest burden was carried by healthcare workers’ (HCWs), so our goal was to examine their knowledge and perceptions of the prevention and control of COVID-19 and the impact of the pandemic on their mental health
Our results suggest that competent institutions should focus on the mental health of HCWs and analyze in detail the causes of anxiety and self-assessed levels of stress
Summary
COVID-19 pandemic caused millions of infected people and thousands of deaths. The first case was confirmed in Wuhan City of central Hubei province of China, at the end of 2019 [2]. Daniel Maestro, et al Journal of Health Sciences 2020;10(3):211218 emergency of international concern on 30 January, and a pandemic on 11 March [3]. Worldwide, it has caused millions of infected people and thousands of deaths. The first case in Bosnia and Herzegovina was confirmed on the 5th of March. As of May 19, 2020, 2321 cases have been reported and 134 deaths in the country [4]
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