Effectiveness of Online Stress Management Intervention on Mental Health Status of Tehran Municipality Employees with COVID-19

Abstract

Aims: The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in the world has raised not only public health concerns but also several psychological problems, including anxiety, fear, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. The main goal of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of online Stress Management on the mental health status of employees with COVID-19 from Tehran Municipality. Materials & Methods: In this semi-experimental study conducted in 2020, for the mental health status of 370 personnel of Tehran municipality who were affected by COVID-19, a rapid screening questionnaire and General Health Questionnaire-28 were used. Among those whose General Health Questionnaire-28 score was higher than cut-off point 6, 60 individuals were randomly selected and divided into two groups (experiment and control). The experimental samples had six sessions of online stress management training (each one took about an hour), based on a cognitive-behavioral approach. The control group did not receive any intervention during the study period. Data were analyzed by SPSS 24 using MANCOVA. Findings: The results showed that 38.4% of the subjects suspected a mental disorder (35.7% of males and 47.6% of females). The mean scores of the General Health Questionnaire-28 and its subscales were significantly higher in women than men (p<0.05). Multivariate analysis of covariance on the mean score of individuals in the General Health Questionnaire-28 questionnaire showed that cognitive-behavioral stress management could statistically improve the mental health of samples from the experimental group compared to control. Conclusion: Online cognitive-behavioral stress management can be used in the COVID-19 crisis and can improve the mental health aspect of employee's health.