Examination of individuals' depression, anxiety, and stress levels during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey

Abstract

PurposeThis research was conducted to determine the depression, anxiety, and stress levels of individuals during the COVID-19 epidemic. In addition, the compatibility of the Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale (DASS-21) scale results with the participants' feeling depressed, anxious, and stressed were examined. Design and methodsThe sample of the study consisted of 870 individuals over the age of 18 between May–August 2021. The data of the study were collected online, using the personal information form and DASS-21. ResultsIn our study, it was observed that 22.3 % of the participants were severely depressed, 19.0 % were highly anxious and 14.3 % were highly stressed. In addition, a relationship was determined between many sociodemographic variables and depression, anxiety, and stress levels. It was found that individuals who were not vaccinated, did not receive health care, and were not satisfied with health care were more depressed, anxious, and stressed. The agreement between all DASS-21 sub-dimensions and participants' feeling is poor in terms of Cohen's kappa. The agreement is poor in the anxiety sub dimension, but moderate in the other sub-dimensions in terms of Gwet's AC1. Practice implicationsIt is recommended that nurses develop new care and evaluation strategies for the psychosocial field in order to protect and maintain the health of individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic process, as well as more practices promoting the COVID-19 vaccine in our country.