Abstract
BackgroundHealthcare workers play a key role in responding to pandemics like the on-going COVID-19 one. Harmful alcohol use among them could result in inefficiencies in health service delivery. This is particularly concerning in sub-Saharan Africa where the health workforce is already constrained. The aim of this study is to document the burden and correlates of harmful alcohol use among healthcare workers at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya with the aim of informing policy and practice.MethodsThis study was a cross-sectional analysis of data obtained from a parent online survey that investigated the burden and factors associated with mental disorders among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya. We analyzed data obtained from a sub-population of 887 participants who completed the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test questionnaire. We used descriptive statistics to summarize the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and multivariate analysis to determine the factors associated with harmful alcohol use.ResultsThree hundred and eighty nine (43.9%) participants reported harmful alcohol use. The factors significantly associated with increased odds of endorsing harmful alcohol use were: being male (AOR = 1.56; 95% CI = 1.14, 2.14; p = 0.006), being unmarried (AOR = 2.06; 95% CI = 1.48, 2.89; p < 0.001), having 11-20 years of experience as compared to having 20+ years of experience (AOR = 1.91; 95% CI = 1.18, 3.12; p = 0.009), and being a specialist (AOR = 2.78; CI = 1.64, 4.78; p = < 0.001) or doctor (AOR = 2.82; 95% CI = 1.74, 4.63; p < 0.001) as compared to being a nurse.ConclusionsA high proportion of healthcare workers reported harmful alcohol use at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya. Males, the unmarried, those with 11–20 years of experience in the health field, doctors and specialists, were more likely to report harmful alcohol use. These findings highlight the need to institute interventions for harmful alcohol use targeting these groups of healthcare workers in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to optimize functioning of the available workforce.
Highlights
Healthcare workers play a critical role in responding to pandemics like the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) [1]
The aim of the present study is to report on the prevalence and factors associated with harmful alcohol use among healthcare workers at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya
Mild Moderate Severe GADc (N = 807b) None Mild/Moderate Severe Sleep qualityd (N = 772b) Poor quality of sleep Good quality of sleep aA score of 5–9 mild depression, 10–14 moderate depression, 15–19 moderately severe depression, and 20–27 severe depression [25]. bOut of the 887 participants who responded to the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire, 858 (96.7%) completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9); 807 (91.0%) completed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)-7, and 772 (87.0%) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). cScore of 0-4 was considered no GAD, 5-9 mild GAD, 10-14 moderate GAD, and 15-21 severe GAD. dA score of 5 and above on the PSQI indicated poor quality sleep
Summary
Healthcare workers play a critical role in responding to pandemics like the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) [1]. In addition to being involved in direct patient care, they are expected to educate the public and patients on infection prevention practices, conduct public health reporting, and at the same time strictly adhere to the established occupational health and safety procedures [2]. Because of this central role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that a number of interventions (individual, organizational and systems level) are put in place in order to preserve, manage and optimize the health workforce during the pandemic [1]. The aim of this study is to document the burden and correlates of harmful alcohol use among healthcare workers at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya with the aim of informing policy and practice
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