Abstract
United Arab Emirates (UAE) has taken unprecedented precautionary measures including complete lockdowns against COVID-19 to control its spread and ensure the well-being of individuals. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 and societal lockdown measures on the mental health of adults in the UAE. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an English and Arabic online questionnaire between May and June 2020. The psychological impact was assessed by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and the social and family support impact was evaluated using questions from the Perceived Support Scale (PSS). A total of 4,426 participants (3,325 females and 1,101 males) completed the questionnaire. The mean IES-R score was 28.0 ± 14.6, reflecting a mild stressful impact with 27.3% reporting severe psychological impact. Over 36% reported increased stress from work, home and financial matters. Also, 43–63% of the participants felt horrified, apprehensive or helpless due to COVID-19. Females, younger participants, part-timers, and college or University graduates were more likely to have a high IES-R score (p < 0.05). The majority of participants reported receiving increased support from family members, paying more attention to their mental health, and spending more time to rest and relax. The results of this study demonstrate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among the UAE residents and highlight the need to adopt culturally appropriate interventions for the general population and vulnerable groups, such as females and younger adults.
Highlights
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about extraordinary challenges in various aspects of life
This study aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown measures on mental health and well-being among residents of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
The results of this study showed that over one third of the participants in the UAE had an Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) score indicating moderate to severe disturbance due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about extraordinary challenges in various aspects of life. It is highly expected that outbreaks lead to increase in unemployment and impaired financial status as well as compromised physical and mental health [1, 2]. The novel coronavirus emerged initially in Wuhan, China in late December 2019 and surged exponentially across the world leading to the declaration of a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020 [3, 4]. More than 105.4 million confirmed cases and over 2.3 million deaths were recorded globally as of 7 February 2021 [5]. There have been over 323 thousand confirmed cases and a total of 914 deaths in the UAE [5]
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