Mental Health Burden from COVID-19: Findings from a Single Hybrid Hospital in Northwest Malaysia

Abstract

Introduction: Mental and emotional exhaustion is highly common during pandemics, therefore routine monitoring would allow for prompt intervention to prevent institutional collapse. Our study aimed to explore the prevalence of mental and emotional burnout among healthcare workers in Hospital Tuanku Fauziah, Perlis during the early COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. Method: Universal sampling was performed on healthcare workers from Hospital Tuanku Fauziah, Perlis, Malaysia. Screening was done for depression, anxiety and stress level using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) questionnaire in both Malay and English versions, from 1 March 2020 until 31 December 2020. The project was part of the state’s initiative to screen for mental and emotional burnout among healthcare workers during the early pandemic times. Results: There were 1,161 returned questionnaires. Majority were between the age of 30 to 39 years old (n=529, 45.6%), female (n=834, 71.8%) and were from clinical-based department/unit (n=742, 63.9%). Ninety (7.7%) respondents scored severe and extremely severe for depression, anxiety, or stress. Clinicians were found to have 4.09 times increased in odds to require psychiatric intervention (95% CI: 2.00, 8.34, p<0.001) and persons from non-clinical work divisions also had 2.11 increased odds to require psychiatric intervention (95% CI:1.53, 2.93, p<0.001). Twenty-eight (2.4%) respondents required continuing psychiatric assessment and follow-up due to panic attacks, worsening panic disorder and acute stress reaction with anxiety symptoms. Conclusion: Regular assessments of mental and emotional exhaustion among healthcare staff should be performed to safeguard their mental health and ensure prompt management.