Post-quarantine anxiety and depression levels of COVID-19 positive patients, Northern Cyprus

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 Pandemic, which started to be seen in Northern Cyprus (NC) as of March 2020, has affected the psychological mood of many people in our country as well as all over the world.Objectives: It was aimed to evaluate the post-illness anxiety and depression levels of people who were diagnosed with COVID-19 positive, completed the quarantine period and then received a negative PCR report.Methods: Through the questionnaire used in the study carried out between 1-30 April 2021, the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants and their personal experiences about COVID-19 were questioned and they were asked to answer the questions about the hospital anxiety and depression (HAD) scale.Results: The average score of the participants (n=120) in the HAD scale was determined as 11.66±5.90. According to the average scores of the scale, the anxiety and depression levels of the patients fall into the category of ‘11 and above abnormal'. The patients' general average scores of anxieties were 6.20±3.48 (normal) and depression was 5.46±3.55 (normal).Conclusion: Although it was determined that the HAD scores of the individuals from NC infected with COVID-19 were not high, most of them needed psychological support as they stated in their own statements.