Abstract
Background: COVID-19 causes immense psychological pressure on communities in addition to physical misery. There is currently a scarcity of data on the psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on Ethiopian healthcare workers (HCWs). Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and its predictors following COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare workers (HCWs) in southern Ethiopia.Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study design was used among 387 randomly selected HCWs between September 25 and October 25, 2020 at four selected public hospitals in Sidama National Regional State, southern Ethiopia. Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used to collect data post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Logistic regression analyses with 95% CI were used to examine the relationship between independent and outcome variables.Result: The prevalence of PTSD symptoms was found in 56.8% of participants. Significant factors that increase risk of PTSD symptoms were being female (AOR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.19, 3.05), married (AOR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.12, 3.14) and nurses (AOR = 3.31, 95% CI = 1.66, 6.63). On the other hand, HCWs working other than emergency unit such as inpatients/wards (AOR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.24, 0.75), OPD (AOR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.24, 0.97) and other units (AOR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.25, 0.96) less likely to be affected by PTSD symptoms.Conclusion: The current study showed high levels of PTSD symptoms as psychological challenges for HCWs. Sex, age, marital status, type of profession and working environment were significant factors for PTSD symptoms in HCWs during the pandemic. HCWs require mental health support during and after the pandemic.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which began in China, continues to pose a global health hazard [1]
healthcare workers (HCWs) working other than emergency unit such as inpatients/wards (AOR = 0.43, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.24, 0.75), Out Patient Department (OPD) (AOR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.24, 0.97) and other units (AOR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.25, 0.96) less likely to be affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (Table 2)
This study evaluates the severity of psychological trauma, known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Ethiopia
Summary
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which began in China, continues to pose a global health hazard [1]. COVID-19’s rapid spread around the world has placed significant strain on healthcare workers (HCWs) who are directly and indirectly combating the pandemic, potentially increasing the risk of negative mental health outcomes [5]. COVID-19 causes significant psychological stress and other health-related issues in HCWs, as they are responsible for infected patients, have frequent interactions with patients’ families/relatives, and are occasionally scrutinized by the public [6]. HCWs fear that they can develop COVID-19 themselves, because of the increased risk of exposure to the virus. They are concerned that the infection is brought home and passed on to families and friends [7]. This study was aimed to assess the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and its predictors following COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare workers (HCWs) in southern Ethiopia
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