Abstract
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic led individuals to suffer from different levels of mental health problems such as psychological distress, anxiety, depression, denial, panic, and fear. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of psychological distress and associated factors among the Ethiopian population during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA cross-sectional study was performed through an online survey using different online platforms. The questionnaire was created through Google Form and the survey link was administered by e-mail, LinkedIn, Telegram, and Facebook. Educated Ethiopian population who have access to the internet were invited to participate through an online survey and addressed to 929 respondents. The study participants completed the survey anonymously without any personal identifier. The psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler 10-item tool to measure psychological distress. Data were analyzed using SPSS and logistic regression to examine mutually adjusted associations, expressed as adjusted odds ratios. A generalized additive model was also employed to identify additional predictors using R.ResultsThe prevalence of high psychological distress among the study population was 236 (25.5%). Of all respondents, 421 (45.1%) had low psychological distress, 274 (29.4%) had moderate psychological distress, 164 (17.6%) had high psychological distress, and 72 (7.3%) had very high psychological distress. Psychological distress increased with being at young and middle-aged adults, getting information from social media, and not correctly practicing infection prevention and control measures to prevent COVID-19 infection. Respondents with high perceived severity had increased psychological distress. On the contrary, those with the highest score of perceived response efficacy had low distress.ConclusionPrevalence of psychological distress was substantial. The need for intervention of psychological distress inline with the prevention of COVID-19 is critically essential. The intervention target groups are those whose information sources are from social media, young and middle-aged adults, and those who do not correctly practice infection prevention and control measures against COVID-19 infection.
Highlights
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is registered as the largest outbreak of atypical pneumonia since the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 [1]
The questionnaire was created through Google Form and the survey link was administered by e-mail, Telegram Facebook, LinkedIn, and Facebook page of Jimma University to assess psychological distress during COVID-19 pandemic
We suggest that focussing only on the COVID-19 prevention and treatment is not sufficient to overcome the problems related to the pandemic
Summary
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is registered as the largest outbreak of atypical pneumonia since the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 [1]. The disease has impacted the economic, social and health of all nations where the magnitude differs by geography, society and country. It is registered as a global public health emergency due to its rapid transmission, an increment of the confirmed case, and high mortality [3]. The contagious nature of the disease, the stigma it brings, economic pressures, isolation of the infected individuals, and panic/fear of the disease leads the public to other health problems. The COVID-19 pandemic led individuals to suffer from different levels of mental health problems such as psychological distress, anxiety, depression, denial, panic, and fear. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of psychological distress and associated factors among the Ethiopian population during the COVID-19 pandemic
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