Abstract
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has been creating a panic and distressing situations among the entire population globally including Nepal. No study has been conducted assessing the psychological impact of this pandemic on the general public in Nepal. The objective of this study is to assess the mental health status during COVID-19 outbreak and explore the potential influencing factors among the population attending the hospital fever clinics with COVID–19 symptoms.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted between May—June, 2020 with a sample of 645 participants aged 18 and above in 26 hospitals across Nepal. Telephone interviews were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire along with a validated psychometric tool, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS-21) scale. The metrics and scores of symptoms and their severity were created and analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the association of potential covariates with outcome variables.ResultsThe prevalence of anxiety, depression and stress were 14%, 7% and 5% respectively. In reference to Karnali, participants from Bagmati province reported higher level of anxiety (OR 3.44, 95% CI 1.31–9.06), while stress (OR 4.27, 95% CI 1.09–18.32) and depressive symptoms (OR 3.11, 95% CI 1.05–9.23) observed higher among the participants in Province 1. Women were more at risk of anxiety (OR 3.41, 95% CI 1.83–6.36) than men. Similarly, people currently living in rented houses reported more stress (OR 2.97, 95% CI 1.05–8.43) and those living far from family reported higher rates of depressive symptoms (OR 3.44, 95% CI 1.03–11.46).ConclusionThe study identified increased prevalence of stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms during the initial stage of COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal. Considering the findings, there is urgent need to develop and implement appropriate community-based mental health programs targeting individuals who have had COVID-19 symptoms and who are prone to develop adverse mental health outcomes.
Highlights
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that as of June 26, 2020 (08:07 GMT), worldwide Covid-19 has killed 492,085 with a total of 9,724,146 individuals confirmed infected [1], and the death toll is still rising
In reference to Karnali, participants from Bagmati province reported higher level of anxiety, while stress and depressive symptoms observed higher among the participants in Province 1
Women were more at risk of anxiety than men
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that as of June 26, 2020 (08:07 GMT), worldwide Covid-19 has killed 492,085 with a total of 9,724,146 individuals confirmed infected [1], and the death toll is still rising. The scale and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic has threatened public health globally. The WHO declared COVID-19, a Public Health Emergency on 30th January 2020 a month after the outbreak of the virus in Wuhan, China alerting the global community with particular concern to the high risk countries having poor health systems [1]. The government has not been able to assure the public that they are capable of handling the situation, and this has been created panic and distress throughout the entire population [2]. The COVID-19 pandemic has been creating a panic and distressing situations among the entire population globally including Nepal. The objective of this study is to assess the mental health status during COVID-19 outbreak and explore the potential influencing factors among the population attending the hospital fever clinics with COVID–19 symptoms
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