The prevalence of common mental disorders among healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic at a tertiary Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Abstract

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in unprecedented morbidity, mortality, and health system crisis leading to a significant psychological destress on healthcare workers (HCWs). The study aimed to determine the prevalence of symptoms of common mental disorders among HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic at St. Paul's Hospital, Ethiopia.MethodsA self-administered cross-sectional study was conducted to collect socio-demographic information and symptoms of mental disorders using validated measurement tools. Accordingly, PHQ-9, GAD-7, ISI, and IES-R were used to assess the presence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and distress, respectively. Chi-square test, non-parametric, and logistic regression analysis were used to detect risk factors for common mental disorders.ResultsA total of 420 healthcare workers participated in the survey. The prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and psychological distress was 20.2%, 21.9%, 12.4%, and 15.5% respectively. Frontline HCWs had higher scores of mental health symptoms than non-frontline healthcare workers. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that being married was associated with a high level of depression. Furthermore, working in a frontline position was an independent risk factor associated with a high-level of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress.LimitationsIt is a single-center cross-sectional study and the findings may not be nationally representative or reveal causality.ConclusionsA significant proportion of healthcare workers are suffering from symptoms of mental disorders. Frontline HCWs were at a greater risk of severe symptoms. Therefore, psychological interventions should be implemented to support health professionals, especially frontline workers.