Association Between Perceived Risk Towards Exposure to Covid-19 Infection and Depressive Symptoms Among Hospital Frontliners During Covid-19 Pandemic in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Main Article Content
Abstract
Introduction: During the Covid-19 pandemic, hospital frontliners faced serious risks of getting infected with the potentially fatal Covid-19 infection and their perception of Covid-19 exposure and depressive symptoms could affect their health and reduce their work quality and their productivity as hospital frontliners. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms and their association with the perceived risk of exposure to Covid-19 infection. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was designed and carried out from May to June 2021. The universal sampling method was applied, and 454 people took part, giving a response rate of 98.7 per cent. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items were used as a validated self-administered questionnaire, and the data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. Results: Age, female gender, ethnicity, level of education, marital status, and chronic medical ailment had a statistically significant relationship with depressive symptoms. Perceived factors such as difficulty getting the mask (p=0.01), discomfort wearing the mask (p=0.01), and feeling vulnerable to infection after close contact with confirmed/suspected Covid-19 patients (p=0.04) were found to have a statistically significant association with depressive symptoms among the hospital frontliners. In this study, 40.2 percent of hospital frontliners were found with depression symptoms. Conclusion: The prevalence of depression symptoms among hospital frontliners indicates the need for it to be highlighted and measures to be taken accordingly.
Downloads
Article Details
References
WHO. COVID-19 - China [Internet]. 2021. Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2020-DON229
Jayaweera M. Transmission of COVID-19 virus by droplets and aerosols: A critical review on the unresolved dichotomy. PubMed [Internet]. 2020; Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32569870/ https://doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109819
Greenhalgh T. Ten scientific reasons in support of airborne transmission of SARS- CoV-2. PubMed [Internet]. 2021; Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33865497/https//doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00869-2
Ghebreyesus TA. WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 11 March 2020. WHO Director General’s speeches. 2020. p. 4. Available from: https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020
Xi Liu. Psychological status and behavior changes of the public during the COVID-19 epidemic in China. PMC [Internet]. 2020; Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7256340/
Wang C, Pan R, Wan X, Tan Y, Xu L, Ho CS, et al. Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Mar;17(5).
Spoorthy MS, Pratapa SK, Mahant S. Mental health problems faced by healthcare workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic-A review. Vol. 51, Asian journal of psychiatry. 2020. p. 102119.
Lim Ming Yao. Prevalence of burnout syndrome and its associated factors among doctors in Sabah, Malaysia. PubMed [Internet]. 2021; Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33602003/
Ho CS, Chee CY, Ho RC. Mental Health Strategies to Combat the Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Beyond Paranoia and Panic. Ann Acad Med Singapore. 2020 Mar;49(3):155–60.
Singh AS. SAMPLING TECHNIQUES & DETERMINATION OF SAMPLE SIZE IN APPLIED STATISTICS RESEARCH: AN OVERVIEW. Int J Econ Commer Manag [Internet]. 2014;II(96):32–3. Available from: https://ijecm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/21131.pdf
Zhou Y, Wang W, Sun Y, Qian W, Liu Z, Wang R, et al. The prevalence and risk factors of psychological disturbances of frontline medical staff in china under the COVID-19 epidemic: Workload should be concerned. J Affect Disord. 2020;277:510–4.
Zhou Y, Wang W, Sun Y, Qian W, Liu Z, Wang R, et al. The prevalence and risk factors of psychological disturbances of frontline medical staff in china under the COVID-19 epidemic : Workload should be concerned. J Affect Disord. 2020;277(May):510–4.
Alshekaili M, Hassan W, Al Said N, Al Sulaimani F, Jayapal SK, Al-Mawali A, et al. Factors associated with mental health outcomes across healthcare settings in Oman during COVID-19: Frontline versus non-frontline healthcare workers. BMJ Open. 2020;10(10):1–7.
Khanal P, Devkota N, Dahal M, Paudel K, Joshi D. Mental health impacts among health workers during COVID-19 in a low resource setting: a cross-sectional survey from Nepal. Global Health. 2020;16(1):89.
Kang L, Li Y, Hu S, Chen M, Yang C, Yang BX, et al. The mental health of medical workers in Wuhan, China dealing with the 2019 novel coronavirus. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2020;7(3):e14.
Huh S. How to train health personnel to protect themselves from SARS-CoV-2 (novel coronavirus) infection when caring for a patient or suspected case. Vol. 17, Journal of educational evaluation for health professions. 2020. p. 10.
Qasem Surrati AM, Asad Mansuri FM, Ayadh Alihabi AA. Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers. Vol. 15, Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences. 2020. p. 536–43.
Pratik Khanal. Mental health impacts among health workers during COVID-19 in a low resource setting: a cross-sectional survey from Nepal. ResearchGate [Internet]. 2020; Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342730504_Mental_health_impacts_among_health_workers_during_COVID-19_in_a_low_resource_setting_a_cross-sectional_survey_from_Nepal
Louissa Picco. Gender differences in major depressive disorder: findings from the Singapore Mental Health Study. ResearchGate [Internet]. 2016; Available from: 10.11622/smedj.2016144
Varshney Mohit. Initial psychological impact of COVID-19 and its correlates in Indian Community: An online (FEEL-COVID) survey. PMC [Internet]. 2020; Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7259495/Zhang WR, Wang K, Yin L, Zhao WF, Xue Q, Peng M, et al. Mental Health and Psychosocial Problems of Medical Health Workers during the COVID-19 Epidemic in China. Psychother Psychosom. 2020;89(4):242–50.
Hooyeon Lee. Depression, anxiety, and stress in Korean general population during the COVID-19 pandemic. epiH [Internet]. 2021; Available from: https://www.e-epih.org/journal/view.php?doi=10.4178/epih.e2022018
Noor NM, Yusof RC, Yacob MA. Anxiety in frontline and non-frontline healthcare providers in kelantan, malaysia. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(3):1–10.
Amin F, Sharif S, Saeed R, Durrani N, Jilani D. COVID-19 pandemic- knowledge, perception, anxiety and depression among frontline doctors of Pakistan. BMC Psychiatry. 2020;20(1):459.