ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE To explore the knowledge and perceptions of COVID-19 in the general population in Greece, to gauge the prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression, and to examine the association between perceptions and socio-demographic variables and mental health status. METHOD Telephone interviews were conducted with a random, representative sample of 1,041 participants across Greece in the period 10th–14th April 2020. Knowledge and perceptions were assessed with a specially constructed questionnaire, mental health status was measured using the Depression, Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and sociodemographic and physical characteristics were recorded. RESULTS According to the responses, COVID-19 has evoked diverse opinions in the general public, especially with respect to its similarity to common influenza, its mode of transmission (airborne), the belief that it is manufactured, and whether it is out of control. The responses to DASS-21 showed the prevalence of moderate/severe/extreme cases to be 22.3% for depression, 15.9% for anxiety, and 13.1% for stress. Those who acknowledged the dangerous nature of COVID-19 for certain groups exhibited higher stress and depression scores. Respondents who believed that the coronavirus is manufactured and those neutral towards its transmission by air, had higher anxiety, stress and depression scores, while those who agreed that the virus is out of control had lower stress scores. Women, young people, residents of urban areas, those residing in households with a member vulnerable to the virus, individuals with high educational attainment and respondents of lower socio-economic status, all manifested higher risk of mental health problems, as did people who endorsed the view that the virus was manufactured and served specific purposes. CONCLUSIONS Health education intervention, tele-psychiatry and mental health promotion strategies are urgently needed for mitigating the psychological burden of the COVID-19 pandemic. © Athens Medical Society.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Healthcare personnel (HCP) are at increased risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the aetiological agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). AIM: To estimate the costs related to SARS-CoV-2 exposure and infection among HCP in Greece. METHODS: Data were retrieved from the national database of SARS-CoV-2 infections and from the database of HCP exposed to patients with COVID-19. A cost-of-illness analysis was performed to estimate total, direct and indirect costs. RESULTS: In total, 254 HCP with COVID-19 and 3332 HCP exposed to patients with COVID-19 during the first epidemic wave were studied. Of the 254 HCP with COVID-19, 49 (19.3%) were hospitalized (mean length of hospitalization 11.6 days) and four were admitted to intensive care units (mean duration 10.8 days). Overall, 1332 (40%) exposed HCP had a mean duration of absenteeism of 7.5 days, and 252 (99.2%) HCP with COVID-19 had a mean duration of absenteeism of 25.8 days. The total costs for the management of the two groups were estimated at 1,735,830 (772,890 Euros for HCP with COVID-19 and 962,940 for exposed HCP). Absenteeism accounted for a large proportion of the total costs (80.4% of all expenditures), followed by costs for reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and hospitalization (10.2% and 6.5% of all expenditures, respectively). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 is associated with increased rates and duration of absenteeism among HCP. Indirect costs, particularly absenteeism, are the major driver of total costs among exposed HCP and HCP with COVID-19. The estimated total costs are conservative. Studies are needed to explore the impact of COVID-19 vaccination of HCP on absenteeism and COVID-19-associated costs.