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The aim of this paper is to examine the change in anxiety and feelings of depression within the Turkish population, including the factors behind these changes, during the most intense period of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Data were collected online from a population with similar characteristics using the convenience sampling method at the beginning of the pandemic (2020) and during its second year (2021). After parsing the data, a total of 9,369 questionnaires were evaluated. The Anxiety and Depressive Complaints questionnaire was prepared based on the conditions related to COVID-19. The scale was produced by selecting from a large set of questions using Factor Analysis (FA). The Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) values of the measurement tool fell within the acceptable limits. It was observed that both anxiety and feelings of depression were extraordinarily high during this period. The data showed that gender, family communication problems, trust in the state, fear of losing one's job, religious involvement, and time had predictive effects on anxiety. All the predictive variables for anxiety also had significant effects on depressive complaints. Age, household income, and living in rural or urban areas were also determined to be predictive for depressive complaints.
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Objective: Although there are a sufficient number of studies on the mental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers (HCWs) in the early phase, few studies have evaluated these impacts in the vaccination phase. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of mental disorders and their associated factors among HCWs in the vaccination phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: A cross-sectional, web-based survey collected demographic data with the structured 25-item questionnaire, COVID-19 infection status and exposure, and mental health measurements between 13 March 2021 and 20 April 2021, in Turkey. Depression, anxiety, insomnia, distress, resilience, and burnout were assessed by the 9-item patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), the 7-item generalized anxiety disorder questionnaire (GAD-7), the Jenkins sleep scale (JSS), the 10-item perceived stress scale (PSS-10), the brief resilience scale (BRS), and two subscales of the Maslach burnout inventory (MBI): emotional exhaustion (EE) and depersonalization (DP), respectively. Thereafter, binary logistic regression was performed to explore the risk factors of those HCWs with poor mental health outcomes.Results: A total of 573 HCWs completed the survey. Of the 573 responding participants, 309 (53.9%) were medical doctors, 119 (20.8%) were nurses, and 145 (25.3%) were other HCWs. Overall, 37.5%, 31.9%, 36.3%, and 19.2% of all HCWs reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and suicidal ideation, respectively. Moreover, 77% perceived moderate to high-stress, 49.9% described emotional exhaustion, and 11.3% of HCWs expressed depersonalization. A considerable proportion of participants reported exposure to violence (39.4%) and mobbing (38.6%) during the pandemic. We found a positive relation between getting COVID-19 vaccine and anxiety (odds ratio [OR]= 1.80;95%CI, 1.01-3.21;p = 0.046). Being a woman (for depression, OR= 2.26;95% CI, 1.48-3.45;p < 0.001;for resilience, OR= 0.55;95% CI, 0.38-0.80;p = 0.002),working on the frontline (for emotional exhaustion, OR= 1.82;95% CI, 1.26-2.62;p = 0.001), being exposed to mobbing (for anxiety, OR= 2.86;95% CI, 1.93-4.25;p < 0.001;for depression, OR= 3.70;95% CI, 2.55-5.36;p < 0.001), being victim of the violence in the pandemic (for depersonalization, OR= 2.82;95% CI, 1.58-5.03;p < 0.001;for insomnia, OR= 2.03;95% CI, 1.40-2.94;p < 0.001), the loss of a loved one due to COVID-19 (for perceived stress, OR= 2.14;95% CI, 1.22-3.75;p = 0.008), having a mental disorder (for resilience, OR= 0.53;95% CI, 0.30-0.94;p = 0.031) and self-medicating with alcohol (for anxiety, OR= 2.86;95% CI, 1.92-4.25;p < 0.001) were associated with worsened mental health outcomes.Conclusion: COVID-19 is still affecting the mental health of HCWs in the vaccination phase. These findings advance the understanding of risk factors for the poor mental health of HCWs during a pandemic. The results revealed that receiving psychological interventions for occupational mental health during the pandemic is important for HCWs.
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Background: This study aimed to determine how the psychological complaints of geriatric patients with mental disorders were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and how they continued their treatment during this period. In addition, this work sought to determine the social support resources of these patients and their expectations regarding online consultations. Methods: Telephone interviews were carried out with 776 patients over the age of 65 who had a mental disorder. A sociodemographic data form, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the General Anxiety Disorder-7 were employed to evaluate their psychological complaints. Results: A total of 733 patients (94.5%) were unable to go to outpatient visits, although 607 (78.2%) patients used their medications regularly. The most important factor contributing to continue drug treatment was the extension of drug reports by the government. There was an increase in psychiatric complaints in 318 (41.0%) patients. Anxiety (23.7%), insomnia (17.0%), and depression (13.3%) were the most common complaints. 72.7% of the patients wanted to have an online consultation with their psychiatrist. Predictors for depression were increased age and female gender. Predictors for anxiety were disease duration of five years or more and irregular medication intake during the pandemic. Conclusion: The high-risk groups in terms of increasing psychiatric complaints must be identified for psychosocial interventions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, government policies on the health system played an important role in ensuring continued treatment for geriatric psychiatric patients. It is also important to be able to conduct online psychiatric consultations during extraordinary situations.
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INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study is to measure people's perceptions, attitudes, and behavior regarding the New Coronavirus Pandemic and the process itself in our country, to examine social tendencies towards the pandemic, and to develop recommendations for policymakers based on the findings. METHODS: According to the survey, 40 percent of the participants said their anxiety about death and dying has increased. In comparison, 51 percent reported that their anxiety about getting the virus has increased, and 79 percent stated that their anxiety about losing their loved ones has increased. Especially the existential anxiety of women, those in the lowest income group working in jobs that require close contact, is much higher than men. Strong social ties are an influential factor in alleviating people's anxiety. RESULTS: Sixty-six percent of the respondents stated they feared that they will not be able to meet their basic needs in the future, and 58 percent reported that their income has decreased after the pandemic;only 14.80 percent stated that they find people to be generally trustworthy. As the variables of age, income, and education level decrease, so does trust. The findings reveal that the level of trust is lower among women than men. The percentage of those who see coronavirus as "a conspiracy of the great powers" is 56.5 percent in Turkey. Twenty-seven percent of the respondents reported that verbal violence, and 17 percent said physical violence has increased around them after the coronavirus. On the other hand, 11 percent stated that verbal violence, while 4 percent stated that physical violence against them has increased during the same period. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This research shows that existential anxiety in society increases as the duration of the pandemic increases. Over time the people have become tired. The pandemic has triggered some negative attitudes such as indifference, weariness, and denial, resulting in developing a type of come-what-may mood in some people. Those who have relatively strong social ties (high level of trust) and those who rely on state institutions cope more easily with the uncertainty and anxiety posed by the pandemic. Social policies to be followed by the state are of vital importance to reduce the economic and psycho-social problems of the society.".
ABSTRACT
Objective: The purpose of this study is to measure people's perceptions, attitudes, and behavior regarding the New Coronavirus Pandemic and the process itself in our country, to examine social tendencies towards the pandemic, and to develop recommendations for policymakers based on the findings. Methods: According to the survey, 40 percent of the participants said their anxiety about death and dying has increased. In comparison, 51 percent reported that their anxiety about getting the virus has increased, and 79 percent stated that their anxiety about losing their loved ones has increased. Especially the existential anxiety of women, those in the lowest income group working in jobs that require close contact, is much higher than men. Strong social ties are an influential factor in alleviating people's anxiety. Results: Sixty-six percent of the respondents stated they feared that they will not be able to meet their basic needs in the future, and 58 percent reported that their income has decreased after the pandemic;only 14.80 percent stated that they find people to be generally trustworthy. As the variables of age, income, and education level decrease, so does trust. The findings reveal that the level of trust is lower among women than men. The percentage of those who see coronavirus as “a conspiracy of the great powers” is 56.5 percent in Turkey. Twenty-seven percent of the respondents reported that verbal violence, and 17 percent said physical violence has increased around them after the coronavirus. On the other hand, 11 percent stated that verbal violence, while 4 percent stated that physical violence against them has increased during the same period. Conclusion: This research shows that existential anxiety in society increases as the duration of the pandemic increases. Over time the people have become tired. The pandemic has triggered some negative attitudes such as indifference, weariness, and denial, resulting in developing a type of come-what-may mood in some people. Those who have relatively strong social ties (high level of trust) and those who rely on state institutions cope more easily with the uncertainty and anxiety posed by the pandemic. Social policies to be followed by the state are of vital importance to reduce the economic and psycho-social problems of the society. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
Objective: The purpose of this study is to measure people's perceptions, attitudes, and behavior regarding the New Coronavirus Pandemic and the process itself in our country, to examine social tendencies towards the pandemic, and to develop recommendations for policymakers based on the findings. Methods: According to the survey, 40 percent of the participants said their anxiety about death and dying has increased. In comparison, 51 percent reported that their anxiety about getting the virus has increased, and 79 percent stated that their anxiety about losing their loved ones has increased. Especially the existential anxiety of women, those in the lowest income group working in jobs that require close contact, is much higher than men. Strong social ties are an influential factor in alleviating people's anxiety. Results: Sixty-six percent of the respondents stated they feared that they will not be able to meet their basic needs in the future, and 58 percent reported that their income has decreased after the pandemic;only 14.80 percent stated that they find people to be generally trustworthy. As the variables of age, income, and education level decrease, so does trust. The findings reveal that the level of trust is lower among women than men. The percentage of those who see coronavirus as “a conspiracy of the great powers” is 56.5 percent in Turkey. Twenty-seven percent of the respondents reported that verbal violence, and 17 percent said physical violence has increased around them after the coronavirus. On the other hand, 11 percent stated that verbal violence, while 4 percent stated that physical violence against them has increased during the same period. Conclusion: This research shows that existential anxiety in society increases as the duration of the pandemic increases. Over time the people have become tired. The pandemic has triggered some negative attitudes such as indifference, weariness, and denial, resulting in developing a type of come-what-may mood in some people. Those who have relatively strong social ties (high level of trust) and those who rely on state institutions cope more easily with the uncertainty and anxiety posed by the pandemic. Social policies to be followed by the state are of vital importance to reduce the economic and psycho-social problems of the society. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.