Anxiety and Depression among People Living with HIV During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Face-to-Face Survey from Turkey.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been some difficulties in the routine care of people living with HIV (PLWH). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on mental health of PLWH and their use of health services. This study was conducted using the face-to-face interview method in the outpatient clinic of a university hospital, between 01.09.2020 and 30.11.2020. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and survey instrument designed by the researchers investigating socio-demographic data and access to health services were used. RESULTS: The study included 217 patients, 91.7% (n=199) of whom were male. All of the patients were postponed their hospital appointments, 60.8% were concerned about not being able to contact their physician and 53% had concerned about being stigmatized if they went to the hospital. Of the participants, 27.6% had depression, 12.9% had anxiety and 8.3% had both depression and anxiety. Low income, job loss, and fear of being stigmatized were associated with depression and anxiety. Lower level of education, discontinuation of medications and lack of opportunity to work remotely were associated with depression, while history of psychiatric illness, worry about not being able to contact their physician and cessation of antiretroviral therapy were associated with higher anxiety levels. CONCLUSION: It is important to develop strategies ensuring the continuity of care for PWLH and identify and support those with a higher mental health impact.

Parental psychological distress associated with COVID-19 outbreak: A large-scale multicenter survey from Turkey.

AIMS: Pandemics can cause substantial psychological distress; however, we do not know the impact of the COVID-19 related lockdown and mental health burden on the parents of school age children. We aimed to comparatively examine the COVID-19 related the stress and psychological burden of the parents with different occupational, locational, and mental health status related backgrounds. METHODS: A large-scale multicenter online survey was completed by the parents (n = 3,278) of children aged 6 to 18 years, parents with different occupational (health care workers-HCW [18.2%] vs. others), geographical (Istanbul [38.2%] vs. others), and psychiatric (child with a mental disorder [37.8%]) backgrounds. RESULTS: Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that being a HCW parent (odds ratio 1.79, p < .001), a mother (odds ratio 1.67, p < .001), and a younger parent (odds ratio 0.98, p = .012); living with an adult with a chronic physical illness (odds ratio 1.38, p < .001), having an acquaintance diagnosed with COVID-19 (odds ratio 1.22, p = .043), positive psychiatric history (odds ratio 1.29, p < .001), and living with a child with moderate or high emotional distress (odds ratio 1.29, p < .001; vs. odds ratio 2.61, p < .001) were independently associated with significant parental distress. CONCLUSIONS: Parents report significant psychological distress associated with COVID-19 pandemic and further research is needed to investigate its wider impact including on the whole family unit.

Anxiety among front-line health-care workers supporting patients with COVID-19: A global survey.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to explore anxiety status across a broad range of HCWs supporting patients with COVID-19 in different global regions. METHOD: This was an international online survey in which participation was on voluntary basis and data were submitted via Google Drive, across a two-week period starting from March 18, 2020. The Beck Anxiety Inventory was used to quantify the level of anxiety. RESULTS: 1416 HCWs (70.8% medical doctors, 26.2% nurses) responded to the survey from 75 countries. The distribution of anxiety levels was: normal/minimal (n = 503, 35.5%), low (n = 390, 27.5%); moderate (n = 287, 20.3%), and severe (n = 236, 16.7%). According to multiple generalized linear model, female gender (p = 0.001), occupation (ie, being a nurse dealing directly with patients with COVID-19 [p = 0.017]), being younger (p = 0.001), reporting inadequate knowledge on COVID-19 (p = 0.005), having insufficient personal protective equipment (p = 0.001) and poor access to hand sanitizers or liquid soaps (p = 0.008), coexisting chronic disorders (p = 0.001) and existing mental health problems (p = 0.001), and higher income of countries where HCWs lived (p = 0.048) were significantly associated with increased anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Front-line HCWs, regardless of the levels of COVID-19 transmission in their country, are anxious when they do not feel protected. Our findings suggest that anxiety could be mitigated ensuring sufficient levels of protective personal equipment alongside greater education and information.