Prevalence of anxiety, depression, and psychological distress among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide epidemic declared by the world health organization as a public health emergency of concern and consequently inducing huge mental health and psychological reactions. AIMS: This study is aimed to summarize the existing data regarding anxiety, depression, and psychological distress during the covid-19 pandemic among the wider population so that effective intervention strategies will be initiated. METHODS: Pieces of literature that assessed anxiety, depression, and psychological distress among the general population during the COVID pandemic period were systematically gathered. Data extraction in Microsoft excel was done by two independent reviewers using predefined criteria. The analysis was done using a stata-11 and random effect model. A sub-group and sensitivity analysis was done. Besides, the funnel plot and eggers publication bias test was tested. RESULTS: Sixteen studies that assessed 78,225 participants were included. Nine studies were included in the meta-analysis for anxiety prevalence. The average prevalence of anxiety was found to be 38.12%. A sub-group analysis showed that anxiety was 33.33% in China and 47.70% in other countries (Italy, Turkey, and India). Anxiety prevalence in studies measured with the DASS-21 scale, GAD-7 scale, and other tools (SAS, HADS, and 5-point Likert scale) was 23.4%, 40.73%, and 44.47% respectively. The prevalence of anxiety in studies that assessed a sample size above 2,000 participants was 40.33%. The average prevalence of depression among included studies was 34.31% and a sub-group analysis showed that depression was higher in China (36.32%) than in other countries (28.3%). Moreover, six studies reported psychological distress and the average prevalence was 37.54%. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that anxiety, depression, and psychological distress are potential public mental health problems of the global community that suggests the need for early recognition and initiation of interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

Antenatal Care Service Utilization of Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care in Public Hospitals During the COVID-19 Pandemic Period.

BACKGROUND: The recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a disastrous effect on the health-care delivery system, of mainly pregnancy-related healthcare. In order to fill the information gap in the scientific literature and in response to the limited evidence in the country, this study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antenatal care utilization among pregnant women attending public facilities in Northeast Ethiopia. Therefore, the result will be beneficial to design strategies for prioritizing maternal healthcare even with the COVID-19 pandemic period. METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2 to August 30, 2020 among pregnant women attending ANC services at public hospitals in Northeast Ethiopia. Thus, a total of 389 women were included in the study with a simple random sampling technique. The bi-variable and multi-variable logistic regression models were employed to identify factors significantly associated with ANC utilization. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI was estimated to show the strength of association. Finally, a P-value of <0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of antenatal care utilization. RESULTS: Overall, 114 (29.3%) pregnant women had fully utilized antenatal care services during the pandemic period. Mother age ≥35 years (AOR=11.79, 95% CI=1.18- 117.8), secondary education and above (AOR=4.74, 95% CI=1.04- 21.61), history of stillbirth before recent pregnancy (AOR=0.007, 95% CI=0.001-0.12), interruption and diversion of services due to COVID-19 response (AOR=0.675, 95% CI=0.142-0.742), fear of COVID-19 (AOR=0.13, 95% CI=0.06-0.31), and lack of transport access (AOR=4.15, 95% CI=1.04-16.54) were predictors of full antenatal care service utilization. CONCLUSION: Three of every ten pregnant women who attended the obstetric outpatient clinics have fully utilized the antenatal care services. Encouraging women's educational status, prioritizing maternal health services during COVID-19, and improving the quality of ANC service should be emphasized more.