Anxiety and associated factors among Ethiopian health professionals at early stage of COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia.
PLoS One
; 16(6): e0252664, 2021.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1261296
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
In late 2019, a new coronavirus disease known as COVID-19 (novel coronavirus disease 2019) was identified. As there is no any drug to treat this pandemic, the healthcare professionals are disproportionately at higher risk. The mental health outcome is expected to be high. Anxiety is expected to have a significant impact on health professionals, especially among those who work without adequate resources for self-protection.OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of this research was to assess self-reported anxiety symptoms and associated factors among Ethiopian healthcare professionals in the early stages of the pandemic.METHODS:
We have conducted an online cross-sectional study to collect information from healthcare professionals in Ethiopia during the early stage of the outbreak from April 7, 2020 to May 19, 2020. GAD-7 was used for measurement of anxiety. We have used a cut of point of 10 and above to report anxiety symptoms. We have used Google Forms for online data collection and SPSS-22 for analysis. To determine associated factors for anxiety, a binary logistic regression model was used. Variables with p-value < 0.2 during the bivariable binary logistic regression were exported for further analysis in the multivariable binary logistic regression. Finally, variables with p-value <0.05 were considered as significantly associated with the outcomes.RESULTS:
Three hundred and eighty-eight healthcare professionals filled the online questionnaire; Majority (71.1%) were males. Significant number of respondents (78.9%) reported lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) at the work place. The prevalence of anxiety was 26.8%. Being female (AOR 1.88; 95% C.I1.11, 3.19), visiting/treating 30-150 patients per day (AOR 3.44; 95% C.I1.51, 7.84), those employed at private healthcare institutions (AOR 2.40; 95% C.I1.17, 4.90), who do not believe that COVID-19 is preventable (AOR 2.04; 95% C.I1.04, 4.03) and those who reported lack of PPE (AOR 1.98; 95% C.I1.04, 3.79) were more likely to be anxious.CONCLUSIONS:
The anxiety prevalence among healthcare professionals in Ethiopia during early stage of COVID-19 pandemic was high. This study shows that lack of preventive equipment, being female, contact with many patients, low self-efficacy and working in private health facilities were risk factors for anxiety. Anxiety prevention among health professionals during COVID-19 pandemic requires a holistic approach including provision of sufficient PPE, improving self-efficacy and addressing problems both at public and private institutions and focusing more on female health professionals.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Anxiety
/
Health Personnel
/
Pandemics
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
English
Journal:
PLoS One
Journal subject:
Science
/
Medicine
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Journal.pone.0252664
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