Mental health problems in health-care workers working in COVID-19 quarantine centers

ABSTRACT

Background: The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic in India has put health-care workers (HCWs) under intense pressure and has led to immense psychological stress due to factors including a high risk of infection, inadequate protection from contamination, overwork, cutting-off with families, and exhaustion. The unprecedented stressful conditions are causing mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, depression, disturbed sleep, irritability, fear, and panic. The present study was carried out to investigate the mental health problems among HCWs working in close proximity with COVID-19 patients in quarantine centers and to explore the relevant influencing factors for the development of psychological interventions for them. Subject and Methods: HCWs working in COVID-19 quarantine centers in Ajmer were interviewed for exploring mental health problems in a cross-sectional study carried out at JLN Medical College, Ajmer, India. Depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress among HCWs were assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Relevant data were analyzed, and comparisons between different groups were performed using the two independent sample t-tests. All statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS software version 22.0 for Windows. Results: 53.57% (n = 30) of participants were suffering from depressive symptoms, 64.28% (n = 36) were suffering from anxiety symptoms, and 78.6% (n = 47) were suffering from stress. HCWs living in joint families were more affected by depression (P = 0.02). Both anxiety and stress were more commonly reported by HCWs of age <30, females, nurses and those living in joint families, but difference was statistically insignificant. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that a considerable number of HCWs were suffering from mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and stress. It is important to have periodic mental health assessment of HCWs dealing with COVID-19 patients.