Assessment of the Psychological Stress Experienced by COVID Warriors during COVID-19 Pandemic in India

ABSTRACT

Introduction: In the fight against COVID-19, doctors, nurses, administrative staff, police personnel and other supporting staff have been in the frontline providing emergency services. While performing their duties, they are at risk of getting infections and transmitting them to their near and dear ones. This can lead to increased psychological stress levels among them. This study was conducted to assess the level of stress among health care workers and police personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic period in Delhi. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study among the COVID-19 warriors working in designated COVID-19 hospitals using Google forms. The relationship between various social, demographic, and administrative factors and the level of stress experienced by the study subjects was assessed using Perceptive Stress Scale (PSS-10). Results: The results describe heightened severity of perception of stress among the study cohort. We found at least 10 risk factors that showed statistically significant association with increased TPSS in the studied cohort group. Conclusion: There is an urgent need for screening, proper diagnosis, and management of psychiatric issues among FLCWs, and for expanding mental health services for reducing stress among the target population. © 2021 Indian Society for Malaria and Communicable Diseases. All rights reserved.