The Psychological Condition of Healthcare Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic at a Referral Hospital in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The significant increase in positive cases of COVID-19 in Indonesia has increased the number of health care personnel, nurses, and physicians who have been exposed to the virus, which raises the psychological burden on health professionals. AIM: This study aims to analyze the relationship between the psychological responses of health professionals and anxiety/depression in the hospital using the Fear of COVID-19 scales and the hospital anxiety and depression scale, respectively. METHODS: The method is quantitative with a cross-sectional survey, which uses an online questionnaire involving about 207 health professionals working at the COVID-19 referral hospital. RESULTS: The result of the Pearson correlation test showed that the highest fear level of health professionals against COVID-19 was 41.5%, while the highest anxiety and depression levels are at the usual level of 76.3% and 60.4%, respectively. There was a direct relationship between the fear of COVID-19 and anxiety or depression, with significant values of 0.000 or 0.026, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed the significance of the psychological state of health professionals during a pandemic. Therefore, the government must provide mental support to health professionals through counselling and more accurate and up-to-date information.