ABSTRACT
Introduction: PICU admission of a child may cause anxiety and stress among the caregivers. The criteria for admission to a PICU are terrifying and may legitimately cause parents to fear that their child may pass away or suffer a serious disability. They may be overburdened with stress and anxiety of illness and compliment medical information while trying to maintain a balance with other family demands. They must learn coping mechanisms and use resources to stay stable when they face challenges. Evidence on the coping mechanisms used by primary caregivers to control their stress and anxiety is scarce so this study assessed the anxiety and coping mechanism among the primary caregivers of children admitted in PICU. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 143 primary caregivers by using convenience sampling technique at PICU, AIIMS, Jodhpur, from April 31, 2021, to January 20, 2022. The participants were enrolled after obtaining informed consent and were interviewed by the researcher. Results: Study findings revealed that primary caregivers had 38% severe anxiety, 54% moderate anxiety, and 8% mild anxiety. They used emotion-focused coping (43.5%) followed by problem focused coping (37.2%) and avoidant coping (19.3%). Also, there was a significant association found between anxiety of primary caregivers and gender of the child (P = 0.012). Conclusion: Anxiety and stress are one of the expected psychological problems faced by caregivers of children admitted in PICU. Healthcare workers must make concerted attempts to support caregivers adaptive coping mechanisms, so they can retain a sense of balance.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The corona virus disease-2019 (COVID-19) infection is a current public health crisis, and it is challenging to the world health-care system. As there is no treatment, prevention is the crucial importance to break the chain of transmission of infection and prevent fatality among the high-risk populations. The aim of the study was to assess the Expressed COVID-19 preventive practices among health-care workers (HCWs) and the public visiting tertiary care hospital, AIIMS, Jodhpur. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 406 HCWs and 238 public, recruited by convenient sampling technique. A validated and pretested self-structured practice questionnaire used to collect the data regarding COVID-19 preventive practice. The data were collected through online Google Forms and interview techniques and analyzed by software SPSS 26 version. RESULTS: Majority of 87.7% HCWs and 76.5% public always followed practice of hand wash with soap and water and sanitize for 20 s. Majority of 79.6% HCWs and 49.2% public maintain social distance in public place. Gender (χ 2 = 18.806 P ≤ 0.001) and education (χ 2 = 43.270 P ≤ 0.001) among HCWs and in public demographic variable income (χ 2 = 21.102 P = 0.002), religion (χ 2 = 13.302 P = 0.006) and source of information (χ 2 = 17.030 P = 0.026) was significantly associated with level of COVID-19 preventive practice. CONCLUSION: The study showed moderate level of COVID-19 preventive practice among HCWs and public. Based on this result, an effective IEC intervention programs can be designed to educate public and HCWs and follow a safe COVID-19 preventive practice.
