The Problems Experienced by Employees with Chronic Disease during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Chronic diseases served as a silent global epidemic before the pandemic, and individuals living with chronic disease now form one of the groups most affected by COVID-19. This study aims to determine the problems that employees with chronic disease face during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the study, data were collected from 952 individuals who live with chronic disease in Turkey. Of these, 76.6% of respondents worked for the public sector, a large majority of whom (67.7%) have worked full time during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was found that the COVID-19 fear level of employees living with chronic disease was higher than moderate (21.061 ± 7.607). When the variables affecting the COVID-19 fear level are listed in order of relative significance, eating problems, residing in the Mediterranean region, having asthma, and working as a female employee made the greatest impact, respectively. Necessary conditions of work should be provided to those living with chronic disease who could adapt themselves to working flexibly or working from home, so that they would not feel isolated from business life. This group should be provided with essential protective equipment, their working conditions must be reviewed and vaccination priority could be given to them.

The effect of COVID-19 restrictions on sleep quality of university students and variables predicting sleep quality.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The COVID-19 pandemic has created a long period of stress for people worldwide and has significantly affected sleep duration. The pandemic revealed new stress factors that are likely to affect sleep. Uncertainty is a factor that leads to anxiety and depression, which affects sleep. It should also be noted that reductions in sleep quality rather than sleep duration are associated with negative consequences on mental health. This study aims to investigate online that how this situation affected university students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This research, with a descriptive study design, was conducted in Turkey between June 01, 2021 and July 30, 2021. The sample included 604 people who accepted voluntary participation, chosen by the random selection method. In the study, sociodemographic information form, Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), morningness-eveningness questionnaire scale (MEQ Scale), Beck depression inventory (BDI), and Beck anxiety inventory (BAI) were used as data collection tools. Pearson correlation analysis was utilized to examine the relationship between the scales. Multiple regression analysis was performed to investigate the role of morningness-eveningness, anxiety, depression, and insomnia severity on sleep quality. RESULTS: Sleep quality was negatively correlated with morningness-eveningness scores (r = -0.32, P < 0.01), and positively and significantly related with anxiety (r = 0.43, P < 0.01), depression (r = 0.40, P < 0.01) and insomnia severity (r = 0.55, P < 0.01). According to regression coefficients, while anxiety (ß = 0.041, P < 0.001) and insomnia severity scores (ß = 0.226, P < 0.001) positively predicted sleep quality, depression did not predict it significantly (ß = 0.009, P > 0.05). A significant difference was found in sleep quality according to morning, evening, and intermediate types (F = 27.401, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Events related to the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with reduced sleep quality in connection with increasing negative moods. Considering the importance of sleep for a healthy life, efforts should be made to raise awareness about this issue and to provide psychological help to affected individuals.

Evaluating the Factors (Stress, Anxiety and Depression) Affecting the Mental Health Condition of Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study aimed to determine the depression, anxiety and stress levels that have negatively impacted nurses' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample group of 826 nurses working in Turkey were asked to fill in an online questionnaire in order to evaluate their psychological responses and the related factors that have adversely affected their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 696 nurses (84.3%) showed symptoms of depression, 644 (78%) reported anxiety and 543 (65.74%) reported stress. This study also highlighted that the most concerning factor for the nurses was the risk of transmitting the COVID-19 infection to their household members (89.2%). The most important problems faced by the nurses during COVID-19 included equipment shortages (50.7%), administrative problems (38.5%) and issues such as accommodation and nutrition (27.4%). These were found to have a statistically significant correlation with the nurses' levels of depression, anxiety and stress. The fear of losing a household member, the inability to their household's social needs and the fear of death were among the factors that concerned nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly affecting their levels of depression, anxiety and stress. Taking the necessary measures to deal with the aforementioned problems and fears is important to protect the health, productivity and efficiency of nurses during the pandemic period.

Impacts of COVID-19 pandemic period on depression, anxiety and stress levels of the healthcare employees in Turkey.

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned into a public health issue since December 2019 and has risen in all countries in the world. The healthcare employees taking part in the pandemic will eventually be affected by the process. The aim of the study is to determine the levels of the anxiety, depression, and stress of the healthcare employees during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. As the data collection tool, an e-survey was used. In the first section, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used. In the second section of the survey, the problems experienced by the healthcare employees during the pandemic and their working media were aimed to be defined. In the last section, the socio-demographic features of the employees were investigated. 2076 healthcare employees participated in the study. The results showed that the major cause of the anxiety or stress among healthcare employees comes from the fear to contaminate the COVID-19 virus to their families (86.9%). It was observed that the levels of depression, anxiety and stress of female employees are higher than that of male employees (p < 0.003). The highest depression, anxiety and stress levels of healthcare employees come from the pandemic, emergency, and internal services (p < 0.001). Health managers and policymakers need to make a move immediately to find solutions for the physical and psychological needs of the health employees. On the other hand, in order to minimize the risk, preparation of the work power plans beforehand and inclusion of obligatory referral chain into health services can be suggested.