Depression and insomnia among healthcare professionals during COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Introduction Healthcare professionals play a great role in the struggle against COVID-19. They are highly susceptible to COVID-19 due to their responsibilities. This susceptibility directly affects their mental health status. Comprehensive evidence on prevalence of depression and insomnia during this pandemic is vital. Thus, this study aims to provide the pooled prevalence of depression and insomnia, and their associated factors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods This systematic review and meta-analysis follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Studies were searched from PubMed, Cochrane Library, CrossRef, African Journals Online and Google Scholar databases from the occurence of the pandemic to June 2022. Study selection, data extraction and methodological quality assessment were done by two authors independently. The I2 statistics was used for testing heterogeneity. A random effect model was used. Stata version 16.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results Eight studies were incorporated for this systematic review and meta-analysis. From seven studies the pooled prevalence of depression was 40% (95% CI [0.23–0.57]; I2 = 99.00%; P = 0.00). From three studies the pooled prevalence of insomnia was 35% (95% CI [0.13–0.58]; I2 = 98.20; P = 0.00). Associated factors of depression on healthcare workers (HCWs) were being female pooled AOR: 2.09; 95% CI [1.41–2.76], been married (pooled AOR = 2.95; 95% CI [1.83–4.07]). Due to limited studies available on the factors associated with insomnia, it is impossible to pool and associated factors were presented in narrative synthesis. Conclusion COVID-19 is highly associated with the prevalence of depression and insomnia among healthcare professionals in Ethiopia. The pooled prevalence of depression and insomnia were significantly higher among healthcare professionals. Appropriate psychological counseling package should be realized for healthcare workers (HCWs) in order to recover the general mental health problems. Trial registration. This review was registered PROSPERO with registration number CRD42022314865.

Post-Pandemic Insomnia in Healthcare Workers: A Prospective Study including Sociodemographic, Occupational and Psychosocial Variables

“…Our results found that there is a significant relationship between insomnia and the family situation of HWCs at the first time point, with higher means for HCWs who had a partner. This is in accordance with previous research during the COVID-19 pandemic that reported a direct association between being married and depression or insomnia [ 49 ]. It should be noted that the first time point in our study was during the confinement phase of the pandemic, and during this period, findings were found linking cohabitation with a partner with anxiety [ 50 ].…”

Prevalence of depression and associated factors among obstetric care providers at public health facilities in the West Arsi Zone, Ethiopia: Cross-sectional study

“…The findings of the study showed that marital status is a significantly associated factor with depression, which is supported by the studies conducted in Dessie Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia [ 14 ], and systematic review conducted in Ethiopia [ 27 ], Egypt [ 32 ], Nigeria [ 35 ], Saudi Arabia [ 28 ], and Baghdad [ 31 ]. This might be because every human being in nature needs love and belongingness, so having a soul mate might prevent loneliness, which might worsen the problem.…”

“…Similarly, the finding is lower than the finding from a systematic review and meta-analysis conducted in Ethiopia, which was 40% [ 27 ]. The discrepancy between a systematic review and meta-analysis conducted in Ethiopia might be due to studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which might increase the problem as there was a lower understanding of COVID-19 at the beginning.…”

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“…The findings of the study showed that marital status is a significantly associated factor with depression, which is supported by the studies conducted in Dessie Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia [14], and systematic review conducted in Ethiopia [27], Egypt [32], Nigeria [35], Saudi Arabia [28], and Baghdad [31]. This might be because every human being in nature needs love and belongingness, so having a soul mate might prevent loneliness, which might worsen the problem.…”