Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental Health of Healthcare Professionals in Pakistan

Sandesh, Ram; Shahid, Wajeeha; Dev, Kapeel; Mandhan, Nikeeta; Shankar, Prem; Shaikh, Anam; Rizwan, Amber

doi:10.7759/cureus.8974

Cited by 95 publications

(140 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

119

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…(2020) ( Romero et al., 2020 ) Spain Cross-sectional COVID-19 3,109 health care workers 10 days, April 2020 A Psychological Stress and Adaptation at Work Score (PSAS) based on the: Healthcare Stressful Test, Coping Strategies Inventory, Font-Roja Questionnaire and the Trait Meta-Mood Scale Rossi et al. (2020) ( Rossi et al., 2020 ) Italy Cross-sectional COVID-19 1,378 health care workers (472 nurses, 433 physicians, 86 General Practitioners, 275 other [lab technicians, physiotherapists, radiotherapists] and 112 Health Care Assistants) 5 days, March 2020 GPS, PHQ-9, GAD-7, ISI and PSS Sandesh et al. (2020) ( Sandesh et al., 2020 ) Pakistan Cross-sectional COVID-19 112 health care workers May 2020 DASS-21 Schechter et al.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(2020) ( Rossi et al., 2020 ) Italy Cross-sectional COVID-19 1,378 health care workers (472 nurses, 433 physicians, 86 General Practitioners, 275 other [lab technicians, physiotherapists, radiotherapists] and 112 Health Care Assistants) 5 days, March 2020 GPS, PHQ-9, GAD-7, ISI and PSS Sandesh et al. (2020) ( Sandesh et al., 2020 ) Pakistan Cross-sectional COVID-19 112 health care workers May 2020 DASS-21 Schechter et al. (2020) ( Shechter et al., 2020 ) United States of America Cross-sectional COVID-19 657 health care workers, including physicians, advanced practice providers, residents, fellows and nurses 15 days, April 2020 PC-PTSD, PHQ-2, GAD-2 and questions modified from PSQI and ISI Shih et al.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The psychological impact of COVID-19 and other viral epidemics on frontline healthcare workers and ways to address it: A rapid systematic review

Cabarkapa

Nadjidai

Murgier

et al. 2020

Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health

443

480

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background As the world is battling the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline health care workers (HCWs) are among the most vulnerable groups at risk of mental health problems. The many risks to the wellbeing of HCWs are not well understood. Of the literature, there is a paucity of information around how to best prevent psychological distress, and what steps are needed to mitigate harm to HCWs’ wellbeing. Methods A systematic review using PRISMA methodology was used to investigate the psychological impact on HCWs facing epidemics or pandemics, using three electronic databases (PubMed, MEDLINE and CINAHL), dating back to 2002 until the 21st of August 2020. The search strategy included terms for HCWs (e.g., nurse and doctor), mental health (e.g., wellbeing and psychological), and viral outbreaks (e.g., epidemic and pandemic). Only studies with greater than 100 frontline HCWs (i.e. doctors or nurses in close proximity to infected patients) were included. Results A total of 55 studies were included, with 53 using quantitative methodology and 2 were qualitative. 50 of the quantitative studies used validated measurement tools while 5 used novel questionnaires. The studies were conducted across various countries and included people with SARS (13 studies), Ebola (1), MERS (3) and COVID-19 (38). Findings suggest that the psychological implications to HCWs are variable with several studies demonstrating an increased risk of acquiring trauma or stress-related disorders, depression and anxiety. Fear of the unknown or becoming infected were at the forefront of the mental challenges faced. Being a nurse and being female appeared to confer greater risk. The perceived stigma from family members and society heightened negative implications; predominantly stress and isolation. Coping strategies varied amongst the contrasting sociocultural settings and appeared to differ amongst doctors, nurses and other HCWs. Implemented changes, and suggestions for prevention in the future consistently highlighted the need for greater psychosocial support and clearer dissemination of disease-related information. Conclusion This review can inform current and future research priorities in the maintenance of wellbeing amongst frontline HCWs. Change needs to start at the level of policy-makers to offer an enhanced variety of supports to HCWs who play a critical role during largescale disease outbreaks. Psychological implications are largely negative and require greater attention to be mitigated, potentially through the involvement of psychologists, raised awareness and better education. The current knowledge of therapeutic interventions suggests they could be beneficial but more long-term follow-up is needed.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The psychological impact of COVID-19 and other viral epidemics on frontline healthcare workers and ways to address it: A rapid systematic review

Cabarkapa

Nadjidai

Murgier

et al. 2020

Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health

443

480

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the sensitivity analysis, the lowest prevalence (39.8%, 95% CI: 33.2-46.6) was observed after excluding the study by Sandesh and colleagues 65 , whereas the highest prevalence (43.3%, 95% CI:…”

Section: Sensitivity Analysis and Publication Biasmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Pooled prevalence of anxietyA total of 31 studies reported the prevalence of anxiety during COVID-19 in different samples from South Asian countries[46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56]58,59,[61][62][63][64][65][66]68,69,[71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80] . These studies used different scales to measureanxiety in respective samples, including the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale (n = 16), Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale -21 Items (DASS-21) scales (n = 9), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (n = 4), Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) (n = 1), and Self Reporting Questionnaire 20-items (SRQ-20) scale (n = 1).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of anxiety and depression in South Asia during COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Hossain¹,

Rahman²,

Trisha³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted biopsychosocial health and wellbeing globally. Pre-pandemic studies suggest a high prevalence of common mental disorders, including anxiety and depression in South Asian countries, which may aggravate during this pandemic. This systematic meta-analytic review was conducted to estimate the pooled prevalence of anxiety and depression in South Asian countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: We systematically searched for cross-sectional studies on eight major bibliographic databases and additional sources up to October 12, 2020, that reported the prevalence of anxiety or depression in any of the eight South Asian countries. A random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled proportion of anxiety and depression. Results: A total of 35 studies representing 41,402 participants were included in this review. The pooled prevalence of anxiety in 31 studies with a pooled sample of 28,877 was 41.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 34.7-48.1, I2 = 99.18%). Moreover, the pooled prevalence of depression was 34.1% (95% CI: 28.9-39.4, I2 = 99%) among 37,437 participants in 28 studies. Among the South Asian countries, India had a higher number of studies, whereas Bangladesh and Pakistan had a higher pooled prevalence of anxiety and depression. No studies were identified from Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Maldives. Studies in this review had high heterogeneity and varying prevalence across sub-groups. Conclusion: South Asian countries have high prevalence rates of anxiety and depression, suggesting a heavy psychosocial burden during this pandemic. Clinical and public mental health interventions should be prioritized alongside improving the social determinants of mental health in these countries. Lastly, a low number of studies with high heterogeneity requires further research exploring the psychosocial epidemiology during COVID-19, which may inform better mental health policymaking and practice in South Asia.

show abstract

“… 12 Studies from the Indian subcontinent also showed approximately one-third of doctors had anxiety or depression during the COVID-19 pandemic, 13 and a report from Pakistan conducted on health care staff working in COVID-19 isolation wards, quantifying depression, anxiety and stress, showed 90.1% of participants reported moderate to extreme levels of psychological stress. 14 …”

Section: The Prevalence and Type Of Psychiatric Morbidities In Cancermentioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing the Mental Health Challenges of Cancer Care Workers in LMICs During the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Datta

Mukherjee

Ghose

et al. 2020

JCO Global Oncology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental Health of Healthcare Professionals in Pakistan

Cited by 95 publications

References 13 publications

The psychological impact of COVID-19 and other viral epidemics on frontline healthcare workers and ways to address it: A rapid systematic review

The psychological impact of COVID-19 and other viral epidemics on frontline healthcare workers and ways to address it: A rapid systematic review

Prevalence of anxiety and depression in South Asia during COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Addressing the Mental Health Challenges of Cancer Care Workers in LMICs During the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About