Prevalence of depressive symptoms due to COVID-19 and associated factors among healthcare workers in Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Objectives: Globally, novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly since it was first identified and challenging the provision of essential services for low-resource countries. Healthcare workers involved in providing care are at high risk of developing mental health problems. The aim of this was to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms due to COVID-19 and associated factors among healthcare workers in the West Guji zone in public health facilities, southern Ethiopia. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted in public health facilities found in the West Guji zone. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select 283 study subjects. This study was used to assess the prevalence of depression symptoms using Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21, a depression subscale. Descriptive statistics, binary and multiple logistic regressions were used. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence interval will be estimated to assess the strength of associations and statistical significance will be declared at a p-value < 0.05. Results: Out of 283 eligible healthcare workers, 275 respondents had participated in this study with a 97.2% response rate. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 21.5%. The independent predictors associated with depressive symptoms due to COVID-19 were age (adjusted odds ratio = 2.35, 95% confidence interval = 1.126–3.95), family size (adjusted odds ratio = 3.56, 95% confidence interval = 1.09–11.62), alcohol use (adjusted odds ratio = 4.31, 95% confidence interval = 1.76–10.55), medical illness (adjusted odds ratio = 9.56, 95% confidence interval = 3.71–24.59), having training on COVID-19 (adjusted odds ratio = 0.37, 95% confidence interval = 0.17–0.81), and lack of knowledge on COVID-19 (adjusted odds ratio = 15.34, 95% confidence interval = 6.32–37.21). Conclusion: The prevalence of depressive symptoms among healthcare workers due to COVID-19 was high. Factors associated with depressive symptoms were age, family size, alcohol use, medical illness, having training on COVID–19, and lack of knowledge on COVID-19.

Anxiety and Stress due to COVID-19 Pandemic and Associated Factors Among Healthcare Workers in West Guji Zone Southern Ethiopia

“…The data was collected by using a pretested structured selfadministered questionnaire with data collector guidance. The questionnaire was first prepared in English, then translated into Afaan Oromoo, then translated back into English by fluent speakers to verify its consistency (29). The questions which assess the magnitude of COVID-19-related anxiety, stress, and its associated factors among healthcare workers were adopted from similar previous studies (5, 6, and 11).…”

A Cross-Sectional Study on the Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms and Its Associated Sociodemographic Factors in Peru during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Depression is defined as a psychopathologic mood disorder with different severity levels that depend on the number of experienced symptoms and the degree of impairment [ 23 ]. Specific findings on the prevalence of depression during the pandemic show that, even if an individual does not have a severe pathology, most people have experienced the symptoms at some degree, such as lack of motivation, sadness, difficulty to concentrate on tasks, sleeping and eating disorders [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”

Change in depression during the COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare providers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“…However, compared to other studies undertaken in Africa and other LMICs, the overall prevalence of depression reported in this study was low ( Hayat et al, 2021 ; Wilson et al, 2020 ). Studies carried out in Ethiopia also reported a higher prevalence which varied from 20% to 60% ( Ayalew et al, 2021 ; Jemal et al, 2021 ; Mulatu et al, 2021 ; Wayessa et al, 2021 ). The differences in the prevalence of depression observed in these studies may result from the use of various screening tools, survey time, rating scales, or cutoff scores to identify clinically significant levels of depression ( Belete & Anbesaw, 2022 ).…”