Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh: Analysis of a Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated fear, panic, distress, anxiety, and depression among many people in Bangladesh.In this cross-sectional study, we examined factors associated with different levels of psychological impact as a result of COVID-19 in Bangladesh. From April 1 to 30, 2020, we used a self-administered online questionnaire to collect data from 10,609 respondents. Using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised to assess the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on respondents, we categorized the levels of impact as normal, mild, moderate, or severe. Ordinal logistic regression was used to examine the associated factors. The prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe psychological impact was 10.2%, 4.8%, and 45.5%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that the odds of reporting normal vs mild, moderate, or severe psychological impact were 5.9 times higher for people living in the Chittagong Division, 1.7 times higher for women with lower education levels, 3.0 times higher among those who were divorced or separated, 1.8 times higher for those working full time, and 2.4 times higher for those living in shared apartments. The odds of reporting a psychological impact were also higher among people who did not enforce protective measures inside the home, those in self-quarantine, those who did not wear face masks, and those who did not comply with World Health Organization precautionary measures. Increased psychological health risks due to COVID-19 were significantly higher among people who experienced chills, headache, cough, breathing difficulties, dizziness, and sore throat before data collection.

Knowledge, Attitudes, Behavioural Practises, and Psychological Impact Relating to COVID-19 Among People Living With Spinal Cord Injury During In-Patient Rehabilitation in Bangladesh

“…Hence anxiety and stress are interrelated, and a linear relation was noted between depression and anxiety scores and stress scores. Nearly 61% of Bangladeshi people have stress issues related to COVID-19 which was revealed in a population-based study (21). The anxiety and stress score is likely to be associated with the affordability, safety, and reliability issues of rehabilitation centres not examined in this survey.…”

A Qualitative Study about the Psychosocial Issues of COVID-19 Perceived by the South Asian Bangladeshi Senior Immigrants Living in Toronto, Ontario

“…Many seniors reported that they got depressed, anxious, worried, sad, and they felt mental pressure during the COVID-19. In China and Bangladesh, the study found stress, anxiety, and psychological concerns during COVID-19 [9,17,18,32].This study explained that our seniors saw people dying. They stayed home for a longer time, could not meet loved ones, and could not go to doctors to solve the health problems timely.…”

“…Depression and anxiety increased in Youth compared to the elderly [12][13][14].The explanations were not clear [15]. On the other hand, the elderly in China and Bangladesh had experienced significant mental distress and a high level of fear during the pandemic [16][17][18].The rapid transmission of Coronavirus, social distancing, and the high death rates resulted in worsening pre-existing mental health of the elderly in China [19]. Also, the prevalence of loneliness in elderly population increased many folds during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to previous years [20].…”

Online Emotional Support Accompany Group Intervention and Emotional Change of the Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multi-Period Data Analysis From China

“…The occurrence of major emergencies, including COVID-19, whose transmission methods are complicated and fast-changing, has caused panic and powerlessness among the public to a large extent. The mental health of the public has been greatly affected by psychological crises or even psychological diseases emerging in some areas (Tang et al, 2020 ; Abir et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Many people have thus reported feelings of rejection, isolation, panic, and depression (Naqvi, 2020 ; Taylor et al, 2020b ), and some have even committed suicide (Elbogen et al, 2020 ). These are all causes of mental health problems (Li et al, 2021 ; Xu et al, 2021 ), psychological crisis (Abir et al, 2021 ; Pérès et al, 2021 ), and even PTSD (Budden, 2009 ; Fenster et al, 2018 ), which may, in turn, bring an unstable society and potential decrease in productivity. Psychotherapy is very important under this pandemic, but it is also difficult to perform traditional in-person psychological interventions.…”