Psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on frontline health care workers in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

AimsFrontline health care workers exposed to COVID-19 patients could be at increased risk of developing psychological issues. The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of mental health-related problems, specifically depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and insomnia among health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and to compare these between medical and allied health care professionals.MethodThis cross-sectional survey was conducted using Google Form then subsequent telephone interview between June and August 2020. Using random sampling, a total of 479 health care professionals participated in the study. We collected data on demographics. Anxiety and depression were measured using 4 items Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), PTSD was measured using 4 items Primary Care (PC)-PTSD-Screen, and insomnia was measured by using a 7-item Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to assess risk factors associated with mental health symptoms.ResultOverall, 17.6% of frontline health workers had symptoms of anxiety, 15.5% had depression symptoms, 7.6% had PTSD symptoms and 5.9% had symptoms of insomnia. Compared to allied health professionals (n = 113, 24%), doctors (n = 366, 76%) had significantly higher prevalence of anxiety: 21.1% vs 06%, (OR = 4.19; 95% CI = 1.88–9.35; p-value <0.001); depression: 18% vs 6.8%, (OR = 2.99; 95% CI = 1.40–6.42; p-value 0.005); PTSD: 9.4% vs 1.7%, (OR = 5.96; 95% CI = 1.41–25.11; p-value 0.015) and insomnia: 7.4% vs 0.9%, (OR = 9.22; 95% CI = 1.24–68.4; p-value 0.03). Logistic regression analysis showed that pre-existing medical illness has significantly more risks of developing symptoms of anxiety (adjusted OR = 2.85; 95% CI = 1.71–4.76; p-value <0.001) and depression (OR = 2.29; 95% CI = 1.39–3.77; p-value 0.001). Having a postgraduate degree (adjusted OR = 6.13; 95% CI = 1.28–29.28; p-value 0.023) and working in secondary care setting (adjusted OR = 3.08; 95% CI = 1.18–8.02; p value 0.021) have significant predictors of developing anxiety symptoms among health workers. Those who had worked more than 6 weeks in COVID-19 dedicated hospitals had risk of developing symptoms of PSTD (OR = 2.83; 95% CI = 1.35–5.93; p value 0.006) and insomnia (OR = 2.63; 95% CI = 1.15–6.02; p value 0.022).ConclusionOur study demonstrated a high prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and insomnia among Bangladeshi frontline health workers (particularly among doctors) during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is an urgent need to address the mental health needs of frontline health workers.Funding: Medical Research Council, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Factors Associated With Psychological Outcomes Among Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Health Care Workers Against COVID-19 Infection in Bangladesh

“…The current study discovered that being a doctor is an independent risk factor for general health problems, depression, and anxiety symptoms among vaccinated HCWs, which was in agreement with prior studies that found doctors to be more vulnerable to COVID-19 ( 37 , 61 , 62 ). Similarly, in a study of 450 HCWs in Ethiopia, Angelo et al ( 63 ) discovered that physicians were nearly fifteen times more likely than other HCWs to accept the COVID-19 vaccine.…”

“…The Bangla version of the Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5) ( 36 ) evaluates post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms over the past month by asking five binary questions about re-experiencing, avoidance, physiological reactions, emotional numbness, and trauma-distorted guilt and blame thoughts. This scale was previously used in a Bangladeshi study ( 37 ). The total score ranges from 1 to 5, with a 3 as the cut-off value.…”

[Retracted] Study on the Mental Health Service Behavior of Medical Staff Based on Electrocardiogram

“…Kaufhold et al [ 13 ] believes that the purpose of this dose exploration study is to evaluate the dose-response relationship between sugammadex and sugammadex. The generally observed level of neostigmine reversal of rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade is not fully restored, that is, the quadruple ratio ≥0.2 [ 4 ]. Miyamoto et al [ 14 ] prove that most spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhages are saccular aneurysms caused by rupture.…”

“…On the other hand, they are prone to negative emotions and even consider refusing to provide medical services for AIDS patients. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find effective ways to help them learn effective and positive coping styles [ 4 ].…”