Depression, anxiety, and stress levels among healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic in Nablus city in the West Bank
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Date
2021-07-29
Authors
Tayseer Alawneh
Mohammed Qasarwa
Yazan Debas
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Abstract
Background: Since the 31st of December in China, most of the world has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. In comparison with the general population, healthcare workers have faced a considerable amount of psychological suffering due to multiple factors related to their line of work.
Aim: To measure the prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression in healthcare workers of different professions during the Covid-19 pandemic and to assess multiple factors that could make a significant impact on their psychology.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Nablus city, Palestine between December 2020 and January 2021. Surveys were used to collect personal information and the working conditions of the participants. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21)was used to assess the psychological impact of Covid-19 on healthcare workers.
Results: Of the 295 participants, 202(68.5%) had symptoms of depression, 215(72.9%) had symptoms of anxiety, and 204(69.2) had symptoms of stress. Being a nurse, having more years of experience, and working in the ICU is associated with higher scores of anxiety while being a specialist and working in a surgical department is associated with lower scores of anxiety. Having a low salary is associated with higher scores of stress. However, multiple factors had no association with the DASS-21 score including Gender, age, social status, number of children, being a frontline worker, smoking, living with family, the type of hospital (governmental versus non-governmental), BMI, and working schedules.
Conclusion: Our study highlighted the psychological impact of Covid-19 on health care workers and established the factors related to their psychological status. We recommend taking into consideration the issues of weak logistic planning, lack of peer and community support, and the stigma around healthcare issues in the Palestinian community.
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Keywords
Covid-19, Pandemic, Psychology, Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Healthcare workers, DASS-21, Palestine, Nablus.