The role of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic on anxiety and stress among the Palestinian general population: A cross sectional study
Abstract BackgroundImplication of quarantine as a global response to COVID-19 may have created a dramatic psychological and emotional effect on people, which are yet to be studied and thoroughly understood. We aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of anxiety and stress severity among the Palestinian population.MethodsA cross-sectional web-based survey throughout the social media on internet was conducted. An anonymous online questionnaire and snowball recruiting technique were used to target the general public in Palestine during the lockdowns of COVID-19 pandemic. Data was collected between 6- 16 April 2020 which corresponded to almost the middle interval of the strict massive lockdown measures in Palestine started 22 March to 5 May 2020. Multivariate logistic regression models were developed for the outcome variables (stress and anxiety severity).ResultsAbout 2819 individuals completed the questionnaire. The mean (range) age was 29.47 (18-71) years. Anxiety prevalence was 25.15%, with 20.08% as mild/moderate anxiety. The prevalence of stress was 38.77% with 22.21% had mild/moderate stress. The prevalence of both anxiety and stress was 20.3% among participants. Males were less likely to have mild\moderate degree or sever\extremely sever degree of stress compared to females. Shortage of food supply, those having high-risk group family member, those who considered conversation with other people as source of information and those reporting higher fear of being infected were more likely to have higher degree of stress and/or anxiety compared to normal. Those with a monthly income of less than 2000 New Israeli Shekels (<555 USD) were significantly more likely to have mild/moderate stress compared to normal and higher monthly incomes. Gaza residency also shows significant negative predictor of stress severity compared to West Bank and Jerusalem. ConclusionsThis study reported high rates of anxiety and stress among the Palestinian general population during COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. These findings highlight the importance of follow up of these findings for better management of the pandemic and a preferable handling of the socio-economical factors and their impacts on the psychological health of the population.