Mental health impact of COVID-19 pandemic among physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers, in the province of Alberta (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hany ElGindi ◽  
Reham Shalaby ◽  
April Gusnowski ◽  
Wesley Vuong ◽  
Shireen Surood ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND During the COVID-19 pandemic, threats to mental health, psychological safety, and well-being are evident, particularly among the first responders and the healthcare staff. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine the prevalence and the potential predictors of the likely stress, generalized anxiety disorder, and major depressive disorder among healthcare workers (HCW). METHODS A cross-sectional survey was used through a survey link sent to gather demographic information and responses on several self-report scales, including the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) among the various HCW groupings who subscribed to the Text4Hope program. RESULTS This study revealed that the HCW expressed an estimated high prevalence of moderate/high stress rates 840 (81.2%), while the likelihood of moderate/severe anxiety and depressive symptoms were 369 (38.6%), and 317 (32.7%), respectively, during COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses and other HCW were significantly more likely to report depressive symptoms, compared to physicians, (F (2, 159.47) =15.89, 95% CI= (-5.05) -(-2.04). Younger age groups of HCW (≤30 y) were more prone to report likely stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, compared to HCW 41-50y and >50y (Odd’s ratio range: 1.82- 3.03). Similarly, females and those who reported a lack of social support (separated/divorced and single) among HCW, had a higher likelihood to report likely stress and depressive symptoms, respectively (OR=1.8 and 1.6). CONCLUSIONS This cross-sectional study revealed the significant impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and indicated significant vulnerability among groups of HCW in Alberta. CLINICALTRIAL Ethical approval for this research was obtained through the University of Alberta Health Research Ethics Board (Pro00086163).

2020 ◽  
pp. 019459982095927
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Carlson ◽  
David P. Larson ◽  
Erin K. O’Brien ◽  
Christine M. Lohse ◽  
Matthew L. Kircher ◽  
...  

Objective To ascertain the prevalence of and associations with distress and professional burnout among academic otolaryngology attending physicians. Study Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting Twelve US academic otolaryngology programs. Methods A questionnaire was administered that encompassed sociodemographic and professional features, the Expanded Physician Well-being Index for distress, the 2-item Maslach Burnout Inventory for professional burnout, the Patient Health Questionnaire–2 screen for major depressive disorder, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder–2 screen for generalized anxiety disorder. Results The survey response rate was 56% and included 186 attending physicians. The average respondent age was 47 years; 72% were men; 93% were married or partnered; and 86% had children. Distress was present in 40%, professional burnout in 26%, positive depression screening in 8%, and positive anxiety screening in 11%. In a univariable setting, age, hours worked in a typical week, nights on call in a typical week, and years of practice were significantly associated with distress, although in a multivariable setting, only hours worked in a typical week remained significantly associated with a positive Expanded Physician Well-being Index screen (odds ratio for each 10-hour increase, 2.61; 95% CI, 1.73-3.93; P < .001). In a univariable setting, hours worked in a typical week was significantly associated with a positive Maslach Burnout Inventory screen. Conclusion Distress or professional burnout occurs in more than a quarter of academic otolaryngology attending physicians, whereas the prevalence of depression or anxiety is approximately 10%. The number of hours worked per week had the strongest association with distress and burnout. These findings may be used to develop and implement programs to promote physician well-being and mitigate professional burnout.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Srivastava Geetika ◽  
Nanda Chhavi ◽  
Shamsi Sumaiya ◽  
Goel Amit ◽  
Bhatnagar Shrish

Background: Healthcare workers (HCW) are at risk of developing anxiety and other mental health symptoms while rendering health services during Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID 19) pandemic. Current study is probably first of its kind to quantify the anxiety levels among pediatricians along with its potential risk factors. Aim : The aim of the study was to find the prevalence of anxiety using the generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7) score among pediatricians during COVID-19 pandemic. Design This was a cross-sectional web-based survey. Materials and Methods: Data were collected from 702 pediatricians over a period of 10 days using online Electronic “Survey Monkey” questionnaire as the survey tool. Statistical Analysis Categorical variables are expressed as ratios and proportions. Numerical variables are expressed as median (range). Analysis was performed using non-parametric tests as applicable. Results: 702 pediatricians responded to the survey. Mean GAD score was 8.48 ± 5.64 and prevalence of anxiety was 72.65%. Significant anxiety was seen in 281 (40.03%). Mean GAD score was significantly high in female gender, age between 25 and 40 years, married pediatricians and among front line workers. Conclusions: This study is first of its kind from India assessing anxiety among pediatricians reflecting mental health among HCW. Female pediatricians and pediatricians who are married are at risk of having significant anxiety. We recommend formation of social support circles to maintain optimal mental health of all HCW.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nora A Althumiri ◽  
Mada H Basyouni ◽  
Nasser F BinDhim

BACKGROUND The relationship between physical activity and mental health, especially the symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), has received increasing attention in recent years. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore the association between fulfilling the World Health Organization (WHO) global recommendations on physical activity and the risk and symptoms of MDD and GAD in the Saudi population. METHODS This study was a secondary analysis of data from a large nationwide cross-sectional survey conducted via phone interviews in June and July 2020. In this study, a proportional quota sampling technique was used to obtain an equal distribution of participants, stratified by age and gender, across the 13 regions of Saudi Arabia. The main mental health screening tool used for the risk of MDD was the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Risk of GAD was measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale. Participants self-reported whether they fulfill the WHO global recommendations on (1) moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity (MIPA) and (2) vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity (VIPA). The results were then analyzed based on the following two categories: fulfilling the WHO global recommendations or not. RESULTS The data analysis included 8333 participants recruited in the main study between June and July 2020. The response rate was 81.45% (8333/10,231). Of them, 50.3% (4192/8333) were female, and the mean age was 36.5 years, with a median age of 36 years and a range from 18 to 90 years. The average total PHQ-9 score was 5.61, and the average total GAD-7 score was 4.18. For men, the average total PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores were associated with fulfilling recommendations for MIPA; however, there were no associations for VIPA in both sexes. Fulfilling the WHO’s recommendations for MIPA was associated with considerably fewer depressive symptoms in six of the nine items in the PHQ-9. Moreover, fulfilling recommendations for MIPA was associated with considerably fewer anxiety symptoms in six of the seven items in the GAD-7. However, fulfilling recommendations for VIPA was significantly associated with more depressive symptoms in one of the PHQ-9 items (“Thoughts that you would be better off dead or thoughts of hurting yourself in some way;” <i>P</i>&lt;.001). CONCLUSIONS This study has shown that fulfilling guidelines on MIPA is associated with less overall risk of MDD and GAD in males and fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms generally in a nonclinical population. In the general population, an increase in MIPA may improve well-being and general mental health.


2021 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 915-923
Author(s):  
Farah Yasmin ◽  
Kartik Dapke ◽  
Muhammad Rahman Khalid ◽  
Hina Naz ◽  
Farah Naz ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT. Over a span of 1 year, with millions infected, COVID-19 has spread to every part of the world and now poses a health threat to each and every one of us. The outbreak has consequently resulted in multiple health problems such as stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, insomnia, panic, and denial globally. Several factors have contributed to this rising number of psychiatric consults all over the world. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Pakistani population during the second wave of the pandemic in this region. We conducted an online web-based cross-sectional survey comprising 500 participants. The questionnaire assessed the demographic information, attitude, and knowledge concerning COVID-19 outbreak in addition to generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) utilizing the GAD-7 scale and depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiology Scale for Depression (CES-D) scale. The response rate of the study was 90.9%. The results of the survey indicated a prevalence of 25.4% of GAD, and 18.8% of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, nearly 34.8% of participants feared contracting COVID-19, 62.8% obtained constant critical updates regarding COVID-19, while 17.6% did not understand the knowledge regarding COVID-19. In the multivariate regression models, GAD was significantly associated with gender, age, and checking constantly of critical updates regarding COVID-19. Similarly, participants under 30 years had a higher risk of developing depressive symptoms than those above (> 30 years). Lastly, participants with no formal education were also found to be more prone to developing depression. We identified a potential threat to mental health during the pandemic.


10.2196/25438 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. e25438
Author(s):  
Nora A Althumiri ◽  
Mada H Basyouni ◽  
Nasser F BinDhim

Background The relationship between physical activity and mental health, especially the symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), has received increasing attention in recent years. Objective The aim of this study was to explore the association between fulfilling the World Health Organization (WHO) global recommendations on physical activity and the risk and symptoms of MDD and GAD in the Saudi population. Methods This study was a secondary analysis of data from a large nationwide cross-sectional survey conducted via phone interviews in June and July 2020. In this study, a proportional quota sampling technique was used to obtain an equal distribution of participants, stratified by age and gender, across the 13 regions of Saudi Arabia. The main mental health screening tool used for the risk of MDD was the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Risk of GAD was measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale. Participants self-reported whether they fulfill the WHO global recommendations on (1) moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity (MIPA) and (2) vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity (VIPA). The results were then analyzed based on the following two categories: fulfilling the WHO global recommendations or not. Results The data analysis included 8333 participants recruited in the main study between June and July 2020. The response rate was 81.45% (8333/10,231). Of them, 50.3% (4192/8333) were female, and the mean age was 36.5 years, with a median age of 36 years and a range from 18 to 90 years. The average total PHQ-9 score was 5.61, and the average total GAD-7 score was 4.18. For men, the average total PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores were associated with fulfilling recommendations for MIPA; however, there were no associations for VIPA in both sexes. Fulfilling the WHO’s recommendations for MIPA was associated with considerably fewer depressive symptoms in six of the nine items in the PHQ-9. Moreover, fulfilling recommendations for MIPA was associated with considerably fewer anxiety symptoms in six of the seven items in the GAD-7. However, fulfilling recommendations for VIPA was significantly associated with more depressive symptoms in one of the PHQ-9 items (“Thoughts that you would be better off dead or thoughts of hurting yourself in some way;” P<.001). Conclusions This study has shown that fulfilling guidelines on MIPA is associated with less overall risk of MDD and GAD in males and fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms generally in a nonclinical population. In the general population, an increase in MIPA may improve well-being and general mental health.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Di Matteo ◽  
Kathryn Fotinos ◽  
Sachinthya Lokuge ◽  
Geneva Mason ◽  
Tia Sternat ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND The lack of access to mental health care could be addressed, in part, through the development of automated screening technologies for detecting the most common mental health disorders without the direct involvement of clinicians. Objective smartphone-collected data may contain sufficient information about individuals’ behaviors to infer their mental states and therefore screen for anxiety disorders and depression. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to compare how a single set of recognized and novel features, extracted from smartphone-collected data, can be used for predicting generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and depression. METHODS An Android app was designed, together with a centralized server system, to collect periodic measurements of objective smartphone data. The types of data included samples of ambient audio, GPS location, screen state, and light sensor data. Subjects were recruited into a 2-week observational study in which the app was run on their personal smartphones. The subjects also completed self-report severity measures of SAD, GAD, and depression. The participants were 112 Canadian adults from a nonclinical population. High-level features were extracted from the data of 84 participants, and predictive models of SAD, GAD, and depression were built and evaluated. RESULTS Models of SAD and depression achieved a significantly greater screening accuracy than uninformative models (area under the receiver operating characteristic means of 0.64, SD 0.13 and 0.72, SD 0.12, respectively), whereas models of GAD failed to be predictive. Investigation of the model coefficients revealed key features that were predictive of SAD and depression. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate the ability of a common set of features to act as predictors in the models of both SAD and depression. This suggests that the types of behaviors that can be inferred from smartphone-collected data are broad indicators of mental health, which can be used to study, assess, and track psychopathology simultaneously across multiple disorders and diagnostic boundaries.


Author(s):  
Ayfer BAYINDIR ÇEVİK ◽  
Elçin Sebahat KASAPOĞLU

Aim: The aim of the study is to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and anxiety of university students about the Covid-19 epidemic at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: The study is a cross-sectional study. The sample consists of 1243 health students. The data were collected through an online questionnaire consisting of three parts. The questionnaire included questions to assess the socio-demographic characteristics of students, their level of knowledge, awareness and behavior about the Covid-19 pandemic, and the impact of the epidemic on their psychological health. The GAD-7 scale was used to assess students' anxiety levels. Results: In this study; 79.60% of the Health Care Students (HCSs) did not attend any training on COVID-19. Their sources of information were internet/social media (97.18%) and TV (97.18%). In the COVID-19 knowledge assessment test, it was found that 65.7% of them had a high level of knowledge. Most of HCSs thought that their knowledge about COVID-19 was very good (55%). The correct answer means of the 31 questions on the COVID-19 knowledge questionnaire were 22.07±1.70. In this questionnaire, it stated that the most effective methods of protection were the use of a mask in crowded environments (99.1%). Most of the HCSs stated that outbreak was affected their mental health negatively (73.1%) and some of them named this state as "Coronaphobia" (33.2%). In this study was found that some HCSs have a generalized anxiety disorder (22.6%) and anxiety experienced due to COVID "completely affected" their lives (19.5%). The average knowledge score of the students who received applied training in the hospital at the beginning of the pandemic (22.29±1.58) and anxiety level of students (6.77±5.85) was higher than those who did not receive applied training in the hospital (5.84±5.47, p<0.05). The GAD-7 scores for those with a previous diagnosis of psychological disease were 2 times higher than those without a previous diagnosis (p<0.05)Conclusion: At the beginning of the pandemic, students who received hands-on training at the hospital had higher knowledge and awareness levels. Generalized Anxiety Disorder was observed more frequently in those with a previous psychological disorder than in other students. Keywords: Anxiety; coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19); knowledge; health students; pandemic and mental health


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