Psychological Impact of COVID-19 among Health-care Workers in Nepal

Abstract

Many psychological problems including stress, anxiety, insomnia, depression, frustration, denial, anger, and fear emerged during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. This study was done to assess the prevalence and associated factors of depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, and fear experienced by health-care workers (HWs) during COVID-19 in Nepal. This was web-based analytical cross-sectional study conducted among health-care workers from December 27, 2020, to February 28, 2021, all over Nepal. All the HWs including doctors, nurses, and allied health-care professional from 7 provinces were selected using convenience sampling technique. Data collection was done using the validated questionnaires. Univariate and binary logistic regression analyses were performed to find the association between the different variables. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. A total of 608 HWs completed the survey with a mean age of 30.82 ± 6.68. About 27% had symptoms of depression, 28% anxiety, 10% stress, 18% insomnia, and 49.8% fear of COVID-19. Resident doctors and health workers who had bachelor level of education and working experience <2 years were significantly associated with higher odds of experiencing depression and anxiety. Health workers working 2–5 years and with more than 5 years’ experience had significantly lower odds of experiencing fear. History of tobacco use or medical condition had significantly higher odds of experiencing depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, and fear. This study concluded that the prevalence of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and fear was found to be high. Resident doctors and health workers with bachelor level of education, working experience <2 years, and history of medical condition were significantly associated with experiencing adverse mental health outcomes.