PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF COVID-19 AMONGST HEALTH-CARE WORKERS IN BHOPAL, MADHYAPRADESH.

Introduction - Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the SARS Corona Virus 2 (SARSCOV 2), which was discovered in 2019 at a wet market in Wuhan, China. Healthcare workers' psychological health has been significantly impacted by the coronavirus disease. During epidemics, health care workers (HCWs) are commonly the very first point of contact and are vulnerable to infectious diseases. The aim of the study to measure the psychological effect of Covid-19 amongst healthcare workers in Bhopal city. Materials and methods- A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted amongst health care workers of Bhopal city, who were working in government and private hospitals between April 2021 to May 2021. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale - 21(DASS-21) Items was used to conduct the survey Data analysis was done using SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 22.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Ill., USA). ANOVA test was used to determine to find any significant difference comparing psychological variable between the groups of health care workers. P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results- 350 responses were received in total. Health care workers were categorised as doctors, dentists and nurses. Among the respondents 20.9% participants were males and 79.1% were females. It was noted that dentists reported significantly more psychological distress than doctors and nurses. At baseline (n=350), overall mean depression, anxiety and stress of the doctor, dentist and nurses were 20.69±7.55, 29.83±8.34 and 12.86±4.69 respectively, which was significant at p=0.00*. Conclusion – Health care workers experienced poor psychological health due to pandemic, indicating they may be at risk for greater psychological distress. The results of this study stress the greater need of research in psychological field to facilitate capacity building among healthcare workers.