1.Psychological symptoms among healthcare workers handling COVID-19 patients
Sim Sze Kiat ; Lau Bik Liang ; Siti Rosnaini Zaila Ramli ; Nur Hazira Abdul Muti ; Nur Muzfirah Aniqah Abdul Rahman ; Jevitha Panicker Balachandran ; Alya Syafiqah Hamzah
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2021;76(2):138-144
Introduction: Healthcare workers serve as the frontliners
against the coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) and this
puts them most at risk of infection as they attend to
numerous patients with unknown status. This study aimed
to examine stress, anxiety, and depression among
healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients in Sarawak
General Hospital (SGH), Malaysia.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional observational
study conducted in SGH during the pandemic with an online
self-administered questionnaire composed of two parts, the
socio-demographic characteristics, and the Depression
Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS).
Results: A total of 105 healthcare workers responded to this
study. A questionnaire in both Bahasa Melayu and English
was used. The findings showed that all healthcare workers
had mild anxiety, with the majority experiencing mild stress
(57.1%), and almost half of the respondents experiencing
mild depression (41%). Female subjects had a significant
higher mean score in anxiety level and stress level
compared to male subjects (10.0±3.20 vs. 8.6±2.93, p<0.05;
14.1±4.76 vs. 10.7±3.70, p<0.05, respectively). Staff who were
transferred from other units to handle COVID-19 cases
experienced more psychological symptoms. There were
significant correlations between the depression, anxiety and
stress levels among the healthcare workers and the number
of children they had (r=0.739, p=0.001; r=0.642, p=0.001; r=1,
p =0.001 respectively). However, the stress level among the
healthcare workers was reversely correlated with their years
of working experience (r=-0.199, p=0.042).
Conclusion: This study identified some socio-demographic
factors associated with increased levels of stress, anxiety
and depression among the healthcare workers during
pandemic, which may lay ground for future interventions.