Level of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic
Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic places a high demand on frontline healthcare workers. Healthcare workers are at high-risk of contracting the virus and are subjected to its consequential emotional and psychological effects. This study aimed to measure the level of depressi...
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| Format: | Article |
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PeerJ Inc.
2022-12-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/14246.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797420132212932608 |
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| author | Abbas Shamsan Mohammed Alhajji Yasmine Alabbasi Ali Rabaan Saad Alhumaid Mansour Awad Abbas Al Mutair |
| author_facet | Abbas Shamsan Mohammed Alhajji Yasmine Alabbasi Ali Rabaan Saad Alhumaid Mansour Awad Abbas Al Mutair |
| author_sort | Abbas Shamsan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic places a high demand on frontline healthcare workers. Healthcare workers are at high-risk of contracting the virus and are subjected to its consequential emotional and psychological effects. This study aimed to measure the level of depression and anxiety among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This was a cross-sectional study; data were collected from healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia using a survey that included the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7. A total of 326 participants took part in the study by completing and submitting the survey. Results The vast majority of the participating healthcare workers were Saudi nationals (98.8%) working in a public healthcare facility (89.9%). The results indicated that most of the participants had mild levels of anxiety and depression. A total of 72.5% of the respondents had anxiety, ranging from mild (44.1%) to moderate (16.2%) and severe (12.2%). Moreover, 24.4% of the respondents had depression ranging from mild (21.7%) to moderate (2.1%) and severe (0.6%). The generalized linear models showed that the <30 age group (Beta = 0.556, p = 0.037) and the 30–39-year age group (Beta = 0.623, p = 0.019) were predicted to have anxiety. The analysis revealed that females were more anxious (Beta = 0.241, p = 0.005) than males. Healthcare providers working in primary healthcare centers (Beta = −0.315, p = 0.008) and labs (Beta = −0.845. p = 0.0001 were predicted to be less anxious than those working in other healthcare facilities. The data analysis showed that participants with good economic status had more depression than the participants in the other economic status groups (Beta = 0.067, p = 0.003). Conclusion This study found that the level of anxiety and depression in healthcare workers was mild. The factors that may contribute to anxiety in healthcare workers included being female, being younger than 30 or between the ages of 31 and 39, working in a specialized hospital facility, and the number of COVID-19 cases the workers dealt with. Economic status was associated with depression. A longitudinal study design is needed to understand the pattern of anxiety levels among healthcare workers over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:58:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7f1b309ccd064bd09e54bd9eac96ed43 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:58:14Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-7f1b309ccd064bd09e54bd9eac96ed432023-12-03T10:01:25ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592022-12-0110e1424610.7717/peerj.14246Level of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemicAbbas Shamsan0Mohammed Alhajji1Yasmine Alabbasi2Ali Rabaan3Saad Alhumaid4Mansour Awad5Abbas Al Mutair6Research Center, Dr. Sulaiman Alhabib Medical Group, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaMinistry of Health, Al-ahsa, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Maternity and Child Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaMolecular Diagnostic Laboratory, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaAdministration of Pharmaceutical Care, Alahsa Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, Alahsa, Saudi ArabiaCommitment Administration, General Directorate of Health Affairs, Medina, Saudi ArabiaResearch Center, Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al-ahsa, Saudi ArabiaBackground The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic places a high demand on frontline healthcare workers. Healthcare workers are at high-risk of contracting the virus and are subjected to its consequential emotional and psychological effects. This study aimed to measure the level of depression and anxiety among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This was a cross-sectional study; data were collected from healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia using a survey that included the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7. A total of 326 participants took part in the study by completing and submitting the survey. Results The vast majority of the participating healthcare workers were Saudi nationals (98.8%) working in a public healthcare facility (89.9%). The results indicated that most of the participants had mild levels of anxiety and depression. A total of 72.5% of the respondents had anxiety, ranging from mild (44.1%) to moderate (16.2%) and severe (12.2%). Moreover, 24.4% of the respondents had depression ranging from mild (21.7%) to moderate (2.1%) and severe (0.6%). The generalized linear models showed that the <30 age group (Beta = 0.556, p = 0.037) and the 30–39-year age group (Beta = 0.623, p = 0.019) were predicted to have anxiety. The analysis revealed that females were more anxious (Beta = 0.241, p = 0.005) than males. Healthcare providers working in primary healthcare centers (Beta = −0.315, p = 0.008) and labs (Beta = −0.845. p = 0.0001 were predicted to be less anxious than those working in other healthcare facilities. The data analysis showed that participants with good economic status had more depression than the participants in the other economic status groups (Beta = 0.067, p = 0.003). Conclusion This study found that the level of anxiety and depression in healthcare workers was mild. The factors that may contribute to anxiety in healthcare workers included being female, being younger than 30 or between the ages of 31 and 39, working in a specialized hospital facility, and the number of COVID-19 cases the workers dealt with. Economic status was associated with depression. A longitudinal study design is needed to understand the pattern of anxiety levels among healthcare workers over time during the COVID-19 pandemic.https://peerj.com/articles/14246.pdfAnxietyCOVID-19DepressionHealthcare workersSaudi Arabia |
| spellingShingle | Abbas Shamsan Mohammed Alhajji Yasmine Alabbasi Ali Rabaan Saad Alhumaid Mansour Awad Abbas Al Mutair Level of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic PeerJ Anxiety COVID-19 Depression Healthcare workers Saudi Arabia |
| title | Level of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | Level of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Level of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Level of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | Level of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | level of anxiety and depression among healthcare workers in saudi arabia during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | Anxiety COVID-19 Depression Healthcare workers Saudi Arabia |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/14246.pdf |
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