Psychological distress in Nepalese residents during COVID-19 pandemic: a community level survey
Abstract Background COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented health and economic impact. Psychological stress, anxiety and depression are affecting not only COVID-19 patients but also health professionals, and general population. Fear of contracting COVID-19, forced restrictive social measures, a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2020-10-01
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| Series: | BMC Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12888-020-02904-6 |
| _version_ | 1818269532773416960 |
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| author | Dhan Bahadur Shrestha Bikash Bikram Thapa Nagendra Katuwal Bikal Shrestha Chiranjibi Pant Bina Basnet Pankaj Mandal Amol Gurung Ankita Agrawal Ramhari Rouniyar |
| author_facet | Dhan Bahadur Shrestha Bikash Bikram Thapa Nagendra Katuwal Bikal Shrestha Chiranjibi Pant Bina Basnet Pankaj Mandal Amol Gurung Ankita Agrawal Ramhari Rouniyar |
| author_sort | Dhan Bahadur Shrestha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented health and economic impact. Psychological stress, anxiety and depression are affecting not only COVID-19 patients but also health professionals, and general population. Fear of contracting COVID-19, forced restrictive social measures, and economic hardship are causing mental trauma. Nepal is a developing country from South Asia where the COVID-19 pandemic is still evolving. This online survey has been carried out to understand impact of COVID- 19 on mental health of Nepalese community dwellers. Methods The COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) questionnaire adapted from the Shanghai Mental Health Centre was used for online data collection from 11 April-17 May 2020. Collected data were extracted to Microsoft excel-13 and imported and analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version-22. An initial univariate analysis was conducted for all variables to assess the distribution. Logistic regression analyses were done to estimate the odds ratios of relevant predicting variables. Results A total of 410 participants completed the self-rated questionnaires. Mean age of study participants was 34.8 ± 11.7 years with male preponderance. 88.5% of the respondents were not in distress (score less than 28) while, 11% had mild to moderate distress and 0.5% had severe distress. The prevalence of distress is higher among age group > 45 years, female gender, and post-secondary education group. Health professional were more likely to get distressed. Respondents with post-secondary education had higher odds (OR = 3.32; p = 0.020) of developing distress as compared to respondents with secondary education or lower. Conclusion There is lower rate of psychological distress in city dwellers and people with low education. Adequate intervention and evaluation into mental health awareness, and psychosocial support focused primarily on health care workers, female and elderly individuals is necessary. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T20:55:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bc229f86b718485e8e0b784cdd5cb073 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-244X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T20:55:53Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-bc229f86b718485e8e0b784cdd5cb0732022-12-22T00:12:18ZengBMCBMC Psychiatry1471-244X2020-10-012011810.1186/s12888-020-02904-6Psychological distress in Nepalese residents during COVID-19 pandemic: a community level surveyDhan Bahadur Shrestha0Bikash Bikram Thapa1Nagendra Katuwal2Bikal Shrestha3Chiranjibi Pant4Bina Basnet5Pankaj Mandal6Amol Gurung7Ankita Agrawal8Ramhari Rouniyar9Mangalbare HospitalNepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences (NAIHS), Shree Birendra HospitalNepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences (NAIHS), Shree Birendra HospitalNepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences (NAIHS), Shree Birendra HospitalNepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences (NAIHS), Shree Birendra HospitalNepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences (NAIHS), Shree Birendra HospitalNepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences (NAIHS), Shree Birendra HospitalNepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences (NAIHS), Shree Birendra HospitalGandhi International Mission NepalApex HospitalAbstract Background COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented health and economic impact. Psychological stress, anxiety and depression are affecting not only COVID-19 patients but also health professionals, and general population. Fear of contracting COVID-19, forced restrictive social measures, and economic hardship are causing mental trauma. Nepal is a developing country from South Asia where the COVID-19 pandemic is still evolving. This online survey has been carried out to understand impact of COVID- 19 on mental health of Nepalese community dwellers. Methods The COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) questionnaire adapted from the Shanghai Mental Health Centre was used for online data collection from 11 April-17 May 2020. Collected data were extracted to Microsoft excel-13 and imported and analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version-22. An initial univariate analysis was conducted for all variables to assess the distribution. Logistic regression analyses were done to estimate the odds ratios of relevant predicting variables. Results A total of 410 participants completed the self-rated questionnaires. Mean age of study participants was 34.8 ± 11.7 years with male preponderance. 88.5% of the respondents were not in distress (score less than 28) while, 11% had mild to moderate distress and 0.5% had severe distress. The prevalence of distress is higher among age group > 45 years, female gender, and post-secondary education group. Health professional were more likely to get distressed. Respondents with post-secondary education had higher odds (OR = 3.32; p = 0.020) of developing distress as compared to respondents with secondary education or lower. Conclusion There is lower rate of psychological distress in city dwellers and people with low education. Adequate intervention and evaluation into mental health awareness, and psychosocial support focused primarily on health care workers, female and elderly individuals is necessary.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12888-020-02904-6COVID-19Mental healthNepalPandemics psychological distress |
| spellingShingle | Dhan Bahadur Shrestha Bikash Bikram Thapa Nagendra Katuwal Bikal Shrestha Chiranjibi Pant Bina Basnet Pankaj Mandal Amol Gurung Ankita Agrawal Ramhari Rouniyar Psychological distress in Nepalese residents during COVID-19 pandemic: a community level survey BMC Psychiatry COVID-19 Mental health Nepal Pandemics psychological distress |
| title | Psychological distress in Nepalese residents during COVID-19 pandemic: a community level survey |
| title_full | Psychological distress in Nepalese residents during COVID-19 pandemic: a community level survey |
| title_fullStr | Psychological distress in Nepalese residents during COVID-19 pandemic: a community level survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Psychological distress in Nepalese residents during COVID-19 pandemic: a community level survey |
| title_short | Psychological distress in Nepalese residents during COVID-19 pandemic: a community level survey |
| title_sort | psychological distress in nepalese residents during covid 19 pandemic a community level survey |
| topic | COVID-19 Mental health Nepal Pandemics psychological distress |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12888-020-02904-6 |
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