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Mental health of health care workers during the hour of crisis – A study from tertiary care hospital in North India

Publication Type : Journal Article

Publisher : Medknow

Source : Industrial Psychiatry Journal

Url : https://doi.org/10.4103/ipj.ipj_125_21

Campus : Faridabad

School : School of Medicine

Year : 2023

Abstract : ABSTRACT Background and Aims: This cross-sectional study aimed to analyze the psychosocial, behavioral, and sleep impact of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic on healthcare workers (HCWs) at a tertiary-care hospital in Northern India. Materials and Methods: An online questionnaire including three psychological scales - peritraumatic distress inventory (PDI), insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and Depression anxiety stress scale was circulated among the HCWs at a tertiary-care hospital in Northern India. Results: Three hundred and ninety-six HCWs (Mean age standard deviation: 34.8 [8.1%] years; 181 females) responded. Place of posting was active COVID area (27.2%), reserve active COVID team (23.2%), trained reserve pool (29.5%), and non-COVID areas (19.9%). More than half of all the respondents (51%) had abnormal PDI score (>14) with a propensity to develop posttraumatic stress disorder. Furthermore, there was a significantly higher prevalence of abnormal PDI scores in those involved in active COVID care units (74%) versus non-COVID care unit (24%, P = 0.001). More than 60% of all the respondents had abnormal ISI score suggesting significant insomnia. Stress was seen in 71% of all the respondents while 82% were anxious and 77% participants had depressive symptoms. Hence, the psychological morbidity among the HCWs was high. Conclusion: Our study found a much higher prevalence of peritraumatic distress, insomnia, anxiety, stress, and depression among the HCWs, more so in those working in COVID areas. Factors indigenous to Indian population in terms of psychological health must be studied and addressed to reduce this psychological morbidity since the battle with COVID is long.

Cite this Research Publication : Babita Ghai, Rajni Sharma, Lokesh Saini, Jaivinder Yadav, Krishan Kumar, Akhilesh Sharma, Priyanka Madaan, Ankita Bhati, Pooja Tyagi, Suman Yadav, Mohit Bhutani, Divyansh Sharma, Vikas Suri, Mental health of health care workers during the hour of crisis - A study from tertiary care hospital in North India, Industrial Psychiatry Journal, Medknow, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4103/ipj.ipj_125_21

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