Assessing the psychological impact of COVID-19 outbreak and its related factors on Lebanese individuals with physical disabilities.

BACKGROUND

In February 2020, the Lebanese authorities announced the first Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) case. Since then, the cases increased significantly, but information on the public's psychological status and specifically individuals with physical disabilities is still limited.

PURPOSE

The study aims to assess the psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on Lebanese individuals with physical disabilities and study the associated factors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study involving 118 individuals with physical disabilities. Each filled out an online survey with three sections: a personal questionnaire, the Arabic versions of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 and the Fear of COVID-19 scale. Data regarding participants' baseline characteristics, fear, anxiety, and depression were collected and analyzed using the Chi-square test and regressions models.

RESULTS

Individuals with physical disabilities exhibited mild fear of COVID-19, with fear being correlated with age, educational level, and employment status. Furthermore, 22.9% of the population was found to be anxious, and 31.5% were depressed. Anxiety was associated with both marital status and employment status. Finally, depression was proved to be influenced by marital status, employment, and educational level.

CONCLUSION

Results extracted showed that individuals with physical disabilities require substantial attention in order to manage their psychological state during pandemics.