Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Department of Health System and Policy, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2021 Jun 8;16(6):e0252664. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252664. eCollection 2021.
In late 2019, a new coronavirus disease known as COVID-19 (novel coronavirus disease 2019) was identified. As there is no any drug to treat this pandemic, the healthcare professionals are disproportionately at higher risk. The mental health outcome is expected to be high. Anxiety is expected to have a significant impact on health professionals, especially among those who work without adequate resources for self-protection.
The objectives of this research was to assess self-reported anxiety symptoms and associated factors among Ethiopian healthcare professionals in the early stages of the pandemic.
We have conducted an online cross-sectional study to collect information from healthcare professionals in Ethiopia during the early stage of the outbreak from April 7, 2020 to May 19, 2020. GAD-7 was used for measurement of anxiety. We have used a cut of point of 10 and above to report anxiety symptoms. We have used Google Forms for online data collection and SPSS-22 for analysis. To determine associated factors for anxiety, a binary logistic regression model was used. Variables with p-value < 0.2 during the bivariable binary logistic regression were exported for further analysis in the multivariable binary logistic regression. Finally, variables with p-value <0.05 were considered as significantly associated with the outcomes.
Three hundred and eighty-eight healthcare professionals filled the online questionnaire; Majority (71.1%) were males. Significant number of respondents (78.9%) reported lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) at the work place. The prevalence of anxiety was 26.8%. Being female (AOR: 1.88; 95% C.I:1.11, 3.19), visiting/treating 30-150 patients per day (AOR: 3.44; 95% C.I:1.51, 7.84), those employed at private healthcare institutions (AOR: 2.40; 95% C.I:1.17, 4.90), who do not believe that COVID-19 is preventable (AOR: 2.04; 95% C.I:1.04, 4.03) and those who reported lack of PPE (AOR: 1.98; 95% C.I:1.04, 3.79) were more likely to be anxious.
The anxiety prevalence among healthcare professionals in Ethiopia during early stage of COVID-19 pandemic was high. This study shows that lack of preventive equipment, being female, contact with many patients, low self-efficacy and working in private health facilities were risk factors for anxiety. Anxiety prevention among health professionals during COVID-19 pandemic requires a holistic approach including provision of sufficient PPE, improving self-efficacy and addressing problems both at public and private institutions and focusing more on female health professionals.
2019 年末，一种新的冠状病毒疾病被称为 COVID-19（新型冠状病毒 2019 年疾病）。由于没有任何药物可以治疗这种大流行，医疗保健专业人员面临的风险过高。预计心理健康状况会很高。预计焦虑会对卫生专业人员产生重大影响，尤其是在那些没有足够资源进行自我保护的人当中。
本研究的目的是评估 COVID-19 大流行早期埃塞俄比亚医疗保健专业人员的自我报告焦虑症状及其相关因素。
我们进行了一项在线横断面研究，于 2020 年 4 月 7 日至 5 月 19 日期间在埃塞俄比亚的医疗保健专业人员中收集信息。GAD-7 用于测量焦虑。我们使用 10 分及以上的切点报告焦虑症状。我们使用 Google Forms 进行在线数据收集和 SPSS-22 进行分析。为了确定焦虑的相关因素，我们使用了二元逻辑回归模型。在双变量二元逻辑回归中 p 值<0.2 的变量被导出到多变量二元逻辑回归中进行进一步分析。最后，p 值<0.05 的变量被认为与结果显著相关。
388 名医疗保健专业人员填写了在线问卷；大多数（71.1%）为男性。相当数量的受访者（78.9%）报告在工作场所缺乏足够的个人防护设备（PPE）。焦虑的患病率为 26.8%。女性（AOR：1.88；95%CI：1.11，3.19）、每天诊治 30-150 名患者（AOR：3.44；95%CI：1.51，7.84）、在私营医疗机构工作的人（AOR：2.40；95%CI：1.17，4.90）、不相信 COVID-19 可以预防的人（AOR：2.04；95%CI：1.04，4.03）以及报告缺乏 PPE 的人（AOR：1.98；95%CI：1.04，3.79）更有可能焦虑。
COVID-19 大流行早期，埃塞俄比亚医疗保健专业人员的焦虑患病率较高。本研究表明，缺乏预防设备、女性、接触大量患者、自我效能感低以及在私营医疗机构工作是焦虑的危险因素。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，需要采取整体方法预防卫生专业人员的焦虑，包括提供足够的 PPE、提高自我效能感，并解决公共和私营机构的问题，并更加关注女性卫生专业人员。
