Patan Academy of Health Sciences-School of Medicine, Lalitpur, Nepal.
New York Medical College/Metropolitan Hospital Center, New York, USA.
JNMA J Nepal Med Assoc. 2020 Oct 15;58(230):744-750. doi: 10.31729/jnma.5498.
COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected all aspects of society, including mental and physical health. Often missed is the fact that the pandemic is occurring against the backdrop of a very high prevalence of mental health issues. Protecting the mental health of people and healthcare workers is important for long-term positive health outcomes and proper control of the outbreak.
This is a descriptive cross-sectional, questionnaire-based, online survey by convenience sampling. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional review committee of Nepal Health Research Council (reference no. 2467). Open access, pre-validated questionnaires were used. Participants with significantly poor Mental wellbeing were identified using the WHO well-being index threshold score. Descriptive statistical analysis was carried out.
Five hundred and fifty-six participants were included in the analysis. Forty percent of the participants reported a WHO well-being index score of below 13, indicative of poor mental wellbeing and a need for further assessment for depression. Poor Mental wellbeing was more prevalent among participants less than 30 years of age, female gender, never married, diagnosed mental disorder, living alone and those using informal sources for COVID-19 related information. More participants with lower sleep quality score and higher perceived stress score reported poor Mental wellbeing.
Combating this challenge requires integration across disciplines. One potential part of the solution is psychological intervention teams. An emerging positive connotation to the pandemic is that it needs to be harnessed as a tool for improving health facilities, community participation, and fighting misinformation.
COVID-19 大流行深刻地影响了社会的方方面面，包括心理健康和身体健康。常常被忽视的一个事实是，大流行是在心理健康问题高发的背景下发生的。保护民众和医护人员的心理健康对于实现长期积极的健康结果和妥善控制疫情非常重要。
这是一项通过便利抽样进行的描述性横断面、基于问卷的在线调查。尼泊尔健康研究委员会的机构审查委员会（参考号 2467）已批准该研究。使用了开放获取、预先验证的问卷。使用世界卫生组织（WHO）幸福指数阈值评分来确定心理健康状况明显不佳的参与者。进行了描述性统计分析。
共有 556 名参与者纳入分析。40%的参与者报告其 WHO 幸福指数得分低于 13，表明心理健康状况不佳，需要进一步评估是否存在抑郁。年龄在 30 岁以下、女性、未婚、被诊断患有精神障碍、独居以及使用非正式来源获取 COVID-19 相关信息的参与者中，心理健康状况不佳的比例更高。睡眠质量评分较低和感知压力评分较高的参与者更有可能报告心理健康状况不佳。
应对这一挑战需要跨学科整合。解决方案的一个潜在部分是心理干预团队。大流行带来的一个积极的暗示是，需要将其作为改善卫生设施、社区参与和打击错误信息的工具加以利用。
