National Cardiothoracic Centre, 285284Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana.
Department of Community Health, University of Ghana Medical School, College of Health Sciences, 63533University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
Inquiry. 2021 Jan-Dec;58:469580211067479. doi: 10.1177/00469580211067479.
To assess the prevalence and factors associated with psychological distress (PD) and Medical Laboratory Professionals (MLPs) involvement in COVID-19-related duties. This study adopted an online cross-sectional, nationally stratified survey among 473 MLPs using Google Form with a designated link; Depression, anxiety, and stress scale-21 (DASS-21) was used to measure depression, anxiety, and stress (secondary outcome). We employed generalized Negative Binomial (NBR) and Poisson regression analytical approach to our study outcomes. All analyses were performed using Stata 16, and -value≤.05 deemed significant. The overall DASS-21 score ranged from asymptomatic psychological distress to severe symptomatic PD. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress were 9.1 [95%CI=6.8-12.0], 17.8 [95%CI=14.6-21.5], and 7.5 [95%CI=5.4-10.1], respectively. The result evinced a high and significant association; the univariate NBR predicted a significant increase of PD score by 12% and 18% among participants who were involved in one and two or more COVID-19-related duties, respectively, (β[95%CI] = .12 [.05-.18] and .18 [.10-.26], respectively). A binary outcome predicted approximately 2-folds of overall psychological distress among participants involved in two or more COVID-19-related duties compared with non-involvement (adjusted Prevalence Ratio [95%CI]= 2.34 [1.12-4.85]). For depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, both univariate and multivariate data analyses evinced a higher disadvantage among MLP involved in COVID-19-related duties. We observed a high tendency of experiencing significant psychological distress amongst MLP involved in COVID-19-related duties. Experience of psychological distress increased with deeper involvement in COVID-19-related activities. Psychological support should be extended to MLPs to limit the effect of these negative emotions on their cognitive and social behavior as well as job performance.
评估心理困扰（PD）的流行率和相关因素，以及医疗实验室专业人员（MLP）参与与 COVID-19 相关任务的情况。本研究采用在线横断面、全国分层调查，对 473 名 MLP 使用带有指定链接的 Google 表格进行调查；使用抑郁、焦虑和压力量表 21 项（DASS-21）测量抑郁、焦虑和压力（次要结果）。我们对研究结果采用广义负二项式（NBR）和泊松回归分析方法。所有分析均使用 Stata 16 进行，P 值≤.05 被认为具有统计学意义。DASS-21 总分范围从无症状心理困扰到严重有症状的 PD。抑郁、焦虑和压力的患病率分别为 9.1%[95%CI=6.8-12.0]、17.8%[95%CI=14.6-21.5]和 7.5%[95%CI=5.4-10.1]。结果显示，高度显著相关；单变量 NBR 预测，与未参与 COVID-19 相关任务的参与者相比，参与一项和两项或更多 COVID-19 相关任务的参与者的 PD 评分分别显著增加 12%和 18%（β[95%CI]=.12[.05-.18]和.18[.10-.26]）。与未参与相比，参与两项或更多 COVID-19 相关任务的参与者，总体心理困扰的二项结果预测约增加两倍（调整后的患病率比[95%CI]=2.34[1.12-4.85]）。对于抑郁、焦虑和压力症状，单变量和多变量数据分析均表明，参与 COVID-19 相关任务的 MLP 处于更高劣势。我们观察到，参与 COVID-19 相关任务的 MLP 经历显著心理困扰的趋势较高。参与 COVID-19 相关活动的深度越深，心理困扰的体验就越大。应该向 MLP 提供心理支持，以限制这些负面情绪对他们的认知和社会行为以及工作表现的影响。
