Jaguga Florence, Kwobah Edith Kamaru, Mwangi Ann, Patel Kirtika, Mwogi Thomas, Kiptoo Robert, Atwoli Lukoye
Department of Mental Health, Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital, Eldoret, Kenya.
School of Science and Aerospace Studies, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.
Front Psychiatry. 2022 Feb 28;13:821610. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.821610. eCollection 2022.
Healthcare workers play a key role in responding to pandemics like the on-going COVID-19 one. Harmful alcohol use among them could result in inefficiencies in health service delivery. This is particularly concerning in sub-Saharan Africa where the health workforce is already constrained. The aim of this study is to document the burden and correlates of harmful alcohol use among healthcare workers at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya with the aim of informing policy and practice.
This study was a cross-sectional analysis of data obtained from a parent online survey that investigated the burden and factors associated with mental disorders among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya. We analyzed data obtained from a sub-population of 887 participants who completed the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test questionnaire. We used descriptive statistics to summarize the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and multivariate analysis to determine the factors associated with harmful alcohol use.
Three hundred and eighty nine (43.9%) participants reported harmful alcohol use. The factors significantly associated with increased odds of endorsing harmful alcohol use were: being male (AOR = 1.56; 95% CI = 1.14, 2.14; = 0.006), being unmarried (AOR = 2.06; 95% CI = 1.48, 2.89; < 0.001), having 11-20 years of experience as compared to having 20+ years of experience (AOR = 1.91; 95% CI = 1.18, 3.12; = 0.009), and being a specialist (AOR = 2.78; CI = 1.64, 4.78; = < 0.001) or doctor (AOR = 2.82; 95% CI = 1.74, 4.63; < 0.001) as compared to being a nurse.
A high proportion of healthcare workers reported harmful alcohol use at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya. Males, the unmarried, those with 11-20 years of experience in the health field, doctors and specialists, were more likely to report harmful alcohol use. These findings highlight the need to institute interventions for harmful alcohol use targeting these groups of healthcare workers in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to optimize functioning of the available workforce.
医护人员在应对像当前新冠疫情这样的大流行中发挥着关键作用。他们中有害饮酒行为可能导致医疗服务效率低下。在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，这一问题尤为令人担忧，因为当地卫生人力本就捉襟见肘。本研究旨在记录肯尼亚新冠疫情初期医护人员有害饮酒的负担及其相关因素，以便为政策制定和实践提供参考。
本研究是对从一项母体在线调查中获取的数据进行的横断面分析，该调查研究了肯尼亚新冠疫情期间医护人员心理障碍的负担及相关因素。我们分析了来自887名完成酒精使用障碍识别测试问卷的子群体的数据。我们使用描述性统计来总结参与者的社会人口学特征，并通过多变量分析来确定与有害饮酒相关的因素。
389名（43.9%）参与者报告有有害饮酒行为。与认可有害饮酒几率增加显著相关的因素包括：男性（调整后比值比[AOR]=1.56；95%置信区间[CI]=1.14，2.14；P=0.006）、未婚（AOR=2.06；95%CI=1.48，2.89；P<0.001）、有11 - 20年工作经验（与有20年以上工作经验相比）（AOR=1.91；95%CI=1.18，3.12；P=0.009），以及与护士相比，是专科医生（AOR=2.78；CI=1.64，4.78；P<0.001）或医生（AOR=2.82；95%CI=1.74，4.63；P<0.001）。
在肯尼亚新冠疫情初期，很大比例的医护人员报告有有害饮酒行为。男性、未婚者、卫生领域有11 - 20年工作经验者、医生和专科医生更有可能报告有害饮酒行为。这些发现凸显了在新冠疫情期间针对肯尼亚这些医护人员群体实施有害饮酒干预措施的必要性，以便优化现有劳动力的工作效能。
