Sornsenee Phoomjai, Kongtragulsub Krittanon, Watcharajiranich Kraitouch, Chantanuwat Ratsak, Aungchayakul Awika, Mangkhalathat Kollarat, Laparojkit Siriyakorn
Department of Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand.
Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand.
Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 2022 May 27;15:1157-1165. doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S359507. eCollection 2022.
COVID-19 has become a global pandemic. Since the Thai government announced its pandemic-related restrictions, economic indicators have inevitably been impacted. Micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) entrepreneurs have adapted to the unexpected changes, undoubtedly requiring government assistance. Therefore, this study assessed the prevalence of anxiety and depression in MSME restaurant entrepreneurs after the government announced its COVID-19-related restrictions.
An online questionnaire was developed and distributed to MSME entrepreneurs' restaurants in Songkhla province, southern Thailand, in November 2021. Thai Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales (Thai HADS) were used to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depression. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze the factors associated with depression and anxiety, and the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for both variables was reported at a -value < 0.05 for significance.
In total, 181 MSME restaurant entrepreneurs responded to our online questionnaire in November 2021. The prevalence of anxiety and depression was 12.2% and 11.6%, respectively. Participants with a family history of psychological disorders (OR 34.9, -value 0.003), an underlying disease (OR 7.14, -value 0.032), a high debt-to-income ratio (OR 73.75, -value 0.007), or a low education level were more likely to have anxiety. Similarly, participants who had an underlying disease (OR 14.29, -value 0.032) and lacked access to supportive measures from the government (OR 6.94, -value 0.009) were more likely to suffer from depression.
The period of restrictive policies during the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on MSME restaurant entrepreneurs' mental health. The factors that were significantly associated with anxiety were debt-to-income ratio and concern about COVID-19 prevention and treatment. The factors that were significantly associated with depression included inadequate access to government aid. Hence, the government should focus on providing and allocating healthcare resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.
新冠疫情已成为全球大流行疾病。自泰国政府宣布与疫情相关的限制措施以来，经济指标不可避免地受到了影响。微型、小型和中型企业（MSME）的企业家们已适应了这些意外变化，无疑需要政府的援助。因此，本研究评估了在政府宣布与新冠疫情相关的限制措施后，MSME餐饮企业家中焦虑和抑郁的患病率。
2021年11月，我们编制了一份在线调查问卷，并将其分发给泰国南部宋卡府的MSME餐饮企业家。采用泰国医院焦虑抑郁量表（Thai HADS）来评估焦虑和抑郁的患病率。使用多元逻辑回归分析与抑郁和焦虑相关的因素，并报告两个变量的调整优势比（OR），P值<0.05具有统计学意义。
2021年11月，共有181名MSME餐饮企业家回复了我们的在线调查问卷。焦虑和抑郁的患病率分别为12.2%和11.6%。有心理障碍家族史（OR 34.9，P值0.003）、患有基础疾病（OR 7.14，P值0.032）、高债务收入比（OR 73.75，P值0.007）或低教育水平的参与者更易出现焦虑。同样，患有基础疾病（OR 14.29，P值0.032）且无法获得政府支持措施（OR 6.94，P值0.009）的参与者更易患抑郁症。
新冠疫情期间的限制政策对MSME餐饮企业家的心理健康产生了负面影响。与焦虑显著相关的因素是债务收入比以及对新冠疫情防治的担忧。与抑郁显著相关的因素包括政府援助获取不足。因此，政府应在新冠疫情期间着重提供和分配医疗资源。
