Department of Public Health, CiST College, Pokhara University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Nobel College, Pokhara University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
PLoS One. 2023 Apr 6;18(4):e0283948. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283948. eCollection 2023.
The frontline health workers are the key players in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, however, several incidences of attacks, stigmatization, and discrimination towards them have been reported throughout the world during the peak of infection. The social impact experienced by health professionals can alter their efficiency and also lead to mental distress. This study aimed to examine the extent of social impact experienced by health professionals currently working in Gandaki Province, Nepal along with the factors associated with their depression status.
This was a mixed-method study where a cross-sectional online survey was executed among 418 health professionals followed by in-depth interviews with 14 health professionals of Gandaki Province. The bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were performed to identify the factors associated with depression at 5% level of significance. The information collected from the in-depth interviews was clustered into themes by the researchers.
Out of 418 health professionals, 304 (72.7%) expressed that COVID-19 has impacted their family relationships, whereas 293 (70.1%) expressed that it impacted their relationships with friends and relatives, and 282 (68.1%) expressed it impacted their relationships with community people. The prevalence of depression among health professionals was noted at 39.0%. Being a female (aOR:1.425,95% CI:1.220-2.410), job dissatisfaction (aOR:1.826, 95% CI:1.105-3.016), COVID-19 impact on family relation (aOR:2.080, 95% CI:1.081-4.002), COVID-19 impact on relationship with friends and relatives (aOR:3.765, 95% CI:1.989-7.177), being badly treated (aOR:2.169, 95% CI:1.303-3.610) and experiencing moderate (aOR:1.655, 95% CI:1.036-2.645) and severe fear (aOR:2.395, 95% CI:1.116-5.137) of COVID-19 were found to the independent predictors of depression. It was noted that the pandemic has an effect on the social relations of health professionals in multiple ways.
This study noted that there is a significant impact of COVID-19 on health professionals in terms of their social and mental health aspects. The social impact experienced by health professionals is an important predictor of their mental health. The mental health and well-being of these vital workforces can be enhanced by focusing on the social aspect during the pandemic.
前线卫生工作者是抗击 COVID-19 大流行的关键人物，然而，在感染高峰期，世界各地都有几起因攻击、污名化和歧视卫生工作者而引起的事件。卫生专业人员所经历的社会影响可能会降低他们的效率，并导致精神困扰。本研究旨在调查目前在尼泊尔加德满都省工作的卫生专业人员所经历的社会影响程度，以及与他们的抑郁状况相关的因素。
这是一项混合方法研究，对 418 名卫生专业人员进行了横断面在线调查，随后对加德满都省的 14 名卫生专业人员进行了深入访谈。采用双变量分析和多变量逻辑回归来确定与抑郁相关的因素，显著性水平为 5%。研究人员将深入访谈中收集的信息聚类成主题。
在 418 名卫生专业人员中，有 304 名（72.7%）表示 COVID-19 影响了他们的家庭关系，293 名（70.1%）表示影响了他们与朋友和亲戚的关系，282 名（68.1%）表示影响了他们与社区人员的关系。卫生专业人员的抑郁患病率为 39.0%。女性（优势比[OR]：1.425，95%置信区间[CI]：1.220-2.410）、工作不满（OR：1.826，95%CI：1.105-3.016）、COVID-19 对家庭关系的影响（OR：2.080，95%CI：1.081-4.002）、COVID-19 对与朋友和亲戚关系的影响（OR：3.765，95%CI：1.989-7.177）、遭受虐待（OR：2.169，95%CI：1.303-3.610）以及中度（OR：1.655，95%CI：1.036-2.645）和严重恐惧（OR：2.395，95%CI：1.116-5.137）被发现是抑郁的独立预测因素。研究指出，大流行以多种方式影响卫生专业人员的社会关系。
本研究指出，COVID-19 对卫生专业人员的社会和心理健康方面有重大影响。卫生专业人员所经历的社会影响是其心理健康的一个重要预测因素。在大流行期间，关注社会方面可以提高这些重要工作者的心理健康和幸福感。
