Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.
Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2024 Feb 29;16(1):e1-e6. doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v16i1.4175.
This review mapped the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs) and the adult general population in Africa.
The study focussed on anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide cases to determine the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of the selected population.
A scoping review was conducted on relevant database and search engines. The search resulted in 143 studies. Five studies met the inclusion criteria for synthesis.
Results indicated anxiety was more prevalent among HCWs as opposed to the adult general population, which was in the rise of suicide cases. Among HCWs, mental health was negatively impacted by the loss of their infected patients and concerns over infecting family members. The adult general population was impacted because of isolation and their fear of contracting the virus.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the increase of mental health issues among HCWs as evidenced by a high prevalence of anxiety compared to that of the adult general population. There was, however, a rise in depression and suicide cases among the adult general population.Contribution: This study will assist in adding more knowledge to build a robust and responsive strategy to mental health problems during and post-pandemics like COVID-19. Strategies that have appeared effective in combatting the impact of COVID-19 on mental health include support packages established for frontline HCWs such as social media online chat groups.
本综述描绘了 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行对非洲医护人员（HCWs）和成年普通人群心理健康的影响。
本研究集中于焦虑、抑郁、创伤后应激障碍和自杀案例，以确定 COVID-19 对所选人群心理健康的影响。
对相关数据库和搜索引擎进行了范围综述。搜索结果产生了 143 项研究。有 5 项研究符合综合纳入标准。
结果表明，与成年普通人群相比，医护人员的焦虑更为普遍，而自杀案例则呈上升趋势。在医护人员中，因失去感染患者以及担心感染家人，心理健康受到负面影响。成年普通人群则因为隔离以及对感染病毒的恐惧而受到影响。
COVID-19 大流行导致医护人员的心理健康问题增加，与成年普通人群相比，焦虑的患病率更高。然而，成年普通人群的抑郁和自杀案例有所增加。
本研究将有助于在大流行期间和之后建立针对心理健康问题的稳健和响应策略方面增加更多知识。在抗击 COVID-19 对心理健康影响方面似乎有效的策略包括为一线医护人员建立支持方案，例如社交媒体在线聊天群组。
