Acharya Shiva Raj, Shin Yong Chul, Moon Deog Hwan
Department of Health Sciences, Busan Medical Campus, Inje University, Busan, Republic of Korea.
Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Clin Nurs Res. 2025 Jan;34(1):33-46. doi: 10.1177/10547738241278004. Epub 2024 Sep 20.
In the midst of a pandemic like COVID-19, migrant workers are highly vulnerable to the risk of mental health challenges and disorders. This study aimed to examine the variations in mental health and associated factors among migrant workers in Korea during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 830 migrant workers were included in this quantitative population-based study across two distinct COVID-19 periods: 415 from August 15, 2020 to January 20, 2021 (termed "during COVID-19" post-WHO pandemic declaration) and 415 from June 10 to September 18, 2023 (termed "after COVID-19" post-WHO and Korean Government announcement of the end COVID-19 as a global health emergency). The mental health of migrants was assessed using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for depression and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 for anxiety, and compared between the two defined COVID-19 periods. Migrant workers exhibited higher means of depression (15.99 ± 5.16 vs. 8.78 ± 5.77) and anxiety (11.02 ± 4.45 vs. 6.97 ± 4.42) during the COVID-19 compared to after the COVID-19. The prevalence of severe depression (30.4% vs. 8.2%, = .038) and severe anxiety (24.1% vs. 5.3%, = .047) was significantly higher during the COVID-19 than after the pandemic. Changes in the mean depression scores among migrants were significantly influenced by living status (0.12 ± 11.10, = .030) and employment status (0.44 ± 10.33, = .043), while changes in mean anxiety scores were influenced by social relief funds (2.88 ± 8.61, = .046) and employment status (1.13 ± 8.39, = .012). This study highlights the increased susceptibility of migrant workers to depression and anxiety during COVID-19 compared to after the pandemic. Thus, it is imperative to prioritize the expansion of social support funds, ensure employment stability, and implement regular health check-up services to reduce mental health disorders among migrants.
在新冠疫情这样的大流行期间，农民工极易面临心理健康挑战和疾病的风险。本研究旨在调查新冠疫情期间及之后韩国农民工心理健康状况的变化及其相关因素。这项基于人群的定量研究共纳入了830名农民工，涵盖两个不同的新冠疫情时期：2020年8月15日至2021年1月20日的415名（在世卫组织宣布大流行后称为“新冠疫情期间”）和2023年6月10日至9月18日的415名（在世卫组织和韩国政府宣布新冠疫情不再构成全球卫生紧急事件后称为“新冠疫情之后”）。使用患者健康问卷-9评估抑郁状况，使用广泛性焦虑障碍量表-7评估焦虑状况，并对两个定义的新冠疫情时期的农民工心理健康状况进行比较。与新冠疫情之后相比，农民工在新冠疫情期间的抑郁均值（15.99±5.16对8.78±5.77）和焦虑均值（11.02±4.45对6.97±4.42）更高。新冠疫情期间严重抑郁（30.4%对8.2%，P = 0.038）和严重焦虑（24.1%对5.3%，P = 0.047）的患病率显著高于疫情之后。农民工抑郁平均分的变化受生活状况（0.12±11.10，P = 0.030）和就业状况（0.44±10.33，P = 0.043）的显著影响，而焦虑平均分的变化受社会救济金（2.88±8.61，P = 0.046）和就业状况（1.13±8.39，P = 0.012）的影响。本研究强调，与疫情之后相比，农民工在新冠疫情期间更容易出现抑郁和焦虑。因此，必须优先扩大社会支持资金、确保就业稳定并提供定期健康检查服务，以减少农民工的心理健康问题。
