PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON HEALTH CARE WORKERS IN UTTAR PRADESH
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Date
2021
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DRPCAU, PUSA
Abstract
The world is suffering with an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that had spread all over the world. Along with its high infectivity and fatality rates, the COVID-19 has caused universal psychological impact by causing mass hysteria, economic burden and financial losses. The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with significant occupational stressors and challenges for front line healthcare workers (HCWs), including COVID-19 exposure risk. Healthcare workers fighting against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are under tremendous pressure, which puts them at an increased risk of developing psychological distress problems.
This study sought to assess the psychiatric symptoms of healthcare workers, identity protective factors contributing to psychological stress and evaluate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ayodhya district of Uttar Pradesh, India. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of psychological problems in different healthcare workers (i.e., doctors, nurses, paramedics, administration staff and supporting staffs) during the COVID-19 in Ayodhya district, Uttar Pradesh and explore factors that are associated with the onset of psychological problems in this population during this public health crisis.
A study, interview-based survey was conducted in January 2021 among healthcare workers during the COVID-19. COVID-19 pandemic poses a unique medical challenge to the humanity in recent times. The psychological impact of the pandemic itself and the lockdown in particular is likely to be huge. Around 75% of respondents had a medium level of knowledge about particular information, while 83.33% had a medium level of knowledge about current information on the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting the medical authorities in Uttar Pradesh. According to the study, 78.33% of health-care professionals had a medium level of psychiatric symptoms, 58.33% had a medium level of protective factors contributing to psychological stress and 68.33% had a medium level of psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
Frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) face a substantially higher risk of infection and death due to excessive COVID-19 exposure directly as the result of providing care to patients with COVID-19. In addition, attention to negative or neutral information about the COVID-19, receiving negative feedback from families and friends who joined front-line work, and unwillingness to join front-line work if given a free choice were three major factors for these psychological problems. Psychological problems are pervasive among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Receiving negative information and participating in front-line work appear to be important risk factors for psychological problems. The psychological health of different healthcare workers should be protected during the COVID-19 pandemic with timely interventions and proper information feedback.