Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Levels Among Healthcare Staff During the COVID-19 Epidemic

• Main Authors: Zarintaj Hosseinzadeh-Shanjani, Khadijeh Hajimiri, Bahram Rostami, Shokoufeh Ramazani, Mohsen Dadashi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Iran University of Medical Sciences 2020-04-01
• Series: Basic and Clinical Neuroscience
• Subjects: stress; anxiety; depression; medical staff; covid-19
• Online Access: http://bcn.iums.ac.ir/article-1-1812-en.html

Introduction: In the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, medical staff Are  in direct contact with the patients and experience high work pressure. Direct contact with the patients could create some psychological problems in this group. Thus, the prevalence of such problems must be investigated in them. The present study aimed to determine the level of stress, anxiety, and depression among the healthcare staff in Zanjan City, Iran, during the COVID-19 epidemic. Methods: This descriptive study has a cross-sectional design. The Sample of the study population consisted of 535 Staff healthcare members of Vali-e-Asr Hospital in Zanjan City, Iran. A sample of 200 of medical staff was randomly selected to participate in the present study. The required data were collected using the electronic version of Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS) tool. Descriptive statistics, as well as the inferential statistics (the Pearson correlation coefficient, Spearman correlation coefficient, Phi, and Cramer’s correlation tests), were used to analyze the obtained data in SPSS. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 40.60 years. The mean values of depression, anxiety, and stress in study samples were 6.27, 5.38, and 8.41, respectively. There was a significant relation between gender and variables of depression, anxiety, and stress. There was also an inverse relationship between stress and variables of educational level and age (P<0/05). Conclusion: We found that our sample reported a normal degree of Depression, anxiety, and stress. The extent of stress induced by direct contact with patients was higher in female employees. Furthermore, with the increase in the education and age of the employees, their stress level decreased.