Prevalence of Psychological Morbidities Among Hospital Staff During the Second Wave of COVID-19 in India.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and insomnia among hospital staff during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore changes in the rate of psychological morbidities across the first 2 waves.Methods: This cross-sectional online survey study was conducted between May 15, 2021, and June 29, 2021, among 289 hospital staff (except doctors). Depression, anxiety, and insomnia were measured using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), respectively.Results: Of respondents, 45.0% reported clinically significant depression, 29.4% reported clinically significant anxiety, and 38.7% reported insomnia. Among the nursing staff, 49.6% reported clinically significant depression, 38.1% reported clinically significant anxiety, and 43.9% reported insomnia. There was significantly higher depression (P = .04), anxiety (P = .009), and insomnia (P = .045) among nursing staff compared with other hospital staff. There was a significantly higher prevalence of insomnia among participants living with family (P = .04). There was a significantly higher mean ISI score among participants with a history of COVID-19 exposure (P = .02) and those with a history of COVID-19 infection (P = .04).Conclusions: This study showed a high prevalence of psychological morbidities among hospital staff. Moreover, psychological morbidities were significantly higher among nurses compared to other hospital staff. Based on these findings, there is an urgent need to design and implement psychological support systems for hospital staff, especially nurses, to maintain their mental health and the quality of clinical services.Prim Care Companion CNS Disord 2023;25(5):22m03469. Author affiliations are listed at the end of this article.

Facing COVID-19: Psychological Impacts on Hospital Staff in a Tertiary Care Private Hospital in India.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and insomnia among hospital staff working in a tertiary care private hospital in India during the early period of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted May 5-25, 2020, among 347 hospital staff (nursing and other hospital staff, with the exception of doctors). Depression, anxiety, and insomnia were measured using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, and the Insomnia Severity Index, respectively. RESULTS: Of respondents, 16.4% reported clinically significant depression, 13.8% reported clinically significant anxiety, and 13.3% reported insomnia. Among the nursing staff, 20.9% reported clinically significant depression, 15.9% reported clinically significant anxiety, and 17.0% reported insomnia. There was significantly higher depression (P = .000), anxiety (P = .002), and insomnia (P = .007) among nursing staff compared with other hospital staff in 2-tailed t tests. There was a significantly higher prevalence of insomnia among females (χ2 = 5.85, df = 2, P = .05). CONCLUSIONS: Study results show that more than 1 in 10 hospital staff suffer from mental health conditions, even during the beginning of the pandemic, and there is a need for active psychiatric support for the hospital staff during this pandemic. Depression, anxiety, and insomnia are significantly higher among nurses compared to other hospital staff. The results of this research suggest that comprehensive support measures should be implemented to protect and maintain mental health of hospital staff, especially nurses, while fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Depression, Anxiety, and Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Indian Expats in the Middle East: A Survey Study.

OBJECTIVE: There are multiple studies indicating that the Indian expat population working in the Middle East is at a significantly high risk for developing anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic can precipitate or exacerbate psychological distress among the expat population. The objective of this study was to evaluate psychological distress and coping mechanisms among Indian expats working in the Middle East during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: An online survey was conducted with a semistructured questionnaire using a nonprobability snowball sampling technique. In addition to demographic data, a list of COVID-19 pandemic-related questions, the Brief COPE, the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7) were also utilized. RESULTS: A total of 94 responses were received. Of the respondents, 52% reported clinically significant anxiety levels, and 41% reported clinically significant depression levels. Both the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores were significantly associated with the level of concern with air traffic restriction (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that governments of both Indian and Middle Eastern countries should pay more attention to the mental health of the expat population while combating COVID-19.