Factors associated with Stress and Depression in COVID-19 pandemic among primary health care workers at primary care unit, Uthumphon Phisai District, Sisaket Province

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic continues around the world. There was a sudden increase in the workload for the public health officials at the primary care unit to respond to the emergency. In the midst of a high-pressure situation, a high risk of getting an infection from the patients as well as the effort to meet the requirements of patients, and relatives possibly result in stress and depression among the health workers.
Objective: To study the factors associated with stress and depression in the COVID-19 pandemic among primary health care workers at the primary care unit.
Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted at 21 sub-district health promotion hospitals, Uthumphon Phisai District, Sisaket Province in February 2022. The stress levels among the health professionals were measured with the Suanprung Stress Test-20 (SPST– 20) and depression was screened and measured by 9Q. Data were collected from 1 to 28 February 2022. Descriptive statistics were applied for analysis and multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with stress and depression.
Results: A total of 123 primary health care professionals participated in the study. It was found that factors such as sex (adj. OR 4.34; p-value 0.01), and insufficient income (adj. OR 3.67; p-value 0.03) were significantly associated with stress. Likewise, depression in the study participants was significantly associated with a sleep time of fewer than 6 hours (adj. OR 9.54; p-value 0.009), insufficient income (adj. OR 9.20; p-value 0.008), alcohol consumption (adj. OR 6.9; p-value 0.01), and family problems (adj. OR 9.02; p-value 0.01).
Conclusions: It was found that there were factors related to stress such as sex and income. The factors linked to depression were less than 6 hours of sleep, inadequate income, alcohol consumption, and family issues. Therefore, the concerned healthcare authorities should proactively implement appropriate psychological intervention programs to prevent, alleviate or treat increased stress and depression.