MENTAL HEALTH AND LIFESTYLE MODIFICATIONS AMONG HEALTHCARE WORKERS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC, HYDERABAD, INDIA

Background: Covid-19 has the potential to significantly affect the mental health of healthcare workers (HCW’s), who stand in the frontline of this crisis. This study aims to assess mental health and lifestyle changes among HCW’s with the objectives to assess and compare levels of Anxiety among Medical & Non-Medical HCW’s and among Front-line HCW’s with Second-line HCW’s; know lifestyle changes among HCW’s; know frequency of use of Stress relieving and Immunity boosting foods during Covid-19 outbreak.

Methodology: A cross-sectional partially online survey carried out among 199 HCW’s with the help of an online semi-structured questionnaire which was shared through social media. Study participants were divided into Medical and Non-Medical HCW’s. Data collected was then analysed using Chi-Square Test and Kruskal-Wallis Test.

Results: 51.75% of total participants reported to have Mild symptoms of Anxiety and 36.1% reported Minimal or No Anxiety, 7.53% and 4.52% showed symptoms of Moderate and Mild Anxiety respectively. Front-line HCW’s have shown minimal, mild and severe anxiety symptoms. Moderate anxiety symptoms were relatively higher in Second-line HCW’s. Majority of HCW’s reported decreased smoking and alcohol consumption and decreased sleep and exercise. They reported increased consumption of citrus fruits, Spices like ginger, garlic, turmeric and teas/concoctions during pandemic. The commonly reported viands for relieving stress by HCW’s were Hot-water, turmeric milk, kadha, tea, protein-rich diet and Black seeds.

Conclusion: Medical HCW’s have shown more Anxiety symptoms compared to Non-Medical HCW’s. The risk perception of Covid-19 was higher in Medical HCW’s and females compared to non-medical HCW’s and Men. The lifestyle changes were equivalently positive, negative and unchanged.

Key words: HCW’s; Medical and Non-Medical HCW’s; Lifestyle; Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD)-7.