Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety and Insomnia among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19

During the pandemic of covid-19, many physicians got anxiety, depression, and insomnia that affected their performance at work and daily life. According to the psychiatry department of Imperial College in London, they reported that it is necessary to assess the mental health of the health workers who were on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic and to evaluate the pattern of sleep and other issues that may affect their mental status. The aim of the study is to assess and analyze the existing evidence on the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and insomnia among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. A cross-sectional study will be conducted in PSMMC, Riyadh. Assessing the psychosocial effect of COVID-19 among health care workers. sampling size and sampling procedure: 380 HCWs will be included in the estimated proportion of anxiety and depression. All doctors and nurses who met the criteria will be included in the study. Data collection form: Data will be utilized by conducting an online survey to decrease the risk of spreading infection through papers. The following variables will be collected and entered into Microsoft Excel 2010 x demographics x Medical characteristics x Job title and location x The psychosocial effects. The characteristics of the study participants are shown in Table (1). The mean age of the participants was 31.81(±7.64) years, and more than half of the participants were males at 52.15%, and 61.9% were single. Most of the participants were doctors at 76.7%, the vast majority (97.9%) were working during COVID-19, and 94.9% managed suspected COVID-19 cases, with a 73.3% high exposure level. For depression, more than half (59.32%) of the participants reported a loss of interest or feeling low, 39.41% and 33.90% agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic affected their daily life routine including feeling locked down and loss of interest in fun activities. For anxiety, the majority of the respondents reported experiencing anxiety at 83.9%, and almost half of them reported stigma thoughts and somatization at 49.58%, and 50.42%, respectively. Almost half and even more than half of the participants agree that the COVID-19 pandemic affected their daily life routine. In regards to insomnia, 61.44% said that their sleep pattern was affectedCOVID-19D 19 Pandemic, 75.85% has their social life negatively affected, and 82.20% had their work performance modified to follow the standard operating procedure. Data is shown in Table (2). The mean score of anxiety by the characteristics of the participants is shown in Table (3). The mean of the total anxiety score was 16.77(±3.98). Females showed a significantly higher mean score of anxiety compared to males at 17.55(±3.82) vs. 16.16(±4.01), with a p-value of <0.001. The anxiety score was the highest among doctors at 16.38(±3.93), with a significant p-value (0.003). The anxiety score was also significantly higher among those who were working during the pandemic, managing suspected cases, and with a high level of exposure to COVID-19.   The mean of the total depression score was 7.37(±2.69), and it differed significantly (p <0.05) by gender, marital status, number of children, job title, working during the pandemic, and exposure level. Females score was higher at 8.06(±2.48) whilethe males one was 6.73(±2.73). Nurses showed the highest depression score at 8.26(±2.63), and those with high exposure levels showed a higher score at 7.91(2.59) compared to moderate exposure at 5.89(±2.40). Data is shown in Table (4) For insomnia, the mean total score was 2.19(±1). It was also significantly higher among females at 2.36(0.96), and nurses at 2.44(±0.96). Similarly, those who worked during the pandemic, managed suspected cases, and were at high exposure levels showed significantly higher insomnia scores as shownTablee (5). This study explored the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and insomnia and their associated factors among COVID-19 HCWs in Saudi Arabia. The results highlighted that the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and insomnia are concerning, and considered far higher compared to what was reported globally in this regard.