Anxiety and insomnia prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare workers in the Ministry of Health and Prevention- United Arab Emirates

Authors

  • Hussain Alrand Assistant undersecretary of public health Ministry of Health and Prevention
  • Alya Harbi Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health and Prevention, United Arab Emirates
  • Hira Abdul Razzak Department of Statistics and Research Center, Ministry of Health and Prevention, United Arab Emirates http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6393-6680
  • Mohamed Tawfik Eltabbakh Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Suez Canal University, Egypt
  • Lubna Al Shaali Department of Health Policies and Legislations, Ministry of Health and Prevention, United Arab Emirates
  • Rasha E. Salama Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health and Prevention, United Arab Emirates;Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Egypt

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20222036

Keywords:

Anxiety, Insomnia, Impact, COVID-19, Healthcare providers, United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown have the potential to influence the mental health of the frontline healthcare workers (HCWs), working in the time of crisis. Hence, it is essential to monitor the anxiety, sleep, along with the other mental health concerns to realize the interceding risk factors as well as to inform tailored interventions. This study therefore aims to detect the psychological impact of COVID-19 experienced by the healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic working in the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) facilities.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out between 25 October 2020 to 30 September 2021 by recruiting 404 healthcare providers currently working in different hospitals of the MOHAP.

Results: Of 404 healthcare workers, 76.7% were females and 23.3% were males. About 35.6% were aged 36-45 years. The majority of the participants were non-locals (84.4), 23.5% were doctors/physicians, and 58.7% were nurses, 7.7% were pharmacist, remaining were other healthcare providers. Overall, 10.6% and 3.2% of all healthcare workers reported severe symptoms of anxiety, and insomnia respectively. Only age, gender, qualification, worried about being infected with COVID-19 and likelihood of being infected from COVID-19 showed statistically significant results (p<0.05).

Conclusions: The pandemic with respect to the COVID-19 tends to have a noteworthy impact on the mental health of healthcare workers. This evidence indicates that substantial proportion of healthcare workers may experience sleep disturbances and anxiety during the outbreak suggesting a necessity to indicating traditions of mitigating the risks of mental health and regulate interventions under pandemic situations.

References

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Yin Q, Sun Z, Liu T, Ni X, Deng X, Jia Y, et al. Posttraumatic stress symptoms of health care workers during the corona virus disease 2019. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2020;27(3):384-95.

Salazar De Pablo G, Vaquerizo-Serrano J, Catalan A, Arango C, Moreno C, Ferre F, et al. Impact of coronavirus syndromes on physical and mental health of health care workers: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2020;275:48-57.

Spoorthy MS, Pratapa SK, Mahant S. Mental health problems faced by healthcare workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic–a review. Asian J Psychiatry. 2020;51:102119.

Ji D, Ji YJ, Duan XZ, Li G, Sun ZQ, Song XA, et al. Prevalence of psychological symptoms among ebola survivors and healthcare workers during the 2014-2015 ebola outbreak in sierra leone: a cross-sectional study. Oncotarget. 2017;8:12784-91.

Maharaj S, Lees T, Lal S. Prevalence and risk factors of depression, anxiety, and stress in a cohort of Australian nurses. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16:61.

Consolo U, Bellini P, Bencivenni D, Iani C, Checchi V. Epidemiological aspects and psychological reactions to COVID-19 of dental practitioners in the Northern Italy districts of modena and reggio emilia. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17:3459.

Vizheh M, Qorbani M, Arzaghi SM, Muhidin S, Javanmard Z, Esmaeili M. The mental health of healthcare workers in the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2020;26:1-2.

Blake H, Bermingham F, Johnson G, Tabner A. Mitigating the psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers: a digital learning package. Int J Env Res Public Health. 2020;17(9):2997.

Zhang WR, Wang K, Yin L, Zhao WF, Xue Q, Peng M, Min BQ, Tian Q, Leng HX, Du JL, Chang H. Mental health and psychosocial problems of medical health workers during the COVID-19 epidemic in China. Psychother Psychosom. 2020;89(4):242-50.

Pappa S, Ntella V, Giannakas T, Giannakoulis VG, Papoutsi E, Katsaounou P. Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and insomnia among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Brain, Behavior, Immunity. 2020;1(88):901-7.

Zhang C, Yang L, Liu S, Ma S, Wang Y, Cai Z, et al. Survey of insomnia and related social psychological factors among medical staff involved in the 2019 novel coronavirus disease outbreak. Front Psychiatry. 2020;14(11):306.

Chirico F, Magnavita N. The crucial role of occupational health surveillance for health-care workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Workplace Health Safe. 2021;69(1):5-6.

Löwe B, Decker O, Müller S, Brähler E, Schellberg D, Herzog W, Herzberg PY. Validation and standardization of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener (GAD-7) in the general population. Medical Care. 2008;1:266-74.

Morin CM, Belleville G, Bélanger L, Ivers H. The Insomnia Severity Index: psychometric indicators to detect insomnia cases and evaluate treatment response. Sleep. 2011;1;34(5):601-8.

Al Zarooni AAR, Alghfeli AK, Alremeithi HM, Almadhaani RA, Alketbi LB. Impact of COVID -19 on Depression and Anxiety among Healthcare Professionals in Abu Dhabi. MedRxiv 2021. (Preprints).

AlGhufli F, AlMulla R, Alyedi O, AlAbdin SZ, Nakhal MM. Investigating the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health Status and Factors Influencing Negative Mental Health among Health-Care Workers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai Med J. 2021;1-9.

Lai J, Ma S, Wang Y, Cai Z, Hu J, Wei N, et al. Factors associated with mental health outcomes among health care workers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019. JAMA Network Open J. 2020;3(3):e203976.

Zhang C, Yang L, Liu S, Ma S, Wang Y, Cai Z, et al. Survey of insomnia and related social psychological factors among medical staff involved in the 2019 novel coronavirus disease outbreak. Front Psychiatry. 2020;11:306.

Rossi R, Socci V, Pacitti F, Di Lorenzo G, Di Marco A, Siracusano A, et al. Mental health outcomes among frontline and second-line health care workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Italy. JAMA Network Open J. 2020:3(5):e2010185.

Zhang WR, Wang K, Yin L, Zhao WF, Xue Q, Peng M, et al. Mental Health and Psychosocial Problems of Medical Health Workers during the COVID-19 Epidemic in China. Psychother Psychosom. 2020;89(4):242-50.

Zhou Y, Zhou Y, Song Y, Ren L, Ng CH, Xiang YT, Tang Y. Tackling the mental health burden of frontline healthcare staff in the COVID-19 pandemic: China's experiences. Psychol Med. 2021;51(11):1955-6.

Yin Q, Sun Z, Liu T, Ni X, Deng X, Jia Y, et al. Posttraumatic stress symptoms of health care workers during the corona virus disease 2019. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2020;27(3):384-95.

Salazar De Pablo G, Vaquerizo-Serrano J, Catalan A, Arango C, Moreno C, Ferre F, et al. Impact of coronavirus syndromes on physical and mental health of health care workers: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2020;275:48-57.

Spoorthy MS, Pratapa SK, Mahant S. Mental health problems faced by healthcare workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic–a review. Asian J Psychiatry. 2020;51:102119.

Ji D, Ji YJ, Duan XZ, Li G, Sun ZQ, Song XA, et al. Prevalence of psychological symptoms among ebola survivors and healthcare workers during the 2014-2015 ebola outbreak in sierra leone: a cross-sectional study. Oncotarget. 2017;8:12784-91.

Maharaj S, Lees T, Lal S. Prevalence and risk factors of depression, anxiety, and stress in a cohort of Australian nurses. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16:61.

Consolo U, Bellini P, Bencivenni D, Iani C, Checchi V. Epidemiological aspects and psychological reactions to COVID-19 of dental practitioners in the Northern Italy districts of modena and reggio emilia. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17:3459.

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Published

2022-07-27

How to Cite

Alrand, H., Harbi, A., Razzak, H. A., Eltabbakh, M. T., Al Shaali, L., & E. Salama, R. (2022). Anxiety and insomnia prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare workers in the Ministry of Health and Prevention- United Arab Emirates. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 9(8), 3274–3282. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20222036

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Original Research Articles