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. 2020 Aug:290:113130.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113130. Epub 2020 May 27.

Depression, anxiety, stress levels of physicians and associated factors in Covid-19 pandemics

Rümeysa Yeni Elbay  1 , Ayşe Kurtulmuş  2 , Selim Arpacıoğlu  2 , Emrah Karadere  2
Affiliations

Depression, anxiety, stress levels of physicians and associated factors in Covid-19 pandemics

Rümeysa Yeni Elbay et al. Psychiatry Res. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Aim: To investigate anxiety, stress, and depression levels of physicians during the Covid-19 outbreak and explored associated factors in both clinical and general site.

Methods: An online survey is conducted to asses psychological responses of healthcare workers and related factors during Covid-19 outbreak. It is consisted of three subsections covering the following areas: 1) sociodemographic data 2) information on individuals` working condition 3) Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DAS-21).

Results: Of all 442 participants, 286 (64.7%) had symptoms of depression, 224 (51.6%) anxiety, and 182 (41.2%) stress. Being female, young, and single, having less work experience, working in frontline were associated with higher scores, whereas having a child was associated with lower scores in each subscale. Factors found to be associated with higher DAS-21 total scores in frontline workers were as follows: increased weekly working hours, increased number of Covid-19 patients cared for, lower level of support from peers and supervisors, lower logistic support, and lower feelings of competence during Covid-19 related tasks.

Conclusions: Our findings highlight the factors which need to be taken into consideration to protect the mental wellbeing of doctors while fighting with a disaster that has major impacts on society worldwide.

Keywords: Doctors; Healthcare workers; Outbreak; Psychological effects.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest None.

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