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. 2023 Mar 2:11:1028443.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1028443. eCollection 2023.

Concerns, perceived impact, practices, preventive measures, and stress among healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

Muhammad Alfatih Pahrol  1 , Rohaida Ismail  1 , Nadia Mohamad  1 , Yin Cheng Lim  1   2 , Rosnawati Muhamad Robat  1 , Sakshaleni Rajendiran  1 , Syahidiah Syed Abu Thahir  1 , Ameerah Su'ad Abdul Shakor  3 , Nurfatehar Ramly  1   4 , Rafiza Shaharudin  1
Affiliations

Concerns, perceived impact, practices, preventive measures, and stress among healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

Muhammad Alfatih Pahrol et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: Healthcare workers (HCWs) have been continually exposed to patients with COVID-19 and are at higher risk of contracting the disease. Their psychological health is important for overall wellbeing and productivity, which could lead to a reduction in human errors during the pandemic crisis. This study aimed to measure the level of concerns, work practices, adequacy of preventive measures among HCWs, and the impacts on their life and work, including mental health status during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.

Methods: An online questionnaire was distributed randomly to 1,050 HCWs from the Ministry of Health facilities in the Klang Valley who were involved directly in managing or screening COVID-19 cases from May to August 2020. The questionnaire was divided into five domains, which were concerns, impact on life and work, practice, perceived adequacy of preventive measures, and Revised Impact of Event Scale (IES-R). Logistic regression was used to identify sociodemographic predictors of the five domains.

Results: A total of 907 respondents (86.4%) participated in this survey. Approximately half of the respondents had a low concern (50.5%), most of them had a good practice (85.1%), with 67.5% perceiving there were adequate preventive measures, and they perceived the outbreak had a low impact (92%) on their life and work. From the IES-R domain, 18.6% of respondents potentially suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Conclusion: During the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia, HCWs practiced high levels of precautions and preventive measures because they were aware of the risk of infection as an occupational hazard. With the adequate implementation of policy and control measures, the psychological wellbeing of the majority HCWs remained well and adequately supported.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; concerns; healthcare workers; perceived impact; practices; preventive measures; stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of concerns, practice, adequacy of preventive measures, impact, and IES-R score among HCWs in Klang Valley.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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