The Psychological Stress of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers in the Kurdistan Region

Abstract

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic can lead to terrific condition among healthcare workers (HCWs) and severe stress reactions can raise the risk of secondary trauma. The aim of this study was determine the psychological burden of the COVID-19 outbreak on HCWs. The cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted online from September 1 to September 18, 2020. Online questionnaires employing scales including the generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7), patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), and perceived stress scale (PSS-10) were used to investigate anxiety, depression, and stress. This study has shown that percentage of severe anxiety, stress, and depression were (22%), (3.9%), and (11%) respectively among HCWs. There was a significant association of PHQ score with age, gender, marital status, number of children, kind of employment, and work experiences. GAD score was found to have a significant relationship (P = 0.05) with gender, job title, and healthcare experiences in this study. The PSS score of women who worked in hospitals was found to be considerably higher. Health-care professionals in Kurdistan experienced high anxiety and stress during the COVID-19 epidemic.