Psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on general population in West Bengal: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 pandemic poses a unique medical challenge to the humanity in recent times. The psychological impact of the pandemic itself and the lockdown in particular is likely to be huge. Aim: To assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on general population in West Bengal. Materials and Methods: It was an online survey which was conducted using Google Forms with link sent using WhatsApp. A 38-item self-designed questionnaire was used for the study. The survey questionnaire would take around 5-7 min to complete. Total 507 responses were received by the stipulated time. Results: Near about five-seventh (71.8%) and one-fifth (24.7%) of the respondents felt more worried and depressed, respectively, in the past 2 weeks. Half of the respondents (52.1%) were preoccupied with the idea of contracting COVID-19 and one-fifth (21.1%) of the respondents were repeatedly thinking of getting themselves tested for the presence of COVID-19 despite having no symptoms. Majority (69.6%) of the respondents were worried about the financial loss they were incurring during the period of lockdown. One-fourth (25.6%) and one-third (30.8%) of the respondents found that COVID-19 pandemic had threatened their existence and they found it difficult to adjust to the new routine during 21-day lockdown period, respectively. Conclusion: The index survey suggested that worry and sleep disturbances were common among the respondents in the past 2 weeks. The pandemic threatened the existence of the respondents to a great extent and affected their mental status negatively.