The Psychological Well-Being of Southeast Asian Frontline Healthcare Workers during COVID-19: A Multi-Country Study

Irene Teo, Gayathri Devi Nadarajan, Sean Ng, Adithya Bhaskar, Sharon C. Sung, Yin Bun Cheung, Fang Ting Pan, Ali Haedar, Faith Joan Gaerlan, Sheue Fen Ong, Sattha Riyapan, Son Ngoc Do, Chinh Quoc Luong, Vijaya Rao, Lin Min Soh, Hiang Khoon Tan and Marcus Eng Hock Ong
Additional contact information
Irene Teo: Programme in Health Services & Systems Research, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Gayathri Devi Nadarajan: Department of Emergency Medicine, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore 169608, Singapore
Sean Ng: Lien Centre for Palliative Care, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Adithya Bhaskar: Lien Centre for Palliative Care, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Sharon C. Sung: Programme in Health Services & Systems Research, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Yin Bun Cheung: Programme in Health Services & Systems Research, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Fang Ting Pan: Lien Centre for Palliative Care, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Ali Haedar: Saiful Anwar General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Brawijaya, Kota Malang 65145, Jawa Timur, Indonesia
Faith Joan Gaerlan: Philippine College of Emergency Medicine and University of the Philippines—Philippine General Hospital, Metro Manila 1000, Philippines
Sheue Fen Ong: Emergency & Trauma Department, Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Kedah 05460, Malaysia
Sattha Riyapan: Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand
Son Ngoc Do: Center for Critical Care Medicine, Bach Mai Hospital, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Chinh Quoc Luong: Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Vijaya Rao: SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Lin Min Soh: Yale-NUS College, Singapore 138527, Singapore
Hiang Khoon Tan: SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute, Singapore 169857, Singapore
Marcus Eng Hock Ong: Programme in Health Services & Systems Research, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: Objectives: This study examined the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and job burnout among frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) across six Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. We also investigated the associated risk and protective factors. Methods: Frontline HCWs (N = 1381) from the participating countries participated between 4 January and 14 June 2021. The participants completed self-reported surveys on anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-8), and job burnout (PWLS). Multivariate logistic regressions were performed with anxiety, depression, and job burnout as outcomes and sociodemographic and job characteristics and HCW perceptions as predictors. Results: The average proportion of HCWs reporting moderate anxiety, moderately severe depression, and job burnout across all countries were 10%, 4%, and 20%, respectively. Working longer hours than usual (Odds ratio [OR] = 1.82; 3.51), perceived high job risk (1.98; 2.22), and inadequate personal protective equipment (1.89; 2.11) were associated with increased odds of anxiety and job burnout while working night shifts was associated with increased risk of depression (3.23). Perceived good teamwork was associated with lower odds of anxiety (0.46), depression (0.43), and job burnout (0.39). Conclusion: Job burnout remains a foremost issue among HCWs. Potential opportunities to improve HCW wellness are discussed.

Keywords: healthcare worker; psychological wellness; Asia; COVID-19; anxiety; depression; burnout (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/11/6380/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/11/6380/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:11:p:6380-:d:822966

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().