A Cross-Sectional Study to Examine the Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Healthcare Workers in Kuwait

Sarah AlKandari (), Ahmad Salman, Fatima Al-Ghadban and Rasheed Ahmad
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Sarah AlKandari: Immunology and Microbiology Department, Dasman Diabetes Institute, Dasman 15462, Kuwait
Ahmad Salman: Ministry of Health, Safat 13001, Kuwait
Fatima Al-Ghadban: College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Rasheed Ahmad: Immunology and Microbiology Department, Dasman Diabetes Institute, Dasman 15462, Kuwait

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-10

Abstract: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers to determine the prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and well-being, and to identify the factors associated with adverse psychological effects. This study was conducted 5 months into the COVID-19 pandemic. We used an online questionnaire to collect data from 378 healthcare workers. To examine the psychological impact, three standardized questionnaires were utilized. This includes the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and the WHO Well-Being Scale (WHO-5) to measure depression, anxiety, and quality of life, respectively. More than half of the participants (52.9%) exhibited moderate or high levels of depression, and 40.5% reported moderate or high levels of anxiety. Unmarried HCWs reported more severe levels of depression; moderately severe depression (24.0% vs. 16.1%) and severe depression (12.4% vs. 6.8%). Unmarried HCWs also reported more severity of anxiety as well as lower overall wellbeing. Understanding how personal factors such as marital status can influence the degree of psychological distress can allow us to make better investments in supporting the mental health needs of HCWs in Kuwait. Governments and organizations must establish protective measures, such as continually assessing the mental health status of HCWs throughout the pandemic and providing support services for HCWs in need to minimize adverse consequences and ensure optimal health system operation.

Keywords: COVID-19; healthcare workers; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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