Lock-Down Effect on the Mental Health Status of Healthcare Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background

The psychological impact that outbreaks and pandemics could inflict on healthcare workers has been widely studied; yet, little is known about the impact of the lockdown measures.

Objectives

To assess the magnitude of depression and anxiety among healthcare professionals before and after lifting of the lockdown restrictions in Saudi Arabia.

Methods

Surveys targeting healthcare workers were circulated twice: during the lockdown, and 8 weeks after lifting of lockdown. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed using Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scales.

Results

A total of 947 healthcare workers, with the mean age of (37 ± 8.9) responded to the surveys. Among these, 23-27% respondents reported clinically significant levels of anxiety and depression. Whereas, easing of the lockdown restrictions was shown to be associated with decreasing mean scores of PHQ-9 and GAD-7. The noted burden fell heavily on female workers, those with a current or a history of psychiatric disorders, suffering from chronic diseases, being in workplaces with high exposure to COVID-19 or in contact with COVID-19 patients, nurses, as well as those who were living with elderly and perceived their physical and mental health as "much worse" compared to the time before the pandemic.

Conclusion

Our findings identified several predictors for anxiety and depression at different time-points of the pandemic. Thus, priority to psychological support measures might be needed for these groups.