Multi-centric study of psychological disturbances among health care workers in tertiary care centers of western India during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction
The world has been facing a pandemic of COVID-19, and while dealing with this pandemic is not easy for anyone, it is especially hard on health care workers (HCWs) as they are the front-line warriors.

Aim
To assess the psychological disturbances that the COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted on healthcare workers in India and to assess the correlation between different parameters including socio-demographic variables, job-related variables, personal history and psychological disturbances such as perceived stress, depression and anxiety.

Material and methods
Health care workers from a few tertiary care institutes (government as well as private sectors, which are caring for patients with COVID-19) in a western state of India were invited to participate with a self-administered online questionnaire. That questionnaire consisted of self-report scales including Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 items (DASS 21), and the Perceived Stress Scale with socio-demographic, job-related and personal details.

Results
ut of 302 subjects, on the Perceived Stress Scale, 101 (33.44%) reported low, 185 (61.26%) moderate and 16 (5.30%) high levels of stress. On DASS 21, depression was reported by 56 (18.54%) subjects, 60 (19.87%) subjects were found to have anxiety and 50 (16.56%) subjects reported to have stress. Perceived stress score on Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was significantly correlated with the depression, anxiety and stress score on DASS 21. A few risk factors such as female gender, single marital status, past history of psychiatric illness, working as interns and residents doctors with lesser experience and high risk duty areas such as COVID-19 duties in a particular situation were significantly associated with psychological disturbances such as stress, depression and anxiety.

Conclusions
We observed significant psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on HCWs as well as a few risk factors related to it. Supporting the mental health of HCWs is a critical part of the public health response to maintain an adequate workforce and to maximize the ability of HCWs to face this pandemic.