Mental Health Symptoms and Associated Factors Among Malaysian Healthcare Workers During COVID-19
Abstract
Mental health is important among healthcare workers as it may influence a patient’s outcome and quality of care. This study attempts to determine the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress among healthcare workers and their associated factors at primary care clinics in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted at primary care clinics in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. Two sets of questionnaires, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) questionnaire and another designed to collect information on individual and organisational factors associated with mental health symptoms, were distributed to 489 healthcare workers. Univariate and multivariate linear regression models were built to determine the factors influencing mental health. Approximately 46.2% of participants reported at least moderate levels of depression, 59.7% reported at least moderate anxiety, while 33.3% reported at least moderate stress. Gender, education, marital status, close contact with COVID-19 patient, isolation, and overwork had a significant effect on the depression score among healthcare workers. Anxiety score was significantly influenced by the respondent’s gender, marital status, close contact with COVID-19 patients, occupation (medical staff), isolation, and overwork. Stress was significantly influenced by the respondent’s gender, marital status, close contact with COVID-19 patients, isolation, and overwork. It is concluded that mental well-being among healthcare workers needs special attention, especially for male staff and those with greater duties. Some suggestions for policymakers are regular psychological assessments, sharing jobs more evenly, creating support groups, and providing specialised mental health care for at-risk individuals. Longitudinal studies and analysing the role of institutions can help create effective mental health policies for healthcare settings in the future.
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