Psychosocial Effects of COVID-19 on Health Care Workers: A Cross Sectional Study from Tertiary Level Pediatric Hospital

Abstract

Objective: To identify the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers of Psychosocial a tertiary level pediatric hospital. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study done at The Children's Hospital and the Institute of Child Health, Lahore from 1st April to 15th April 2020. A questionnaire was circulated among health care workers of the hospital and responses were analyzed with SPSS V. 23. Results: The questionnaire was filled by 989 hospital employees but 914 forms with complete were analyzed. Most participants (75%) were younger than 40 years of age. The male to female ratio was 1:1.5. There was almost equal participation of married and unmarried medical personnel (52% vs 48%). Regarding concerns about personal and family health, 544 (59.5%) were deeply concerned about their health, but the concern was far greater about their families (672, 73.5%). The fear of going home was expressed by 629 (69%) participants. Regarding employee protection using personal protective equipment (PPE), 680 (74.4%) hospital workers were dissatisfied. Wearing a protective suit and gloves were the precautions frequently cited as most bothersome (38.8%). Over 65% of workers felt anxiety while dealing with febrile patients. Over 60% of health care workers cited religion as their main source of coping with psychological impact. Conclusions: Health care workers experience a great deal of psychological implications of the COVID-19 pandemic related to the uncertainty of the disease behavior, associated comorbidities and risk factors in the health care workers, and healthcare-related local policies.