Social and mental health impact of COVID-19 pandemic among health professionals of Gandaki Province, Nepal: A mixed method study

BACKGROUND: The frontline health workers are the key players in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, however, several incidences of attacks, stigmatization, and discrimination towards them have been reported throughout the world during the peak of infection. The social impact experienced by health professionals can alter their efficiency and also lead to mental distress. This study aimed to examine the extent of social impact experienced by health professionals currently working in Gandaki Province, Nepal along with the factors associated with their depression status. METHODS: This was a mixed-method study where a cross-sectional online survey was executed among 418 health professionals followed by in-depth interviews with 14 health professionals of Gandaki Province. The bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were performed to identify the factors associated with depression at 5% level of significance. The information collected from the in-depth interviews was clustered into themes by the researchers. RESULTS: Out of 418 health professionals, 304 (72.7%) expressed that COVID-19 has impacted their family relationships, whereas 293 (70.1%) expressed that it impacted their relationships with friends and relatives, and 282 (68.1%) expressed it impacted their relationships with community people. The prevalence of depression among health professionals was noted at 39.0%. Being a female (aOR:1.425,95% CI:1.220–2.410), job dissatisfaction (aOR:1.826, 95% CI:1.105–3.016), COVID-19 impact on family relation (aOR:2.080, 95% CI:1.081–4.002), COVID-19 impact on relationship with friends and relatives (aOR:3.765, 95% CI:1.989–7.177), being badly treated (aOR:2.169, 95% CI:1.303–3.610) and experiencing moderate (aOR:1.655, 95% CI:1.036–2.645) and severe fear (aOR:2.395, 95% CI:1.116–5.137) of COVID-19 were found to the independent predictors of depression. It was noted that the pandemic has an effect on the social relations of health professionals in multiple ways. CONCLUSION: This study noted that there is a significant impact of COVID-19 on health professionals in terms of their social and mental health aspects. The social impact experienced by health professionals is an important predictor of their mental health. The mental health and well-being of these vital workforces can be enhanced by focusing on the social aspect during the pandemic.