One in Five Street Traditional Coffee Vendors Suffered from Depression During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Harar Town, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 crisis has already resulted in an economic and labor market shock and a rise of informal work sectors. Being an informal job, traditional coffee vending can predispose women to a myriad of mental disorders. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors among street traditional coffee vendors in Harar town, Eastern Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was employed on 180 women engaged in street traditional coffee vending business in Harar town. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview using a Public Health Questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Binary logistic regression was executed to identify factors associated with depression at a cut-off point of P < 0.05. RESULTS: The mean age of the study participants was 31.83 (±10) years. The majority of the participants were currently married (n = 77, 42.8%), attended primary education (n = 68, 37.8%), had a family member of four or more (n = 60, 33.3%), and had two years or less work experience (n = 123, 68.3%). Most of the study participants obtained COVID-19-related information from television (n = 125, 69.4%). The prevalence of depression was found to be 18.9%. Attending primary education (AOR: 0.34; 95% CI: 0.12, 0.98), attending secondary education or higher (AOR: 0.23; 95% CI: 0.07, 0.69), and having four or more family members (AOR: 2.81; 95% CI: 1.14, 6.92) were significantly associated with depression. CONCLUSION: One in five street traditional coffee vendors suffered from depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lower odds of being depressed were observed in those who attended a minimum of primary education. On the contrary, having a greater family size was associated with higher odds of being depressed. This finding will direct the government and other concerned bodies to be involved in the provision of psychological and material support for such informal workers during COVID-19.