Psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare professionals and general population in India- A Cross-sectional Study

CONTEXT-: COVID 19 pandemic is having a psychological impact not only on the frontline healthcare worker but also on the general population. The comparative data on psychological impact of COVID 19 pandemic on healthcare professional and general population is limited. AIM: To assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare worker and general populations in India and to find the difference between the two groups. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sample comprised of 840 participants according to inclusion/exclusion criteria. The participants were given the online survey after applying The Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Survey (CHERRIES). The survey link (Google Forms) was sent to each participant via Email and WhatsApp. E- Survey comprised of a semi-structured sociodemographic details, medical history proforma and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21). Each participants were contacted for any queries and to maintain the validity of the scales used. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: To analyze the differences in psychological impact, mean score of depression, anxiety and stress between the two groups were compared using the Independent Samples Mann-Whitney U test. The chi-squared test was used to analyze the differences in categorical variables between the two groups. Statistical analysis was performed Microsoft Excel. RESULTS: The significant difference was found between the two groups i.e. the healthcare professionals and general population in the prevalence of stress (P=0.033) with level higher among the healthcare workers. The healthcare professionals, who were involved in direct care of covid 19 patients were found to have significantly higher level of stress( P= 0.006 ) and anxiety (P=0.002) than those who were not directly involved. CONCLUSION: Study reveals that the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was not significantly different among the healthcare workers and general population. Significant difference was found in prevalence of anxiety and stress in healthcare workers involved in the care of Covid-19 patients and the healthcare professionals not involved. Psychological intervention may be considered for the healthcare professionals involved covid-19 patients.