ISSN: 2642-6250
Authors: Srivastava AK*, Gupt RK, Roy Choudhury C, Singh RR, Bhargava R, Shankar R, Khanna R and Yadav V
Background: The healthcare providers (HCWs) of primary health facilities suffered with dual burden of work, as they had to deliver COVID-19 related services along with routine work, which put immense strain on their capacities. Objective: To assess the prevalence of mental health issues among HCWs of public primary health facilities and understand the coping mechanisms adopted by them during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: It is a cross-sectional study, conducted by administering telephonic and self-administered questionnaires with a sample of 272 HCWs from 24 public primary healthcare facilities of 13 districts in the state of Rajasthan. Result: 76.2% had a fear of getting infected, whereas 56.3% were not able to spend time with family, and 41% had less time for rest while working in the pandemic. The pandemic impacted the lives of HCWs beyond the workplace, significantly affecting their personal lives as well, leading to mental health-related issues. 53% of HCWs experienced depression ‘sometimes’, followed by anger, boredom, irritability, and fear. Age and type of residence were found to be significantly associated with mental health issues. Exercise (44.9%), followed by yoga (29.4%), and meditation (22.8%) were a few coping mechanisms adopted by HCWs. Conclusion: The impact of COVID-19 on mental health varied with the background characteristics like age, sex, residence, workplace, and nature of work. There is a need to create a resilient health system to support s in primary health facilities.
Keywords: COVID-19; Primary Healthcare Facilities; Healthcare Workers; Mental Health; Coping Mechanism
