Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Health Care Workers in Singapore Background: In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Singapore raised its Disease Outbreak Response System Condition alert to “orange,” the second highest level. Between 19 February and 13 March 2020, confirmed cases rose from 84 to 200 (34.2 per 1 000 000 population), with an increase in patients in critical condition from 4 to 11 (5.5%) and no reported deaths in Singapore (1). Understanding the psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak among health care workers is crucial in guiding policies and interventions to maintain their psychological well-being. Objective: To examine the psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and stress experienced by health care workers in Singapore in the midst of the outbreak, and to compare these between medically and non–medically trained hospital personnel. Methods and Findings: From 19 February to 13 March 2020, health care workers from 2 major tertiary institutions in Singapore who were caring for patients with COVID-19 were invited to participate with a self-administered questionnaire. LETTERS

Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Health Care Workers in Singapore

Background The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has become a global burden disrupting peoples' quality of life. Students being an important cohort of a country, their mental health during this pandemic has been recognized as a concerning issue. Therefore, the prevalence and associated risk factors of Bangladeshi students' mental health sufferings (ie, depression, anxiety, and stress) are systematically reviewed herein for the first time. Methods Adhering to the PRISMA guideline, a systematic search was performed from 1 to 5 April, 2021 in several databases including PubMed; and finally, a total of 7 articles were included to this review. Results The prevalence rates of mild to severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress ranged from 46.92% to 82.4%, 26.6% to 96.82%, and 28.5% to 70.1%, respectively. The risk factors concerning mental health problems included the factors related to (i) socio-demographic (younger age, gender, lower educational grade, urban residence, family size, currently living with family/parents, and having children in the family), (ii) behavior and health (smoking status, lack of physical exercise, more internet browsing time, and dissatisfaction with sleep), (iii) COVID-19 pandemic- (COVID-19 related symptoms, COVID-19 related perceptions, and fear of COVID-19 infection), (iv) miscellaneous (losing part-time teaching job, lack of study concentration, agitation, fear of getting assaulted or humiliated on the way to the hospital or home, financial problems, academic dissatisfaction, inadequate food supply, higher exposure to COVID-19 social and mass media, engaging with more recreational activities, and performing more household chores). Conclusion The overall assumption of mental disorders' prevalence rates can be regarded as problematic to this cohort. Thus, the authorities should consider setting up possible strategies to diminish the pandemic effect on students' mental health.

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Mental Disorders of Bangladeshi Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has affected people's lives globally While important research has been conducted, much remains to be known In Bangladesh, initial treatment (self-administered, hospitalized), persistent COVID-19 symptoms ("long COVID-19"), and whether COVID-19 leads to changes in mental state, such as depressive symptoms, of people are not known This study aimed to examine treatment, persistent symptoms, and depression in people who had been infected with COVID-19 in Bangladesh Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1002 individuals infected with COVID-19 (60% male; mean age = 347 ± 139; age range = 18-81 years), with data taken over a one-month period (11 September 2020 to 13 October 2020) A self-reported online questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographics, lifestyle, COVID-19 symptoms (during and beyond COVID-19), medication (over-the-counter or doctor-prescribed), and depression (assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)) Results: Twenty-four percent of participants self-medicated with over-the-counter medicine when they were first diagnosed with COVID-19 Self-medication was higher among female vs male respondents (296% vs 202%, respectively, p = 0002) A minority (20%) reported that they experienced persistent COVID-like symptoms after recovering from COVID-19 The most reported persistent symptoms were diarrhea (127%) and fatigue (115%) Forty-eight percent of participants were categorized as having moderate to severe depression Based on multivariate regression analysis, depression during COVID-19 was positively associated with lower family income, poor health status, sleep disturbance, lack of physical activity, hypertension, asthma/respiratory problems, fear of COVID-19 re-infection, and persistent COVID-19 symptoms Conclusions: The findings suggest a need for appropriate interventions for COVID-19 patients to promote physical and mental wellbeing

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1453/pdf

Treatment, Persistent Symptoms, and Depression in People Infected with COVID-19 in Bangladesh.

Immediate psychological responses during the initial period of the COVID-19 pandemic among Bangladeshi medical students.

The Global Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and, Insomnia and Its’ Changes among Health Professionals during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Rapid Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background During the catastrophic situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of the health care workers (HCWs) is the most crucial, and their absenteeism, whether due to inability or unwillingness, becomes a major concern for the national health system. Hence, the present study aimed to determine the willingness and its associated factors to work during the COVID-19 pandemic among the physicians of Bangladesh. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted from April 21 to May 10, 2020, using an online survey among the Bangladeshi physicians living in the country. Both univariate and multivariable binary logistic regression models were used to determine the predictors of the willingness of the physicians to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results More than 69% physicians reported that they were willing to work during the COVID-19 pandemic, 8.9% reported that they were not willing, while 21.4% of participants were not sure about their willingness. Younger age, having experience of treating patients during previous pandemics, working in the emergency departments and high self-reported compliance to the recommended PPE were important predictors of being willing to work during COVID-19 pandemic. Concern for family and risk of transmitting the infection to family members were most commonly reported as major barriers of working during the pandemic (30%) followed by having comorbidities (25%), lack of adequate safety measures (25%), fear of being infected (12.2%), not involved in clinical practice (12.5%) etc. Conclusions Though the majority of the physicians were willing to work during the COVID-19 pandemic, sufficient supply of PPE, support to maintain recommended quarantine and isolation policy after risky hospital duty along with adequate and effective training can increase their willingness to continue their sacred duty during this crucial pandemic.

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Willingness to work during initial lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic: Study based on an online survey among physicians of Bangladesh.

Objectives In addition to risking their physical well-being, frontline physicians are enduring significant emotional burden both at work and home during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to investigate the levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms and to identify associated factors among Bangladeshi physicians during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods and design A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted between April 21 and May 10, 2020. Outcomes assessed included demographic questions, COVID-19 related questions, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results The survey was completed by 412 Bangladeshi physicians. The findings revealed that, in terms of standardized HADS cut-off points, the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among physicians was 67.72% and 48.5% respectively. Risk factors for higher rates of anxiety or depressive symptoms were: being female, physicians who had experienced COVID-19 like symptoms during the pandemic, those who had not received incentives, those who used self-funded PPE, not received adequate training, lacking perceived self-efficacy to manage COVID -19 positive patients, greater perceived stress of being infected, fear of getting assaulted/humiliated, being more connected with social media, having lower income levels to support the family, feeling more agitated, less than 2 hours of leisure activity per day and short sleep duration. All these factors were found to be positively associated with anxiety and depression in unadjusted and adjusted statistical models. Conclusions This study identifies a real concern about the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among Bangladeshi physicians and identifies several associated factors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the vulnerability of the physicians in this extraordinary period whilst they are putting their own lives at risk to help people infected by COVID-19, health authorities should address the psychological needs of medical staff and formulate effective strategies to support vital frontline health workers. STHRENGHTS & LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY This study reports a novel and concerning findings on the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms with identification of several important associated factors among Bangladeshi physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cross-sectional nature of the study design could not establish causal relationship between the dependent and independent variables. This study was carried out by conducting a web-based survey, which might generate sampling bias by excluding the physicians who do not have access to internet or inactive in social medias, and thus limit the generalizability of the findings.

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Syeda Fatema Alam

Papers

Immediate psychological responses during the initial period of the COVID-19 pandemic among Bangladeshi medical students.

Willingness to work during initial lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic: Study based on an online survey among physicians of Bangladesh.

Prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study