Kamlesh Kumari Sharma

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India

Abstract Title: Trends of psychological symptoms among healthcare workers who worked in COVID-19 designated clinical areas in India

Biography:

Kamlesh Kumari Sharma has completed her PhD in 2014 from Indian Nursing Council National Consortium for PhD Nursing and Fellowship in Clinical Research Methodology & Evidence Based Medicine from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi, India. She is the Professor cum Principal of Institute of Nursing Education and Research at AIIMS Bathinda, Punjab, India. She has published more than 40 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of repute. She is also the vice president of Clinical Nursing Research Society, North Zone India.

Research Interest:

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic created lots of distress among healthcare workers. There were concerns regarding their own well-being, and fear of transmitting the infection to family members, which led to various psychological disorders. The present study assessed the trends of psychological symptoms at 6 and 12 months after the baseline assessment among the healthcare professionals.
Methods: Healthcare professionals engaged at COVID-19 care facilities in a tertiary care hospital in North India were assessed for depression, anxiety, insomnia and distress symptoms by using patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9; range 0-27), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7) scale ranging from 0-21, insomnia severity index (ISI; range 0-28), and the 22-item impact of event scale-revised (IES-R; range 0-88), respectively. The participants were followed-up six and twelve months, and the trends were analysed.
Results: Out of 504 participants enrolled initially, 380 participants were followed up at six months and 280 at twelve months, thus 280 included for longitudinal analysis. There was an upsurgence in depression, anxiety, insomnia and distress symptoms from baseline, at six months and to twelve months. The prevalence of depression at baseline, six months and 12 months was 39.3% (95% Cl: 33.5-45.3), 36.4% (95% Cl: 30.8-42.4) and 61.1% (95% Cl: 55.1-66.8) respectively. For anxiety it was 29.6% (95% Cl: 24.4-35.4), 29.3% (95% Cl: 24.0-35.0), and 46.8% (95% Cl: 40.8-52.8), respectively. In case of insomnia, the prevalence at baseline [33.6% (95% Cl: 28.1-39.4)], six months [29.3% (95% Cl: 24.0-35.0)], and twelve months [47.1% (95% Cl: 41.2-53.2)] was observed. The prevalence of distress at baseline was 12.1% (95% Cl: 8.6-16.6), at six months [11.1% (95% Cl: 7.6-15.3)], and at twelve months [28.6% (95% Cl: 23.4-34.2)].
Conclusion: The prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia and sufficient distress among the frontline workers was increasing on trend basis from baseline, at six months to twelve months.
Key words: COVID-19; Healthcare workers (HCWs); Psychological symptoms; Trends.