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An analytical cross-sectional study to describe and compare the mental health status of doctors and medical undergraduates in selected institutions in Colombo, Sri Lanka during COVID-19 pandemic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2021

Chathurie Suraweera ,
Iresha Perera ,
Priyanka Rupasinghe  and
Janith Galhenage
Chathurie Suraweera*
Affiliation:
Professorial Psychiatry Unit, National Hospital of Sri Lanka
Iresha Perera
Affiliation:
Professorial Psychiatry Unit, National Hospital of Sri Lanka
Priyanka Rupasinghe
Affiliation:
Department of Paediatric Neurology, Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, Colombo
Janith Galhenage
Affiliation:
Professorial Psychiatry Unit, National Hospital of Sri Lanka
*
*corresponding author.
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Abstract

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Aims

The aim of this study was to describe and compare the mental health status of doctors and medical undergraduates in selected institutions during COVID-19 pandemic.

Method

A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among doctors working in major tertiary care hospitals two of which, risk is unpredictable and high, the other where all patients are positive for COVID-19 and among medical undergraduates. The doctors were selected using disproportionate stratified sampling and medical undergraduates using stratified cluster sampling. Data were gathered using a Google form containing socio-demographic details, perception on the pandemic and the General Health Questionnaire-12(GHQ-12).

Result

There were 468 participants in the study and among them 243(51.9%) were doctors. Mean age of the doctors’ is 34.54(SD = 7.43) years and more than half (50.06%) were in post graduate training. Majority were worried about their health (65%) and their loved one's health (90.1%). Among doctors 220(90.5%) felt that they have moderate or higher risk of acquiring COVID-19 and 15.6% would not have worked due to the risk. According to GHQ-12, 182(74%) doctors were psychologically distressed (mean GHQ = 12.64, SD = 4.54) and it was significantly associated with age less than 35 years (p = 0.039) and worry about interruption of their daily routines(p = 0.010).

The mean age of 225 medical undergraduates was 25.20 (SD = 1.34) years and 176(78.2%) of the participants were psychologically distressed (mean GHQ = 14.32, SD = 6.67). Majority (59.11%) believed that they are at high risk of getting COVID-19. Their distress was significantly associated with the worry about the impact of COVID-19 related restrictions on their daily routines (p = 0.000).

Binomial logistic regression confirmed that doctors were distressed due to impact on their income whereas both doctors and medical undergraduates were distressed due to impact on daily routines.

Conclusion

Nearly three quarter of both doctors and medical undergraduates were psychologically distressed during COVID-19 pandemic. The worry was due to contracting illness, financial issues and the COVID-19 regulations.

Type
Research
Information
BJPsych Open , Volume 7 , Supplement S1: Abstracts of the RCPsych Virtual International Congress 2021, 21–24 June , June 2021 , pp. S293
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
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