Investigating the effects of the prevalence of covid-19 disease on the mental health of public and private sector employees in Mashhad.

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Master of Microbial Biotechnology, Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2 Mashhad Branch, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

Abstract
Introduction: Since December 2019, the outbreak of a new type of pneumonia of unknown cause was first reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Given the current focus of much research on pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis and treatment of covid-19 disease, the mental health aspect of the outbreak is often overlooked.
Material and Method: To conduct this study, 160 employees of public and private sector companies and offices were selected as the target population. Finally, the staff answered 25 questions that were distributed to them during a written questionnaire. The questionnaires contained 25 questions on mental health and behavior. A significant correlation between personal information and answer to each question was assessed by the chi-square test.
Results: The data show that more than 39% of employees are afraid and anxious about the prevalence of covid-19 disease so that 16.47% of them are terrified, 23.14% have high fears that can cause employees problems such as fear of illness and xenophobia. Also, 32.47% have reported that they have undergone behavioral changes due to the prevalence of this disease. At the level of 0.05, the chi-square test also shows a significant relationship between gender, age, etc. by answering some question
Conclusion: The information obtained from our research shows that the prevalence of covid-19 disease in Iran has caused psychological and behavioral changes among public and private employees, which requires more effective measures by government and national officials to maintain employee health.

Keywords

References

1. Deacon B, Maack DJ. The effects of safety behaviors on the fear of contamination: An experimental
investigation. Behaviour Research and Therapy. 2008;46(4):537-47.
2. Engelhard IM, van Uijen SL, van Seters N, Velu N. The effects of safety behavior directed towards a safety cue
on perceptions of threat. Behavior therapy. 2015;46(5):604-10.
3. Olatunji BO, Etzel EN, Tomarken AJ, Ciesielski BG, Deacon B. The effects of safety behaviors on health
anxiety: An experimental investigation. Behaviour research and therapy. 2011;49(11):719-28.
4. Fox D. What you need to know about the Wuhan coronavirus. Nature. 2020.
5. Wilder-Smith A, Chiew CJ, Lee VJ. Can we contain the COVID-19 outbreak with the same measures as for
SARS? The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2020.
6. Ministry of Health and Medical Education. 2020 [Available from: http://nanl.ir/qT8.
7. Chen N, Zhou M, Dong X, Qu J, Gong F, Han Y, et al. Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases
of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study. The Lancet. 2020;395(10223):507-13.
8. Rothan HA, Byrareddy SN. The epidemiology and pathogenesis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.
Journal of autoimmunity. 2020:102433.
9. World Health Organization. WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard 2020 [Available from:
https://covid19.who.int./
10. World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public 2020 [Available from:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public.
11. World Health Organization. Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak.
2020 [Available from: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/mental-healthconsiderations.pdf?sfvrsn=6d3578af_2.
12. Angus Reid Institute. Half of Canadians taking extra precautions as coronavirus continues to spread around the
globe. Angus Reid Institute 05 Feb 2020.
13. National Public Radio. Poll: Most Americans Say U.S. 'Doing Enough' To Prevent Coronavirus Spread: NPR;
2020 [Available from: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/02/04/802387025/poll-most-americans-say-u-sdoing-enough-to-prevent-coronavirus-spread?t=1594221614037.
14. Sorokowski P, Groyecka A, Kowal M, Sorokowska A, Białek M, Lebuda I, et al. Information about pandemic
increases negative attitudes toward foreign groups: a case of COVID-19 outbreak. 2020.
15. LeDoux JE. Coming to terms with fear. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2014;111(8):2871-8.
16. Brooks SK, Webster RK, Smith LE, Woodland L, Wessely S, Greenberg N, et al. The psychological impact of
quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet. 2020.
17. Graham RL, Donaldson EF, Baric RS. A decade after SARS: strategies for controlling emerging coronaviruses .
Nature Reviews Microbiology. 2013;11(12):836-48.
18. Shah K, Kamrai D, Mekala H, Mann B, Desai K, Patel RS. Focus on mental health during the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic: applying learnings from the past outbreaks. Cureus. 2020;12(3)
medical journal of mashhad university of medical sciences
Volume 64, Issue 1
March and April 2021
Pages 2609-2619

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics