Resilience and coronavirus anxiety in Iran: Online survey among healthcare workers and non-healthcare workers

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Student Research Committee, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

3 Assistant professor of psychiatry, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

4 Health Promotion Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. M.Sc. Department of Mental Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

5 Department of Biostatistics, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

6 Assistant professor of psychiatry, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran.

7 Assistant professor of psychiatry, Golestan Research Center of Psychiatry (GRCP), Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.

8 Associate professor, Infectious Disease Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: Healthcare workers are at the forefront of the fight against disease and undoubtedly have the most significant responsibility and burden of stress. They are under severe physical and psychological pressure. This study compared the anxiety caused by corona and resilience in healthcare and non-healthcare workers.
 
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study used an online self-administered questionnaire in Iran. The sample comprised 102 healthcare workers and 123 non-healthcare workers who completed the social network questionnaire from March 1 to 9, 2021. The participants were assessed using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS). The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, Chi-square, t-test, Mann-Whitney test, ANCOVA, and SPSS v.16.
 
Results: COVID-19 has led to significantly higher anxiety in healthcare workers regarding physical symptoms than in non-healthcare workers (P= 0.037). Also, the healthcare worker had raised a total CDAS score (P= 0.029). The total score of CD-RISC was also 90.6±13.9 among the non-healthcare workers and 84.1±19.8 among healthcare workers (P= 0.036). After adjustment for the probable confounding effect of education level, again, the total scores of the two scales were significantly different between the two groups (P< 0.05).
 
Conclusion: According to the results, COVID-19 has led to significantly higher anxiety and lower resilience in healthcare workers than non-healthcare workers.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Fundamentals of Mental Health
Volume 25, Issue 5
September and October 2023
Pages 297-302

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