Mental Health of Physicians During COVID-19 Outbreak in Bangladesh: A Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey

• Main Authors: Most. Farida Khatun, Most. Firoza Parvin, Md. Mamun-ur Rashid, Md. Shah Alam, Most. Kamrunnahar, Ashis Talukder, Shaharior Rahman Razu, Paul R. Ward, Mohammad Ali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-02-01
• Series: Frontiers in Public Health
• Subjects: COVID-19; depression; anxiety; physicians; Bangladesh
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.592058/full

There have been numerous studies about the health implication of COVID-19 on patients, but little attention has been paid to the impacts of the pandemic on physicians. Our paper attends to this gap by exploring the mental health of physicians in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is particularly important since the mental health of physicians impacts not only on themselves, but also their professional performance and hence the care of patients. This study examined physicians' mental health outcomes by evaluating the prevalence and associated potential risk factors of anxiety and depression. Using a web-based cross-sectional survey, we collected data from 114 physicians. Seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale and Nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) were used to measure the anxiety and depression, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to explore the potential risk factors related to anxiety and depression. The prevalence of anxiety and depression were 32.5 and 34.2%, respectively. Findings revealed that marital status, work per day and current job location were the main risk factors for anxiety while sex, age, and marital status were the main risk factors for depression. Our results highlight the need to implement policies and strategies for positively impacting the mental health of physicians during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.