Dataset Information

Initial psychological impact of COVID-19 and its correlates in Indian Community: An online (FEEL-COVID) survey.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The pandemic of Corona Virus (COVID-19) hit India recently; and the associated uncertainty is increasingly testing psychological resilience of the masses. When the global focus has mostly been on testing, finding a cure and preventing transmission; people are going through a myriad of psychological problems in adjusting to the current lifestyles and fear of the disease. Since there is a severe dearth of researches on this issue, we decided to conduct an online survey to evaluate its psychological impact. METHODS:From 26th to 29th March an online survey (FEEL-COVID) was conducted using principles of snowballing, and by invitation through text messages to participate. The survey collected data on socio-demographic and clinical variables related to COVID-19 (based on the current knowledge); along with measuring psychological impact with the help of Impact of Event-revised (IES-R) scale. RESULTS:There were a total of 1106 responses from around 64 cities in the country. Out of these 453 responses had at least one item missing; and were excluded from the analysis. The mean age of the respondents was around 41 years with a male female ratio of 3:1 and around 22% respondents were health care professionals. Overall approximately one third of respondents had significant psychological impact (IES-R score > 24). Higher psychological impact was predicted with younger age, female gender and comorbid physical illness. Presence of physical symptoms and contact history predicted higher psychological impact, but did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSION:During the initial stages of COVID-19 in India, almost one-third respondents had a significant psychological impact. This indicates a need for more systematic and longitudinal assessment of psychological needs of the population, which can help the government in formulating holistic interventions for affected individuals.

SUBMITTER: Varshney M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7259495 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Initial psychological impact of COVID-19 and its correlates in Indian Community: An online (FEEL-COVID) survey.

Varshney Mohit M Parel Jithin Thomas JT Raizada Neeraj N Sarin Shiv Kumar SK

PloS one 20200529 5

<h4>Background</h4>The pandemic of Corona Virus (COVID-19) hit India recently; and the associated uncertainty is increasingly testing psychological resilience of the masses. When the global focus has mostly been on testing, finding a cure and preventing transmission; people are going through a myriad of psychological problems in adjusting to the current lifestyles and fear of the disease. Since there is a severe dearth of researches on this issue, we decided to conduct an online survey to evalua ...[more]

PMID: 32470088

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Project description:BackgroundCOVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented health and economic impact. Psychological stress, anxiety and depression are affecting not only COVID-19 patients but also health professionals, and general population. Fear of contracting COVID-19, forced restrictive social measures, and economic hardship are causing mental trauma. Nepal is a developing country from South Asia where the COVID-19 pandemic is still evolving. This online survey has been carried out to understand impact of COVID- 19 on mental health of Nepalese community dwellers.MethodsThe COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) questionnaire adapted from the Shanghai Mental Health Centre was used for online data collection from 11 April-17 May 2020. Collected data were extracted to Microsoft excel-13 and imported and analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version-22. An initial univariate analysis was conducted for all variables to assess the distribution. Logistic regression analyses were done to estimate the odds ratios of relevant predicting variables.ResultsA total of 410 participants completed the self-rated questionnaires. Mean age of study participants was 34.8 ± 11.7 years with male preponderance. 88.5% of the respondents were not in distress (score less than 28) while, 11% had mild to moderate distress and 0.5% had severe distress. The prevalence of distress is higher among age group > 45 years, female gender, and post-secondary education group. Health professional were more likely to get distressed. Respondents with post-secondary education had higher odds (OR = 3.32; p = 0.020) of developing distress as compared to respondents with secondary education or lower.ConclusionThere is lower rate of psychological distress in city dwellers and people with low education. Adequate intervention and evaluation into mental health awareness, and psychosocial support focused primarily on health care workers, female and elderly individuals is necessary.

Project description:BackgroundCOVID-19 pandemic impacts many communities worldwide. In this study the Poles' knowledge about COVID-19 as well as people's behaviours, attitudes and fears during the pandemic were assessed. Changes in these between the outset of the pandemic and the imposition of the strictest lockdown measures in Poland were investigated.MethodsPhysicians, nurses, students of medicine-oriented faculties, non-medical professionals, students of non-medicine-oriented faculties and secondary school students were surveyed by an anonymous online questionnaire two times: at the onset of the pandemic and in the second week of the strictest lockdown. Statistical analyses were performed using non-parametric tests - Pearson Chi Square, Kruskal-Wallis tests.ResultsIn total 2618 responses were collected. At the beginning people knew that the respiratory system was attacked (97.9%); correctly identified the major symptoms of COVID-19 (95.0%) and ways to prevent infection: hand washing (99.8%), covering mouth (85.9%) and the need to call sanitary-epidemiological services if one experienced COVID-19-like symptoms (92.1%). The biggest changes between the first and second phase of the study concerned behaviours: more people wearing facial masks (+ 37.5%) and staying at home (+ 66.1%). Respondents in the second wave of the survey were also more scared of the pandemic (+ 19.6%), economic crisis (+ 64.1%), and worried about their families (+ 26.5%). However, they were less afraid of the quarantine (lockdown) (- 18.2%). Nurses and physicians were the most worried groups.ConclusionsThe study showed that even at the outset of the pandemic Polish population had a good initial knowledge about symptoms, transmission, and preventive behaviours regarding COVID-19. People revealed more short-term concerns, such as the worries about coping with quarantine and isolation. After a month, the knowledge and the concerns among the respondents changed. A shift towards long-term pandemic management issues was observed. Respondents reported to experience more fears concerning the pandemic in general, as well as economic and healthcare crises. Medical professionals reported higher level of fear of the pandemic than other groups included in this study. This study uses before-and-after approach which highlights the changes in people's knowledge and perception of the COVID-19 pandemic during the pandemic's progression.

Dataset Information

Initial psychological impact of COVID-19 and its correlates in Indian Community: An online (FEEL-COVID) survey.

Publications

Initial psychological impact of COVID-19 and its correlates in Indian Community: An online (FEEL-COVID) survey.

Similar Datasets

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