Factors Associated with Anxiety and Depression of Teachers During the Covid-19 Pandemic
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Abstract
Objective: To examine the factors associated with anxiety and depression in teachers and to investigate the anxiety and depression of teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: This research presented a cross-section descriptive study. The teacher samples were selected from various government schools, private schools, and demonstration schools. Total 437 teachers in primary and secondary classes in Thailand were tested recruited from 2020 to 2022 by Stratified sampling. Data collection happened via Google Forms platform from April 5th to April 19th, 2023. Questionnaires were used to collect the general information, factors, Generalized Anxiety Disorder; GAD7 (Thai Version) and Patient Health Questionnaire; PHQ-9 (Thai Version). The collected data was analyzed using Pearson’s Chi-Square test and Binary logistic regression. This human research study was approved and monitored by Human Research Ethics Protocol No. IPRS-IRB-2023-042
Results: The factors that significantly affected anxiety were age (p = 0.026), while age (p = 0.029) and teaching experience (p = 0.043) significantly affected depression. The levels of anxiety achieved (low, moderate, and severe) were 36.84%, 8.92%, and 4.58%, respectively, whereas depression achieved 22.20%, 7.78%, and 6.18%, respectively.
Conclusion: This study shows that some teachers faced and coped with mental health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic situation. School administrators and relevant agencies must plan strategies and provide interventions to assist teachers who have been experiencing anxiety and depression for the purpose of improving mental well-being. These include establishing preventive measures for potential mental health problems among teachers, such as providing school psychologists or psychiatrists to impart knowledge and counseling to teachers regarding coping mechanisms, managing expectations, and anxiety management. Additionally, annual mental health screenings for teachers should be conducted, along with organizing meetings for teachers to discuss and exchange their teaching experiences with each other in the school.
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