Mental health during COVID-19 pandemic among young Thai physicians in Thailand
Keywords:
COVID-19, health, mental, physician, psychosocialAbstract
Objective: To assess the magnitude of mental health, and associated factors among young Thai physicians during COVID-19 epidemic in Thailand.
Methods: A cross-sectional study in which online data was collected from young Thai physicians from May to June 2020. The questionnaires were composed of Personal and demographic inquiry, DASS-21-Thai version, and COVID-19 questionnaire. All data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and associated factors concerning mental health were analyzed by chi-square and logistic regression.
Results: There were 264 respondents, interns (38.6%) and non-interns (61.4%). The mean age was 26.0±1.2 years. The majority of participants were female (61.4%), worked in a non-medical school (62.5%), and worked in the southern area (73.9%). Most participants reported a normal level of depression, anxiety, and stress (74.2%, 79.9%, 87.9%, respectively). More than half of participants worried about the insufficiency of healthcare workers, facilities, and quality of protective equipment (62.5%, 61.0%, 62.9%, respectively). Moreover, they felt anxious about having a chance of falling sick and dying (63.2%) and being a resource of spreading to others (69.7%). Besides, none of the factors were statistically significantly associated with mental health.
Conclusion: Regarding the COVID-19 epidemic, most young Thai physicians had normal mental health. However, they identified some worries about the insufficiency of healthcare workers, facilities, quality of protective equipment, and having the chance of falling sick and dying or being a resource of spreading to others.
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