PREVALENCE AND PREDICTORS OF STRESS AMONG COVID-19 HEALTH WORKERS IN KABWE DISTRICT- A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

  1. L. L Mukwasa
  2. R. Mutemwa
  3. M. Zambwe
  4. E. Nkhama
  5. P.J Chipimo

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed at determining the magnitude of stress among COVID-19 health workers in Kabwe district.

METHODS

The study was a cross-sectional study which recruited 138 health care workers managing COVID-19 cases in Kabwe. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS version 16 while qualitative data was analyzed using Nvivo8.

RESULTS

The study obtained 100% responses from the respondents and the prevalence of stress among the respondents was 73%. The nurses were more perceived to experience stress compared to the pharmacy personnel (28% vs. 3%). Similarly, women displayed a higher likelihood of experiencing stress compared to men. Lack of support, increased workload and fear were among the factors leading to stress.

CONCLUSION

The study went out to determine stress among healthcare workers in Kabwe district. It was established that nurses were more vulnerable than groups. And women were found to be more stressed than men. It is therefore recommended that effective and meaningful interventions be put in place to mitigate the impact of long-term psychological distress and physical well-being in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and future outbreaks.

ARTICLE SUMMARY

Strengths and limitations of the study

  • A cross-sectional study method was employed; it does not assist in determining the cause and effect, in addition, the timing of the snapshot may not guarantee representation of the situation overtime. Therefore, there may be need to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on health workers mental requirements using a longitudinal study design.

  • There might have been bias from respondents as the outcomes were self-reported. However, irrespective of the aforementioned limitations, this is a novel study in Kabwe describing stress among health workers in the district during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • The study grants access to initial evidence on stress among health workers managing the COVID-19 pandemic in Kabwe district, with the expectation of drawing the attention to legislators, health facility supervisors and those involved in the response to COVID-19 or impending epidemics.

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  1. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.12.20.21267832: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    EthicsConsent: All participants provided informed consent, which stated that the respondent’s anonymity would be maintained and that data would be collected using codes.
    Field Sample Permit: Data collection tools were organized and secured with access restricted only to the research team.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Microsoft Excel was used for checking quantitative data completeness and consistencies, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16 was used for analysis.
    Microsoft Excel
    suggested: (Microsoft Excel, RRID:SCR_016137)
    SPSS
    suggested: (SPSS, RRID:SCR_002865)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  2. Version published to 10.1101/2021.12.20.21267832v1 on medRxiv