Objective: To evaluate the presence/severity of depression, anxiety, and stress among health care workers (HCWs) who work on the specially allocated COVID-19 ward (Group A) and HCWs on the other wards (Group B).
Methods: This questionnaire-based study was conducted from January 25 to February 28, 2021. The mental status was assessed using the Persian version of the 42-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress score (DASS-42). Gathered data was analyzed using SPSS version 25. The independent T-test and Chi-square tests were used to compare quantitative and qualitative variables.
Results: Two-hundred and twenty two questionnaires were eligible for analysis. Group A consisted of 33 HCWs, and 189 (85.1%) individuals were working on the other wards. No statistically significant differences were seen regarding the Socio-demographic features except for the marital status (p=0.005). The depressions' mean score was comparable between group A and B (p=0.102). The mean scores of anxiety and stress were significantly lower in group A than group B (p=0.006), although the frequency of DASS-42 parameters did not differ between these two groups (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Contrary to our assumptions, this study showed that the DASS-42 parameters were not higher in HCWs working on the COVID-19 wards. This might be justified by developing coping mechanisms, being on the honeymoon phase of the disaster, compassion satisfaction, promising vaccine news, and working on the less impacted hospital.
Keywords: Anxiety; COVID-19; Healthcare workers; Pandemic; Pneumonia; Stress.