Anxiety among Doctors during COVID-19 Pandemic in Secondary and Tertiary Care Hospitals

Objective: To assess the level of anxiety among doctors during COVID-19 pandemic and the associated risk factors.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from 30th April to 16th May, 2020 in Karachi, Pakistan. The data was collected via an online web-based questionnaire. Questionnaire was used to assess anxiety level using GAD-7 scale among health-care professionals and the risk factors playing role in it.

Results: One hundred and fifty-one doctors participated in our study. Out of these 151 participants, 69 (45.7%) had mild, 22 (14.6%) had moderate, and 5 (3.3%) had severe symptoms of anxiety, whereas the remaining 55 (36.4%) had no anxiety according to GAD-7 scale. The median [interquartile range (IQR)] GAD-7 scale scores are 6.0 [3.00-9.00]. Females showed more severe degrees of measurement of anxiety symptoms than males. Doctors dealing with COVID-19 patients showed higher level of anxiety as compared to the doctors who were not dealing with COVID-19 patients, having a significant difference (U = 9.697, p = 0.008). One hundred and forty-one (93.4%) participants were concerned about being exposed to COVID-19 at work and 112 (74.2 %) thought they have inadequate protective equipment for safety.

Conclusions: During COVID-19 pandemic, doctors exhibited different grades of anxiety. In order for healthcare workers to perform to the best of their capability, certain guidelines and interventions are needed.