"PERCEIVED STRESS AND MINDFULNESS-BASED COPING STRATEGIES AMONG HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN INDIA DURING COVID-19"
Main Article Content
Keywords
COVID 19, Health Care Workers, Stress, Coping strategies, India
Abstract
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected healthcare systems globally, creating mental health issues for healthcare workers (HCWs). This research aimed to assess the perceived stress levels and coping mechanisms of healthcare workers in India throughout the pandemic.
Materials and Methods:
A cross-sectional study of HCWs engaging in COVID-19 care was undertaken across India between August and November 2020. Participants filled out an online survey that included a part on coping mechanisms and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). The data were summarised using descriptive statistics, and the relationships between stress levels and demographic characteristics were examined using a one-way ANOVA.
Results: Out of 169 respondents (58% female, mean age: 29.98 ± 8.76 years), 75% reported moderate-to-severe stress levels (PSS score mean: 16.17 ± 5.8). Females and frontline workers exhibited higher stress levels compared to their counterparts (p < 0.05). Yoga and pranayama (63.9%), exercise (42.6%), and meditation (41.4%) were the most commonly adopted coping strategies.
Conclusion: The findings highlight a high prevalence of stress among HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the need for institutional stress management programs incorporating yoga, mindfulness, and relaxation techniques. These strategies could help mitigate stress and enhance the resilience of HCWs during public health crises.
References
2. Wu Z., McGoogan J.M. Characteristics of and important lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: summary of a report of 72314 cases from the Chinese center for disease Control and prevention. J Am Med Assoc. 2020
3. Weekly operational update on COVID-19 - 26 January 2021. (2021). Retrieved 26 January 2021, from https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/weekly-operational-update-on-covid-19---26-january-2021]
4. Iyer M, Jayaramayya K, Subramaniam M, Lee S, Dayem A, Cho S et al. COVID-19: an update on diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. BMB Reports. 2020;53(4):191-205.
5. Backer J, Klinkenberg D, Wallinga J. Incubation period of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infections among travellers from Wuhan, China, 20–28 January 2020. Eurosurveillance. 2020;25(5).
6. Bhagavathula A, Aldhaleei W, Rahmani J, Mahabadi M, Bandari D. Knowledge and Perceptions of COVID-19 Among Health Care Workers: Cross-Sectional Study. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance. 2020;6(2):e19160.
7. Wu P, Styra R, Gold W. Mitigating the psychological effects of COVID-19 on health care workers. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 2020;192(17):E459-E460.
8. The Lancet. India under COVID-19 lockdown. The Lancet. 2020;395(10233):1315.
9. Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A Global Measure of Perceived Stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1983;24(4):385.
10. Drachev S, Stangvaltaite-Mouhat L, Bolstad N, Johnsen J, Yushmanova T, Trovik T. Perceived Stress and Associated Factors in Russian Medical and Dental Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in North-West Russia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020;17(15):5390.
11. Pedrozo-Pupo J, Pedrozo-Cortés M, Campo-Arias A. Perceived stress associated with COVID-19 epidemic in Colombia: an online survey. Cadernos de Saúde Pública. 2020;36(5).
12. University C. Scales - Laboratory for the Study of Stress, Immunity, and Disease - Department of Psychology - Carnegie Mellon University [Internet]. Cmu.edu. 2021 [cited 4 February 2021]. Available from: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/psychology/stress-immunity-disease-lab/scales/index.html.
13. Cohen S, Williamson G. Perceived stress in a probability sample of the United States.In: The Social Psychology of Health. 1988. p.31–67.]
14. Wiriyakijja P, Porter S, Fedele S, Hodgson T, McMillan R, Shephard M et al. Validation of the HADS and PSS‐10 and a cross‐sectional study of psychological status in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis. Journal of Oral Pathology & Medicine. 2020;49(3):260-270.
15. Alharbi H, Alshehry A. Perceived stress and coping strategies among ICU nurses in government tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study. Annals of Saudi Medicine. 2019;39(1):48-55.
16. Gambetta-Tessini K, Mariño R, Morgan M, Evans W, Anderson V. Stress and Health-Promoting Attributes in Australian, New Zealand, and Chilean Dental Students. Journal of Dental Education. 2013;77(6):801-809.
17. Du J, Dong L, Wang T, Yuan C, Fu R, Zhang L et al. Psychological symptoms among frontline healthcare workers during COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. General Hospital Psychiatry. 2020;67:144-145.
18. Limcaoco RS, Mateos EM, Fernandez JM, Roncero C. Anxiety, worry and perceived stress in the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, March 2020. Preliminary results. MedRxiv. 2020 Jan 1.
19. Podder I, Agarwal K, Datta S. Comparative analysis of perceived stress in dermatologists and other physicians during national lock‐down and COVID‐19 pandemic with exploration of possible risk factors: A web‐based cross‐sectional study from Eastern India. Dermatologic Therapy. 2020 Jul;33(4).
20. Liu S, Lithopoulos A, Zhang C, Garcia-Barrera M, Rhodes R. Personality and perceived stress during COVID-19 pandemic: Testing the mediating role of perceived threat and efficacy. Personality and Individual Differences. 2021;168:110351.
21. Qiu J, Shen B, Zhao M, Wang Z, Xie B, Xu Y. A nationwide survey of psychological distress among Chinese people in the COVID-19 epidemic: implications and policy recommendations. General Psychiatry. 2020;33(2):e100213.
22. Kessler R, Andrews G, Colpe L, Hiripi E, Mroczek D, Normand S et al. Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine. 2002;32(6):959-976.
23. Reinecke L, Aufenanger S, Beutel M, Dreier M, Quiring O, Stark B et al. Digital Stress over the Life Span: The Effects of Communication Load and Internet Multitasking on Perceived Stress and Psychological Health Impairments in a German Probability Sample. Media Psychology. 2016;20(1):90-115.
24. Panagioti M, Geraghty K, Johnson J, Zhou A, Panagopoulou E, Chew-Graham C et al. Association Between Physician Burnout and Patient Safety, Professionalism, and Patient Satisfaction. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2018;178(10):1317.
25. Shanafelt T, Sloan J, Habermann T. The well-being of physicians. The American Journal of Medicine. 2003;114(6):513-519.
26. Pedrazza M, Berlanda S, Trifiletti E, Bressan F. Exploring Physicians' Dissatisfaction and Work-Related Stress: Development of the PhyDis Scale. Frontiers in Psychology. 2016;7.
27. Schrijver I. Pathology in the Medical Profession?: Taking the Pulse of Physician Wellness and Burnout. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine. 2016;140(9):976-982.
28. Wallace J, Lemaire J, Ghali W. Physician wellness: a missing quality indicator. The Lancet. 2009;374(9702):1714-1721.
29. Urooj U, Ansari A, Siraj A, Khan S, Tariq H. Expectations, Fears and Perceptions of doctors during Covid-19 Pandemic. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences. 2020;36(COVID19-S4).
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All articles published in JPTCP are licensed under Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Nair Dhiren Ajit
Assistant Professor, Maharishi Aurobindo Subharti College & Hospital of Naturopathy & Yogic Sciences, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India
Kajal Gupta
Medical officer & Course Co-ordinator, National Institute of Naturopathy, Pune, India.
Abitone valsakumar
Assistant professor, SDM college of naturopathy and yogic sciences Ujire, Karnataka, India.
Abhay M Shankaregowda
Dean & Principal, Maharishi Aurobindo Subharti College & Hospital of Naturopathy & Yogic Sciences, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India.