Abstract
Background and Aims: Healthcare workers are increasingly experiencing high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, which could impact their overall health and productivity at work. This study examined the prevalence of perceived stress, anxiety, and depression among healthcare workers at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, Nigeria. It also examined the relationships between these mental health problems and the associated factors. Methods: 318 healthcare workers participated in a cross-sectional survey by answering validated, self-administered questions. To ascertain prevalence rates of the mental health problems and their associated factors among healthcare workers. The standardized psychological assessment instruments of the perceived stress scale (PSS), the Beck anxiety inventory (BAI), and the Beck depression inventory (BDI) for measuring perceived stress, anxiety, and depression were employed. The data were then analyzed using SPSS 25. Results: The study found that 55% of participants experienced high levels of perceived stress, 52.2% reported severe anxiety, and 57.5% reported severe depression. Chi-square test showed significant associations were observed between perceived stress and job title with p-value≤0.001, anxiety with job title (p-value≤0.001), department (p-value≤0.001), and years of experience (p-value≤0.043). Depression showed significant association with job title (p-value≤0.001), and department (p-value≤0.001). Conclusion: Targeted mental health interventions are needed, as evidenced from the outcomes of this study showing higher frequency of perceived stress score, anxiety score, and depression score among healthcare workers. These mental health outcomes are strongly influenced by sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, including department, years of experience, and job title.
Keywords: Perceived stress · anxiety · depression · healthcare workers · socio-demographic factors · occupational factors
References
- 1.Ortiz-Calvo E, Martínez-Alés G, Mediavilla R, González-Gómez E, Fernández-Jiménez E, Bravo-Ortiz MF,et al.The role of social support and resilience in the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare workers in Spain. Journal of psychiatric research. 2022; 148:181-
- 2.https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jpsychires.2021.12.030 doi:10.1016/j
- 3.Di Tella M, Romeo A, Benfante A, Castelli L.Mental health of healthcare workers during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Italy.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice. 2020; 26(6):1583- 1587.
- 4.Li M, Chen G, Feng Y, He X. Stress induced hyperglycemia in the context of acute coronary syndrome: definitions, interventions, and underlying mechanisms. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine. 2021; 8:676892. Doi:10.3389/ fcvm.2021.676892.
- 5.McGinty EE, Presskreischer R, Han H, Barry CL. Psychological distress and loneliness reported by US adults in 2018 and April 2020. Jama. 2020; 324(1):93-4.
- 6.Orrù G, Marzetti F, Conversano C, Vagheggini G, Miccoli M, Ciacchini R,et al.Secondary traumatic stress and burnout in healthcare workers during COVID-19 outbreak. International journal of environmental research and public health.2021; 18(1):337..https:// doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph18010337
- 7.Lai J,Ma S,Wang Y,Cai Z,Hu J,Wei N,et al.Factors associated with mental health outcomes among health care workers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019. JAMA network open. 2020; 3(3):e203976-.
- 8.Pappa S, Ntella V, Giannakas T, Giannakoulis VG, Papoutsi E, KatsaounouP.Prevalenceofdepression, anxiety,andinsomniaamonghealthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and 142 Majmaah Journal of Health Sciences,Vol.14, Issue1, January-2026,Rajabi-1447 Prevalence and Associated Factors of Stress,Anxiety,andDepressionamongHealthcareWorkersatFederalMedicalCentre,Abeokuta, Nigeria:ACross-SectionalStudy meta-analysis. Brain, behavior, and immunity. 2020; 88:901-907.
- 9.Mudenda S, Chabalenge B, Matafwali S, Daka V, Chileshe M, Mufwambi W, et al. Psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers in Africa, associated factors and coping mechanisms: A systematic review. Advances in Infectious Diseases. 2022; 12(03):518-532.
- 10.KiselyS,WarrenN,McMahonL,Dalais C, Henry I, Siskind D. Occurrence, prevention, and management of the psychological effects of emerging virus outbreaks on healthcare workers: rapid review and meta-analysis. bmj. 2020;
Peer review
Peer reviewed by 4 reviewers, who chose to remain anonymous.