Abstract:
Background: Healthcare workers responding to the Corona Virus Pandemic
(COVID-19) are at risk of mental illness. Data is scanty on the burden of mental disorders
among Kenyan healthcare workers responding to the pandemic that can inform mental
health and psychosocial support. The purpose of this study was to establish the
frequency and associated factors of worry, generalized anxiety disorder, depression,
posttraumatic stress disorder and poor quality of sleep among Kenyan health care
workers at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: We conducted an online survey among 1,259 health care workers in Kenya.
A researcher developed social demographic questionnaire and several standardized
tools were used for data collection. Standardized tools were programmed into Redcap,
(Research Electronic Data Capture) and data analysis was performed using R Core Team.
In all analysis a p-value < 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: 66% of the participants reported experiencing worry related to COVID-19.
32.1% had depression, 36% had generalized anxiety, 24.2% had insomnia and 64.7%
scored positively for probable Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Depression
was higher among females compared to men (36.5 vs. 26.9%, p = 0.003), workers
<35 years old compared to older ones (38.1 vs. 26.4%, p < 0.001), and those
who were not married compared to those who were married (40.6 vs. 27.6%, p
< 0.001). Generalized anxiety was commoner among workers aged <35 years (43.5
vs. 29.3%, p < 0.001), females (41.7 vs. 29.2%, p < 0.001), those who mere
not married compared to the married (45.2 vs. 31.2%, p < 0.001) and those with
<10 years working experience (41.6 to 20.5%, p < 0.001). Younger health care
professional had a higher proportion of insomnia compared to the older ones (30.3
vs. 18.6%, p < 0.001). Insomnia was higher among those with <10 years’ experience
compared to those with more than 20 years’ experience(27.3 vs. 17.6%, p = 0.043)Conclusion: Many Kenyan healthcare workers in the early phase of COVID-19
pandemic suffered from various common mental disorders with young, female
professionals who are not married bearing the bigger burden. This data is useful in
informing interventions to promote mental and psychosocial wellbeing among Kenyan
healthcare workers responding to the pandemic.
