Citations 2
COVID-19: Factors Associated with the Psychological Distress, Fear and Resilient Coping Strategies among Community Members in Saudi Arabia
Alharbi, Talal Ali F. , AlQurashi, Alaa , Mahmud, Ilias , Alharbi, Rayan Jafnan , Islam, Sheikh Mohammed Shariful , Almustanyir, Sami , Maklad, Ahmed Essam , AlSarraj, Ahmad, Mughaiss, Lujain Nedhal, Al‐Tawfiq, Jaffar A. , Ahmed, Ahmed Ali , Barry, Mazin , Alabdan, Lulwah Ibrahim, Alif, Sheikh Mohammad , Sultana, Farhana , Salehin, Masudus , Banik, Biswajit , Rahman, Muhammad Aziz , Alqurashi, Alaa Ashraf Bagader , Alif, Sheikh M , Salehin, Masudus , Rahman, Muhammad Aziz , Islam, Sheikh Mohammed Shariful , Ghozy, Sherief , Cross, Wendy M
Healthcare | April 20, 2023 | Volume: 11 | Issue: 8 | Pages: 1184
(1) Background: COVID-19 caused the worst international public health crisis, accompanied by major global economic downturns and mass-scale job losses, which impacted the psychosocial wellbeing of the worldwide population, including Saudi Arabia. Evidence of the high-risk groups impacted by the pandemic has been non-existent in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study examined factors associated with psychosocial distress, fear of COVID-19 and coping strategies among the general population in Saudi Arabia. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in healthcare and community settings in the Saudi Arabia using an anonymous online questionnaire. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) were used to assess psychological distress, fear and coping strategies, respectively. Multivariate logistic regressions were used, and an Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) was reported. (3) Results: Among 803 participants, 70% (n = 556) were females, and the median age was 27 years; 35% (n = 278) were frontline or essential service workers; and 24% (n = 195) reported comorbid conditions including mental health illness. Of the respondents, 175 (21.8%) and 207 (25.8%) reported high and very high psychological distress, respectively. Factors associated with moderate to high levels of psychological distress were: youth, females, non-Saudi nationals, those experiencing a change in employment or a negative financial impact, having comorbidities, and current smoking. A high level of fear was reported by 89 participants (11.1%), and this was associated with being ex-smokers (3.72, 1.14–12.14, 0.029) and changes in employment (3.42, 1.91–6.11, 0.000). A high resilience was reported by 115 participants (14.3%), and 333 participants (41.5%) had medium resilience. Financial impact and contact with known/suspected cases (1.63, 1.12–2.38, 0.011) were associated with low, medium, to high resilient coping. (4) Conclusions: People in Saudi Arabia were at a higher risk of psychosocial distress along with medium-high resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, warranting urgent attention from healthcare providers and policymakers to provide specific mental health support strategies for their current wellbeing and to avoid a post-pandemic mental health crisis.
Psychological Distress, Fear, and Coping Strategies among Citizens and Residents in Saudi Arabia During the COVID-19 Pandemic
AlQurashi, Alaa , Mahmud, Ilias , Islam, Sheikh Mohammed Shariful , Almustanyir, Sami , Maklad, Ahmed Essam , AlSarraj, Ahmad, Mughaiss, Lujain Nedhal, Ahmed, Ahmed Ali, Barry, Mazin , Alabdan, Lulwah Ibrahim, Alif, Sheikh Mohammad , Sultana, Farhana , Salehin, Masudus , Banik, Biswajit , Rahman, Muhammad Aziz , Islam, Sheikh Mohammed Shariful , Alif, Sheikh M , Rahman, Muhammad Aziz , Alharbi, Talal Ali F. , Alharbi, Rayan Jafnan , Al‐Tawfiq, Jaffar A. , Ghozy, Sherief , Cross, Wendy M
No container title available | October 12, 2021 | Volume: No volume available | Issue: No issue available | Pages: No page available
Abstract Background: COVID-19 caused the worst international public health crisis, accompanied by major global economic downturns, mass-scale job losses, which impacted on the psychosocial wellbeing of the worldwide population. This study examined factors associated with psychosocial distress, fear of COVID-19 and coping strategies amongst the general population in Saudi Arabia.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an anonymous online questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regressions were used; Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) was reported.Results: Among 803 participants, 70 %(n=556), were females and the median age was 27 years; 35% (n=278), were frontline or essential service workers; 24% (n=195), reported comorbid conditions including mental health illness. Factors associated with moderate to high levels of psychological distress were: youth (18 - 29 years) (AOR 3.35, 95% CIs 2.06 - 5.44), females (2.59, 1.60 - 4.19), non-Saudi nationals (2.17, 1.11 - 4.26), change in employment (2.9, 1.73 - 4.87), negative financial impact (2.14, 1.29-3.56), having comorbidities (2.67, 1.47 - 4.87), and current smoking (2.87, 1.55 - 5.33). Being ex-smokers (3.72, 1.14 - 12.14) and change in employment (3.42, 1.91 - 6.11) were associated with higher levels of fear of COVID-19. People whose financial situation was impacted and who had contact with known/suspected cases (1.63, 1.12-2.38) had low medium to high resilient coping.Conclusions: People in Saudi Arabia were at a higher risk of psychosocial distress and fear along with low resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, warranting urgent attention from healthcare providers and policymakers, to provide specific mental health support strategies for their wellbeing currently and to avoid a post-pandemic mental health crisis.