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The Cross-Sectional Relations of COVID-19 Fear and Stress to Psychological Distress among Frontline Healthcare Workers in Selangor, Malaysia

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  • Natasha Subhas

    (Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, Jalan Langat, Klang 41200, Malaysia)

  • Nicholas Tze-Ping Pang

    (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia)

  • Wei-Cheng Chua

    (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia)

  • Assis Kamu

    (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia)

  • Chong-Mun Ho

    (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia)

  • Isabel Shamini David

    (Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Banting, Banting 42700, Malaysia)

  • William Wei-Liang Goh

    (Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Segamat, KM6, Segamat 85000, Malaysia)

  • Yogaraja Indran Gunasegaran

    (Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, Jalan Langat, Klang 41200, Malaysia)

  • Kit-Aun Tan

    (Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia)

Abstract

Previous pandemics have demonstrated short and long-term impacts on healthcare workers’ mental health, causing knock-on effects on patient care and professional functioning. Indeed, the present COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented disruption in social interactions and working conditions. Malaysia has been under the Recovery Movement Control Order since June 2020; however, with the upsurge of cases, healthcare workers face pressure not only from working in resource-deprived settings but also from the increasing patient load. The primary objective of the present study was to examine the cross-sectional relationship of COVID-19 fear and stress to psychological distress (operationalized as anxiety and depression) in healthcare workers. The present sample included 286 frontline healthcare workers from three hospitals in Selangor, Malaysia. Self-administered questionnaires containing sociodemographic and occupational items, the Malay versions of the Coronavirus Stress Measure scale, the Fear of Coronavirus-19 scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 were distributed via online platforms. Hierarchical multiple regression findings suggest that age, shift work, and COVID-19 stress consistently predicted anxiety and depression among frontline healthcare workers after adjusting for sociodemographic and occupational variables. The present findings suggest that frontline healthcare workers are not only inoculated against COVID-19 itself but also against the psychological sequelae of the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Natasha Subhas & Nicholas Tze-Ping Pang & Wei-Cheng Chua & Assis Kamu & Chong-Mun Ho & Isabel Shamini David & William Wei-Liang Goh & Yogaraja Indran Gunasegaran & Kit-Aun Tan, 2021. "The Cross-Sectional Relations of COVID-19 Fear and Stress to Psychological Distress among Frontline Healthcare Workers in Selangor, Malaysia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-11, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:19:p:10182-:d:644898
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nicholas Tze Ping Pang & Assis Kamu & Chong Mun Ho & Walton Wider & Mathias Wen Leh Tseu, 2022. "An Analysis by State on The Effect of Movement Control Order (MCO) 3.0 Due to COVID-19 on Malaysians’ Mental Health: Evidence from Google Trends," Data, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-9, November.

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