Psychological impact of COVID-19 outbreak among Jimma University Medical Centere visitors in Southwestern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.
BACKGROUND
COVID-19 has posed several medical, psychosocial and economic impacts among the majority of the society. The ambiguity of its transmission, the intense desire of self-protection, family, and friends, the unknown impact of catching the disease itself, unstoppable spread, the panic and outright misinformation lead to acute stress reaction syndrome. However, reliable data related to this contagion lack the prevalence of acute stress reaction syndrome and associated factors among Jimma University Medical Centre hospital visitors in Southwestern Ethiopia.


AIMS
The main objective of the study was to assess the prevalence and factors associated with acute stress reaction syndrome during the COVID-19 outbreak among Jimma University Medical Centre Hospital visitors, Ethiopia.


METHODS
An interviewer-administered cross-sectional study was conducted among 247 visitors of the Jimma University Medical Centre in Ethiopia. The study was conducted within 2 weeks of the first COVID-19 cases detected on 13 March 2020 in Ethiopia. Data on demographic and socioeconomic status were collected during the interview using structured questionnaires. The psychological impact was assessed using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, and symptoms of insomnia were measured using the Insomnia Severity Index. Social support was evaluated using Oslo three-item Social Support Scale. Logistic regression was employed to determine the associations between dependent and independent variables. Besides, psychosocial stress score was generated using principal component analysis. A paired permutation test was also performed to determine the variability of psychosocial stress between groups.


RESULTS
The mean age of participants was 30.47 years, and 76.5% of the participants were male. Acute stress reaction syndrome was detected in 44.1% of hospital visitors. Of the participants, 38.5%, 17.4%, 8.5% and 35.6% had a minimal, mild, moderate and severe psychological impact, respectively. Factors positively associated with acute stress reaction syndrome were individuals who perceived that COVID-19 leads to stigma (adjusted OR (AOR): 3.24, 95% CI 1.11 to 9.45), mild insomnia (AOR: 14.74, 95% CI 6.14 to 35.40), moderate to severe insomnia (AOR: 35.1, 95% CI 10.76 to 114.66), low social support (AOR: 4.08, 95% CI 1.31 to 12.67) and governmental employees (AOR: 8.09, 95% CI 1.38 to 47.18).


CONCLUSION
The study revealed the existence of a high prevalence of acute stress reaction syndrome during the COVID-19 outbreak among different groups of the community. Therefore, our results will contribute to the global awareness of the psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
['Yitayih|Yimenu|Y|0000-0002-0300-394X', 'Lemu|Yohannes Kebede|YK|', 'Mekonen|Seblework|S|', 'Mecha|Mohammed|M|', 'Ambelu|Argaw|A|0000-0003-1898-4100']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D001007:Anxiety D000086382:COVID-19 D015897:Comorbidity D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D003863:Depression D005002:Ethiopia D005260:Female D005500:Follow-Up Studies D006785:Hospitals, University D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008603:Mental Health D008875:Middle Aged D058873:Pandemics D015995:Prevalence D012189:Retrospective Studies D000086402:SARS-CoV-2 D057545:Social Stigma D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D055815:Young Adult
adult psychiatry anxiety disorders depression & mood disorders public health rehabilitation medicine