Assessment of Mental Health Status of Public Healthcare Providers in Madhya Pradesh

Page: 455-458
Azaz Khan and Dinesh Nagar (Department of Psychology, Barkatullah University, Bhopal)

Healthcare providers have a huge responsibility for ensuring health and well-being of the masses. However, amidst COVID 19 their health and well-being was also adversely affected. This study was conducted after the COVID-19 second wave in India to examine the difference in the mental health of doctors, nurses and community health workers (CHWs). This study was conducted on a sample of 300 healthcare providers after the COVID-19 second wave. Doctors, nurses and CHWs who were working in Primary health centres (PHCs), community health centres (CHCs) and district hospitals (DHs) voluntarily participated in the study. Mental Health Inventory (MHI-38) comprises of six subscales (anxiety, depression, loss of control, emotional ties, general positive affect, & life satisfaction), and two global scales psychological distress and psychological well-being and overall mental health index was used to measure healthcare providers’ mental health. ANOVA results revealed a statistically significant difference in mean scores of doctors, nurses and CHWs on anxiety, depression and psychological distress. Furthermore, the mean score of anxiety, depression and psychological distress revealed that doctors and nurses were experiencing higher symptoms of these mental health problems in comparison to CHWs. The observed difference in the mental health of doctors, nurses and CHWs might be due to their engagement, role and responsibilities. To achieve optimal patient-level outcomes, healthcare organization needs to keep their workforce physically and mentally healthy, which requires evaluation of healthcare providers’ mental health and determining other work environmental-related factors that can be associated with healthcare providers’ mental health.