Prevalence and Comparative Analyses of Mental Health Outcomes Among Medical and Non-Medical Practitioners During the Third Wave of Covid-19 Pandemic in Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract This study assessed the mental health state of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey using the snowballing sampling technique was utilized to select 300 medical and non-medical healthcare practitioners in the study. An online questionnaire consisting of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Patient Health Questionnaire, and Insomnia Severity Index was used for data collection. Both the medical and the non-medical practitioners reported minimal to severe symptoms of insomnia, generalized anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress. However, a significant difference was found in symptoms of insomnia (χ2=16.98, df = 3, p<.01), such that non-medical practitioners exhibited clinical insomnia symptoms (13.8%) than the medical practitioners (11.5%). Further, a significant difference was found in symptoms of depression (χ2=9.93, df = 4, p<.05), such that medical practitioners exhibited more severe depressive symptoms (07.3%) than the non-medical practitioners (06.4%). A significant number of healthcare workers reported mental health challenges during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic emergence in Nigeria. Therefore, it is recommended that healthcare workers should be exposed to appropriate and regular psychosocial interventions to keep them healthy and functioning optimally.