Author:
Gamonal Limcaoco Rosario Sinta,Mateos Enrique Montero,Fernández Juan Matías,Roncero Carlos
Abstract
AbstractIntroductionSince the beginning of the outbreak in China, ending 2019, the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread subsequently to the rest of the world causing an on-going pandemic. The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 “a public health emergency of international concern.” Taking into consideration the lockdown and quarantine situation, a research team of doctors from the Hospital of Salamanca, decided to do an evaluation of the current emotional state on the general population with a web-based survey in English and in Spanish, which was considered a useful and fast method that could help us determine how people perceived stress and worry due to the COVID-19.MethodsThe survey included a 22 items, gathering information in 3 sections: Sociodemographic data, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) by Cohen and additional queries that assessed the current worry and change of behaviours due to this pandemic.ResultsThe survey received 1091 respondents from 41 countries, from March 17 to the 1st of April, 2020. The mean age of the respondents was 43.1 (14.2) years old, and more than two thirds were women. 21.1% were health personnel. The mean of the PSS-10 score was 17.4 (6.4). Significantly higher scores were observed among women, youth, students, and among those who expressed concern and those who perceived increased susceptibility to the COVID-19. In contrast, no significant differences were observed between the health professionals and the general population. A weak correlation was observed between mean relative volume RSV of the last 28 days and the number of cases reported (rho = 0.31, p <0.001) and deaths (rho = 0.28, p <0.001).DiscussionWith these results the researchers describe an increase of affective symptoms due to the COVID-19. This pandemic is raising the anxiety levels. The findings of the study show the affective and cognitive alterations people are going through. This survey is the first attempt to measure the psychological consequences this pandemic is having, in order to be able to provide the support to confront this global issue, addressing the mental health care that will be needed.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Reference20 articles.
1. Reliability and validity of the Perceived Stress Scale-10 in Hispanic Americans with English or Spanish language preference
2. Global reaction to the recent outbreaks of Zika virus: Insights from a Big Data analysis
3. The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence
4. Carstensen, L. L. , Mikels, J. A. , and Mather, M. (2006). “Aging and the intersection of cognition, motivation, and emotion,” in Handbook of the Psychology of Aging, 6th Edn., eds J. E. Birren , K. W. Schaire , J. E. Birren , and K. W. Schaire (Amsterdam: Elsevier), 343–362.
5. Psychological Effects of the SARS Outbreak in Hong Kong on High-Risk Health Care Workers
Cited by
99 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献