Medical Science
Volume 24, Issue 106, November - December, 2020
Psychological status assessment of medical and dental staff during the covid-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia
Nancy Ajwa1, Abdullah Al Rafee2♦, Hamad Al Rafie3, Nawaf Alrafee3, Nasser Alduhaimi3, Faisal Zainaldeen3, Marzouq Alqahtani3, Khaled Alfayez3
1Preventive Dentistry Department, College of Dentistry, Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2Specialized Dentistry Department, Dentistry Administration, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
3Dental intern, College of Dentistry, Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
♦Corresponding author
Specialized Dentistry Department,
Dentistry Administration, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia;
Email: abdullah.s.alrafee@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Introduction: In the previous times the people has suffered a lot from infectious diseases. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is just
arrived viral infection that began in the China, and also included pneumonia in the rest of the world. In the fight of the sudden
emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), psychological distress among health care professionals appeared gradually.
The Purpose of this study was to measure the occurrence and levels of depression and anxiety among medical and dental staff.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study using Google Forms, conducted in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia from June to August 2020. The
survey questionnaire included General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) and Patient’s Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) that used to identify
influence factors associated with mental dysfunction with 577 participants. Results: From the total sample analyzed (577
participants), the mean scores were 8.5. Based on PHQ-9 scores and participants who have severe depression reached 7%, while; the
mean scores were 7.81. Based on GAD-7 scores and reached 14% who had severe anxiety. Conclusion: The current study concludes
to self-report psychological problems are prevalent in medical and dental staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the prevalence
of anxiety and depression was higher among emergency medical technicians, nurses and physicians compare with the dental staff.
Keywords: COVID-19, Psychological Status, Medical Practitioners
Medical Science, 2020, 24(106), 4790-4797
