Psychological distress related to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic and coping strategies among general population in Egypt

Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association

Research

Mahmoud Abdel Hameed Shahin¹  Manal Mohamed Elkayal²  Rasha Mohammed Hussien³ 

[1] Department of Critical Care Nursing, Mohammed Al-Mana College for Medical Sciences, Dammam, Saudi Arabia;Department of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt;Department of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt;Department of Psychiatric and Mental Health and Community Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Qasim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia;

关键词: Coping;    Coronavirus;    COVID-19;    Pandemic;    Psychological distress;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s42506-021-00100-2

 received in 2020-08-11, accepted in 2021-12-11,  发布年份 2021

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPsychological distress is considered a threat to the mental health of human beings. This research was conducted at the beginning of the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, when most people had limited knowledge about coronavirus, mode of transmission, associated manifestations, with uncertainty about treatment, vaccine, future life, and coping capacity. This study examined the nature of the psychological distress related to the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and coping strategies adopted among the general population in Egypt.MethodsThis was a descriptive, cross-sectional study assessing a convenience sample consisting of 312 participants from the general population in Egypt. Data were gathered as online responses to a questionnaire which incorporated a sociodemographic datasheet, psychological distress scale, and ways of coping scale.ResultsForty-two percent of the participants showed severe psychological distress and 26% showed mild to moderate psychological distress. There was a strong positive correlation between the distress score and the overall coping score—that is, the higher the distress, the more ways of coping were adopted (p < 0.001). This study also showed that the methods of adaptation used by most of the population were based on emotional coping strategy. The most adaptive people were those who work in the health field and the residents in the cities with a monthly income sufficient enough to meet their needs; better adaptation methods were also seen among both divorced and highly educated people. We also found a significant relationship between sociodemographic characteristics except for sex and overall coping methods (p < 0.001). Further, significant relationships between sociodemographic characteristics and psychological distress were observed (p < 0.001).ConclusionMost of the study population as a sample of the general population in Egypt reported suffering from varying degrees of psychological distress during the COVID-19 crisis. However, the more severe an individual’s level of psychological distress, the greater their adaptation ability was. This study focuses light on the importance to provide appropriate interventions against COVID-19-related stresses and equipping people with suitable strategies for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2022. corrected publication 2022