Mental Health Impact of Covid-19 on Healthcare Workers in Relation to Their Personality and Coping Mechanism

Abstract Background COVID-19 pandemic was a worldwide health threat, health care workers were subjected to severe degrees of mental, physical and psychological stress especially those working in quarantine hospitals. Aim of the Study The aim of the present study is to evaluate frequency of mental health problems among Health Care Workers (HCWs) (who work in quarantine hospitals during COVID-19 pandemic) in relation to their personality and coping mechanism. Patients and Methods This study included 200 HCWs in quarantine hospitals, including Physicians and Nurses of both genders and between the age of 20-40. Each of the participants were assessed using Covid Stress Scale, Beck's Depression Inventory Scale, Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, Eysenk Personality Questionnaire, Brief Coping Scale. Results Depression among HCWs was moderate in 19% and severe in 18% of subjects. There was a significant positive correlation between anxiety, depression and COVID stress. Assessing personality traits revealed psychoticism in 26% of the sample, neuroticism was found in almost 25%, 7.1% were extroverts and they were females, impulsivity/criminality traits were found in 62% of our sample, 8% of the sample were detected having high lying score in lie sub scale and all of them were females. Regarding coping mechanism, the emotion focused coping and the problem focused coping mechanisms were predominant.