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Assessing the general health of the public population in South Khorasan Province before and during the COVID-19 epidemic
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Ali Fanoodi   , Soroush Khojasteh-Kaffash , Reza Dastjerdi , Seyed Mohammad Riahi * |
| Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Cardiovascular Diseases Research Center, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran , Riahim61@gmail.com |
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Abstract: (1238 Views) |
Background and objective: During epidemics of infectious diseases, individuals’ health, especially their mental health, are affected. This study aimed to evaluate general health and its dimensions during the COVID-19 epidemic in South Khorasan province, Iran.
Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study. Individual information was collected voluntarily on the web. General health evaluation was performed by a standard questionnaire (GHQ-28). The collected data were entered into the SPSS v.23 and statistical tests were performed.
Findings: This study was performed on 320 people, most of the subjects were in the age range of 20-30 years. Also, 80 (25.0%) participants reported nonspecific symptoms of COVID-19 such as headache, sore throat, and dry cough, and 216 people (67.5%) used personal protective equipment (PPE). The mean score of the GHQ-28 one month before the COVID-19 epidemic (BE) was 16.5 ± 9.1, while the mean of this score during the epidemic (DE) increased by 1.8 points and reached 18.3 ± 10.2 (P ≤0.003, effect size=10.9%). The score of anxiety/insomnia subscale showed the highest increment. Adjusted R2 values for the scores of somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, and social dysfunction subscales, and the score of the GHQ-28 were 14.8%, 10.5%, 13.8%, and 13.1%, respectively.
Conclusion: This study showed that with the COVID-19 epidemic, the community has been faced with conditions in which individualschr('39') anxiety, depression, social function, and in general, various dimension of health, has been deteriorated. The results of this study can be beneficial for appropriate planning for maintaining, promoting, and improving health in the community. |
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| Keywords: Anxiety, COVID-19 epidemic, Depression, GHQ-28, Mental health |
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Full-Text [PDF 1048 kb]
(846 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Original Article |
Subject:
روانشناسی
Received: 2020/12/1 | Accepted: 2021/05/25 | Published: 2021/05/25
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