Current Research in Medical Sciences

en Health Status of Iranian Healthcare Workers During the First Peak of COVID-19 Epidemic in a High-Incidence Area (South Khorasan Province, Iran) بیماری های عفونی بیماری های عفونی پژوهشی اصیل Original Article Background and Objective: The immediate spread of life-threatening diseases such as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) can put a great deal of strain on healthcare professionals. Considering the important role of healthcare workers during the epidemic and the impact of life-threatening diseases on them, this study aimed to assess the general health of healthcare workers during the first peak of COVID-19 epidemic in Iran, and to investigate the factors affecting health status of the study population. Methods: In this prospective pre-post observational study, the healthcare workers of South Khorasan province, Iran formed the target population. Data collection was initiated on May 9th, 2020, which is between the two peaks of the epidemic in Iran (March 31th, and June 4th). In this study, 173 individuals were entered the study. The data collection tools included a 28-item version of the Goldberg Standard General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and a demographic checklist. Data were entered into SPSS v.22 for analysis at the significance level of P ≤0.05. Findings: This study was conducted on 173 healthcare workers with an age range of 20-66 years and a mean and standard deviation (SD) of 35.2 ± 8.9 years. The mean total score of the GHQ-28 was 16.1 ± 7.9 one month before the COVID-19 epidemic, while it increased by 5.0 points and reached 21.1 ± 11.2 during the epidemic (P <0.001, effect size = 31.0%). Adjusted R-squared values for the somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, severe depression, and social dysfunction subscales and the GHQ-28 were 32.8%, 55.5%, 72.3%, 11.6%, and 38.4%, respectively. Conclusion: The scores of the GHQ-28 and its four subscales raised significantly during the COVID-19 epidemic compared to the previous month, showing that the health status of healthcare workers was deteriorated. Also, rotational work shifts along with experiencing nonspecific symptoms of COVID-19 could adversely affect the health status of healthcare workers.   Anxiety, COVID-19, COVID-19 Stress Syndrome, Health Personnel, Mental Health 11 22 http://crms.mubabol.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-140-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 S Khojasteh-Kaffash soroushkaffash@gmail.com 10031947532846001683 10031947532846001683 No A Fanoodi Fanoodi.af@gmail.com 10031947532846001684 10031947532846001684 No F Mozayani mozayanif881@gmail.com 10031947532846001685 10031947532846001685 No R Dastjerdi R.dastjerdi@bums.ac.ir 10031947532846001686 10031947532846001686 No S M Riahi riahim61@gmail.com 10031947532846001687 10031947532846001687 Yes