Psychological problems and associated factors during COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia

Psychological problems like depression, anxiety, and stress are common in the general population and they have a negative impact on the well-being of the community as well as the country. Pandemic diseases like COVID-19 increase the prevalence of psychological problems in the community. Studying psychological problems and associated factors in the community is very crucial for community mental health management. However, evidence is scarce in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of psychological problems and factors in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic in Shashemene Town, Oromia, Ethiopia. 

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February 01,2012 to February 28, 2021.  A structured, pretested, and interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 889 study participants selected through a simple random sampling technique. The data was collected using the depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression was done to determine factors associated with DAS. Adjusted odds ratio with their 95% confidence intervals were calculated to identify the presence and strength of an association, while statistical significance was reported at P<0.05. 

The prevalence of psychological problems was 96.6% [95% Cl: 95.9,98.1]. The overall prevalence of depression and anxiety were 30% and 43.5% respectively. Having COVID-19 symptoms in the past two weeks before the survey (AOR=0.34; 95% Cl: 0.15,0.77) and having known medical problems (AOR=0.28; 95% Cl: 0.13,0.59) were factors significantly associated with a psychological problem in response to COVID-19 pandemic. 

The prevalence of psychological problems in response to the COVID-19 pandemic infection was very high in the study area. It needs immediate action to alleviate this psychological problem crisis in the community.