Assessment of Psychological Stress among Quarantined COVID-19 Patients
Krishnaraju Venkatesan
Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid Universiy, Abha, Asir Province, Saudi Arabia.
Shadia Hamoud Alshahrani
College of Nursing, Mahalah Branch for Girls, King Khalid University, Asir Province, Saudi Arabia.
Premalatha Paulsamy *
College of Nursing, Mahalah Branch for Girls, King Khalid University, Asir Province, Saudi Arabia.
Absar Ahmed Qureshi
Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid Universiy, Abha, Asir Province, Saudi Arabia.
Zainah Alshahrani
Educational Supervision Department, MOE, Saudi Arabia.
H. Z. Alshahrani Fahad
Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been causing a worldwide pandemic since the end of 2019. This study looked at the mental health of COVID-19 patients who had been quarantined. This cross-sectional study included fifty COVID - 19 patients who were under quarantine. Online self-reported questionnaires were used in the study. Demographic data and an inventory of pandemic-related stress factors (PRSF) were used to analyse COVID-19-related stress domains. The quarantined COVID - 19 patients had pandemic related stress among themselves. Lack of knowledge about infectiveness and virulence (78%), sleep disorders (94%), financial concerns (92 %) and feeling isolated and avoidance by others (90%) were the most common stressors. Eighty two percent of the patients felt that they were being protected by the family and relatives and only 48% felt that the government is taking the responsibility of protecting them. The findings show that COVID-19 patients in quarantine reported severe psychological distress. As a result, this study urge that required measures be taken to alleviate COVID-19 patients stress, with special focus paid to patients perceptions of stigma and coping techniques.
Keywords: Psychological stress, quarantined COVID -19 patients, pandemic-related stress factors scale (PRSF)