COVID-19: Factors associated with psychological distress, fear, and coping strategies among community members across 17 countries

• Published in: Globalization and health 2021-10, Vol.17 (1), p.1-117, Article 117
• Main Authors: Rahman, Muhammad Aziz, Islam, Sheikh Mohammed Shariful, Tungpunkom, Patraporn, Sultana, Farhana, Alif, Sheikh M, Banik, Biswajit, Salehin, Masudus, Joseph, Bindu, Lam, Louisa, Watts, Mimmie Claudine, Khan, Sabria Jihan, Ghozy, Sherief, Chair, Sek Ying, Chien, Wai Tong, Schönfeldt-Lecuona, Carlos, El-Khazragy, Nashwa, Mahmud, Ilias, Al Mawali, Adhra Hilal, Al Maskari, Turkiya Saleh, Alharbi, Rayan Jafnan, Hamza, Amr, Keblawi, Mohamad Ali, Hammoud, Majeda, Elaidy, Asmaa M, Susanto, Agus Dwi, Bahar Moni, Ahmed Suparno, AlQurashi, Alaa Ashraf, Ali, Almajdoub, Wazib, Amit, Sanluang, Cattaliya Siripattarakul, Elsori, Deena H, Yasmin, Farhana, Taufik, Feni Fitrani, Al Kloub, Manal, Ruiz, Mara Gerbabe, Elsayed, Mohamed, Eltewacy, Nael Kamel, Al Laham, Nahed, Oli, Natalia, Abdelnaby, Ramy, Dweik, Rania, Thongyu, Ratree, Almustanyir, Sami, Rahman, Shaila, Nitayawan, Sirirat, Al-Madhoun, Sondos, Inthong, Suwit, Alharbi, Talal Ali, Bahar, Tamanna, Ginting, Tribowo Tuahta, Cross, Wendy M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: America; Asia; Community; Confidence intervals; Consent; Coping; Coping (Psychology); coronavirus; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Data collection; Epidemics; Ethics; Europe; Fear; Medical personnel; Mental disorders; Mental health; Methods; Pandemics; Physicians; Population; Psychological aspects; psychological distress; Psychological factors; Psychological stress; Quarantine; Questionnaires; Risk factors; Risk groups; Stress; Stress (Psychology); Systematic review; Text messaging
• ISSN: 1744-8603; 1744-8603
• DOI: 10.1186/s12992-021-00768-3

The current pandemic of COVID-19 impacted the psychological wellbeing of populations globally. We aimed to examine the extent and identify factors associated with psychological distress, fear of COVID-19 and coping. We conducted a cross-sectional study across 17 countries during Jun-2020 to Jan-2021. Levels of psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale), fear of COVID-19 (Fear of COVID-19 Scale), and coping (Brief Resilient Coping Scale) were assessed. A total of 8,559 people participated; mean age ([+ or -]SD) was 33([+ or -]13) years, 64% were females and 40% self-identified as frontline workers. More than two-thirds (69%) experienced moderate-to-very high levels of psychological distress, which was 46% in Thailand and 91% in Egypt. A quarter (24%) had high levels of fear of COVID-19, which was as low as 9% in Libya and as high as 38% in Bangladesh. More than half (57%) exhibited medium to high resilient coping; the lowest prevalence (3%) was reported in Australia and the highest (72%) in Syria. Being female (AOR 1.31 [95% CIs 1.09-1.57]), perceived distress due to change of employment status (1.56 [1.29-1.90]), comorbidity with mental health conditions (3.02 [1.20-7.60]) were associated with higher levels of psychological distress and fear. Doctors had higher psychological distress (1.43 [1.04-1.97]), but low levels of fear of COVID-19 (0.55 [0.41-0.76]); nurses had medium to high resilient coping (1.30 [1.03-1.65]). The extent of psychological distress, fear of COVID-19 and coping varied by country; however, we identified few higher risk groups who were more vulnerable than others. There is an urgent need to prioritise health and well-being of those people through well-designed intervention that may need to be tailored to meet country specific requirements.