A Survey of Psychological Distress among Bangladeshi People During the COVID-19 Pandemic  

Marzo, Roy Rillera; Singh, Akansha; Mukti, Roushney Fatima

Abstract

Introduction Previous studies conducted on the psychological impact of infectious outbreaks have found heavy psychological burdens among general population with more severe affect in the current pandemic. The main aim of this study is to examine the level of psychological distress during COVID-19 in Bangladesh and explore factors associated with higher psychological distress. Methods An internet-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted from March to April 2020 in Bangladesh among adults 18 years old and above using structured online questionnaires distributed through emails, WhatsApp, Telegram, and other social media throughout Bangladesh with an overall response rate of 34%. Modified version of the Covid19 peritraumatic distress index (CPDI) with 24 items was used to measure distress. Univariate and Bivariate analysis was used to estimate prevalence of CPDI symptoms and test for the associations between CPDI and the exposure variables. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the odds ratios of our outcome variable by exposure variables. Results Overall, 44.3% of respondents were suffering from mild to moderate distress and 9.5% were suffering from severe distress in Bangladesh out of 501 respondents. More than two third of females (65.6%) respondents have experienced psychological distress. Female respondents were 2.435 times more likely to suffer from CPDI mild to severe distress than males. As compared to Dhaka and Mymensing region of Bangladesh, odds of distress was 1.945 times more in Chittagong/Sylhet region (p-value=0.035). Conclusion Large proportion of adult population in Bangladesh are experiencing psychological distress, with level of distress varies by different symptoms and predictors. This study suggest the need to develop comprehensive crisis prevention system including epidemiological monitoring, screening, and referral with targeted intervention to reduce psychological distress. Keywords- Psychological Distress; Peritraumatic Distress Index; COVID-19

Citation

Marzo, R. R., Singh, A., & Mukti, R. F. (2021). A Survey of Psychological Distress among Bangladeshi People During the COVID-19 Pandemic  . Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health, 10, Article 100693. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cegh.2020.100693

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 27, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jan 14, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-04
• Deposit Date: Jan 7, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 26, 2021
• Journal: Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health.
• Electronic ISSN: 2213-3984
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Article Number: 100693
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cegh.2020.100693
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1247936