Self-reported psychological distress during the COVID-19 outbreak in Nepal: findings from an online survey
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Self‑reported psychological distress during the COVID‑19 outbreak in Nepal: findings from an online survey Kamal Gautam1* , Ramesh P. Adhikari2,3, Aman Sen Gupta2, Rajan Kumar Shrestha2, Pitambar Koirala1 and Suraj Koirala1
Abstract Background: A lower respiratory tract infection caused by novel coronavirus termed as Corona Virus Disease (COVID19) was first identified in China and subsequently took the form of pandemic. Studies on disease outbreak in the past and recent COVID-19 outbreak have demonstrated increased psychological distress and adverse impacts on mental health and psychological wellbeing of people. However, the impact of COVID-19 on psychological wellbeing of people in Nepal hasn’t been studied adequately. So, this paper aims to report the findings from a social media survey on psychological impacts of COVID-19 in Nepal. Methods: Data were collected through social media from 2082 Nepalese respondents between 23rd April, 2020 and 3rd May, 2020. A total of 2014 respondents who were currently residing in Nepal were included in the analysis. Results: The study suggested that half of the respondents suffered from at least one symptom of psychological distress whereas 32% suffered from two or more symptoms of psychological distress such as restlessness, fearfulness, anxiety and worry and sadness in the past 2 weeks preceding the survey date. The findings further suggested that respondents having lower family income, residing in rented room, and participants from province 2 were more likely to suffer from both single and multiple symptoms of psychological distress. Conclusion: The study has shown high prevalence of psychological distress amongst the Nepalese respondents following COVID-19 outbreak. Appropriate mental health and psychosocial support response needs to be instituted to adequately respond to psychological impacts of the epidemic. Keywords: Coronavirus, Nepal, Perceived psychological distress, Social media, Survey Background A febrile respiratory syndrome due to a pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus was first identified in China in December 2019 [1]. Subsequently, a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown cause was linked to a local Huanan South China Seafood Market in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China [2]. The World Health Organization *Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Nepal (TPO Nepal), Baluwatar, Kathmandu, Nepal Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
(WHO) used the term 2019 novel coronavirus to refer to the virus that affected the lower respiratory tract of patients with pneumonia in Wuhan, China on 29 December 2019 [1]. The World Health Organization announced that the official name of this virus is coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The current reference name for the virus is severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 has now been declared as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO. COVID-19 has infected 4,986,332 (https://
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