The impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Workers in Primary Health Care
SUMMARY – The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of primary health care workers. This prospective research included 107 medical (51.5%) and non-medical (48.5%) employees of Health Center (HC) Mostar. Data were gathered using a questionnaire that contained the depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS-21) and a validated short questionnaire of human mental health (MHI-5) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most respondents were < 45 years of age. There was no statistically significant difference between medical and non-medical staff on both the DASS-21 and MHI-5 scales. Also, no statistically significant difference was found in the subcategorization of medical staff. The prevalence of stress in the subjects was 30%, anxiety 54% and depression 31%. A multivariate logistic regression model found that age > 45 years (OR = 0.509; P = 0.016) and opiate use (OR = 0.203; P = 0.023) were positively associated with depression ( P = 0.042). The overall crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to various psychological difficulties in the general population, but also in a significant percentage of healthcare workers at all levels of healthcare. Therefore, new approaches are necessary in the treatment of the mentioned mental health problems.