Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare Workers in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Aims: This study aimed to assess the psychological impact of the COVID19 pandemic on the healthcare workers in Kurdistan, Iraq. Instrument Methods: In this descriptive study, healthcare workers in four different COVID19 hospitals in Erbil, Sulaimani, Chamchamal, and Halabja in the Kurdistan region of Iraq participated in this study on a convenience sampling method from April 10, 2020, to May 20, 2020. The degree of PostTraumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety, and depression symptoms were assessed based on the translated to Kurdish versions of the PostTraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM5 and Hopkins Symptom Checklist, respectively. For analyzing the data, descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used by SPSS 20. Findings: Of 182 healthcare workers, 53.3% of participants screened positive for PostTraumatic Stress Disorder, 29.1% for anxiety, and 39.0% for depression. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of PostTraumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety, and depression according to gender and family status (p 0.05). However, respondents aged 40 scored higher on PCL5, but no difference was found on HSCL25. Nurses in the Sulaimani city, frontline workers, and those who had COVID19 related traumatic experience scored higher on all three measures. Conclusion: The psychological impact of COVID19 among healthcare workers in the Kurdistan region of Iraq is highly concerned. Preventive programs and adaptive psychological interventions are needed.