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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1342002

Depressive and anxiety symptoms amid COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare workers in a low resource setting: a systematic review and metaanalysis from Ethiopia

Provisionally accepted
Dawed Ali Dawed Ali 1*Tilahun Kassew Tilahun Kassew 2Mamaru Melkam Mamaru Melkam 2Mesele Wondie Mesele Wondie 2Woredaw Minichil Woredaw Minichil 2
  • 1 Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar,, Gondar, Ethiopia
  • 2 Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak is one of the public health problems that pose a serious mental health concern due to its high morbidity and mortality rate. The health care workers are at risk of developing mental health symptoms like depression and anxiety because they are the first point of contact in the diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with COVID-19. This study aimed to systematically review the prevalence and associated factors of depression and anxiety disorders among healthcare workers amid COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia.Method: A systematic review and meta-analysis study were conducted. Different primary studies that assessed the depressive and anxiety disorders during amid COVID-19 pandemic in the Ethiopian healthcare workers were extracted by Microsoft Excel and exported to STATA version 11 for further analysis. Random-effect model meta-analysis was used to estimate pooled effect size and effect of each study with their 95% confidence interval. Funnel plots analysis and Egger regression tests were conducted to detect the presence of publication bias. Sub-group analysis and sensitivity analysis were conducted.Results: Thirteen studies with 5,174 participants were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis study. The pooled prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders was 40.39% (95% CI: 28.54, 52.24) and 44.93% (95% CI: 31.39, 58.46), respectively. Being female, being married, working in the frontline and high perceived susceptibility were significantly associated with depression among the Ethiopian healthcare workers. Similarly, being female, older in age, working in the frontline and high perceived susceptibility were the factors associated with anxiety disorder among the Ethiopian healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.The prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders in the Ethiopian healthcare workers was high. The timely detection and appropriate management of mental health problems is essential for the quality of healthcare services, and proactive support methods for female, married, older age healthcare professionals could result in these outcomes.

    Keywords: Anxiety, Depression, COVID-19 pandemic, Meta-analysis, Systematic review, Ethiopia

    Received: 21 Nov 2023; Accepted: 24 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ali, Kassew, Melkam, Wondie and Minichil. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Dawed Ali, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar,, Gondar, Ethiopia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.