Psychological Distress of Home Quarantine during COVID-19 Outbreak in Baghdad City, Iraq

Abstract

Background: Between December 2019 and the beginning of 2020, the corona virus epidemic first appeared in Wuhan, China, before its  spreading to the rest of the country and subsequently to many other nations. Many people experience severe psychological anguish,  manifested as physical symptoms, anxiety disorders, sadness, and a sense of helplessness.

Objective: This study aimed to identify the  levels of psychological distress among Iraqi peoples and to find-out the association between levels of psychological distress and some  socio-demographic characteristics.

Patients and methods: A cross-sectional design was conducted on 291 persons of both sexes from  the City of Baghdad. Data were collected from the first to the 15th of April 2020 through online interview. The Kessler Psychological  Distress Scale was employed to measure the respondents' psychological distress.

Results: Almost 16.8% of the respondents experienced  psychological distress. There was a significant association between psychological distress and respondents’ gender, occupation, monthly  income and level of education. Females significantly demonstrated higher psychological distress than males.

Conclusion: COVID-19  epidemic has an impact on people's health, both psychological and physical health, which requires follow-up and treatment by  specialists. New studies are needed to determine the predicative factors for the level of psychological distress.