Relationship Between Mental Health and Health Work Functioning During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Uganda

Abstract Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in the various health facilities and institutions at national and sub-national levels in Uganda. The participants were health care workers and first responders working in the health sector during the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda. The mental health status of the health workforce was measured using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 instrument. The Nurses Work Functioning Questionnaire was used to measure health work functioning. The data for the study was collected using the Survey Monkey tool and exported and cleaned in Microsoft Excel 2019. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package of STATA® version 16. Descriptive statistics, such as mean values, percentages, frequencies, and charts, were used to summarize the findings. Multinomial logistics regression was used to estimate an ologit model of the relationship between mental health and health work functioning. The results were measured using odds ratio. Results A total of 533 responses were obtained between June and July 2021, from 90 districts in Uganda. Three of the respondents did not consent to the study. 29.26% of responses were excluded during the analysis of the results because of missing data. 374(70.17%) responses from 82 districts in Uganda was used for the analysis. The prevalence of depression was 40.37%, stress was 25.7% and, anxiety was 47.06% among health care workers during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda. The factor of mental health associated with work function impairment were avoidance behavior and lack of energy and motivation. Conclusion The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was high in Uganda during the peak of the response. Avoidance behavior is a determinant of mental health associated with health work function impairment. The government of Uganda needs to develop interventions that will strengthen the mental health and psychosocial well-being of health workers when providing health care services.