The relationship between working conditions due to Covid-19 and mental health of workers in Malaysia

AHMAD FARIS, FAYYADHAH (2021) The relationship between working conditions due to Covid-19 and mental health of workers in Malaysia. [Project Paper] (Submitted)

Text FPSK4 2021 33.pdf Download (1MB)

Abstract

Introduction: At the end of December 2019, the world is shaken up by the emergence of a deadly infectious disease called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In order to control the spike in COVID-19 cases and having a difficulty in contact tracing, the government of Malaysia has imposed the Movement Control Order (MCO) on 18th of March 2020. This order had impacted the working people greatly as they are forced to work-remotely and some cases they are allowed to work on-site or do both alternately. This disruption of routine can affect the mental health condition of workers. Studies have showed that any disruption to a person’s regular routine, the mental health of said person will be affected. Objective: This study aims to determine the relationship between the working conditions due to COVID-19 and mental health problems among workers in Malaysia. Methodology: Cross-sectional study was conducted and 389 workers in Malaysia who are working during the COVID-19 pandemic were involved. An online questionnaire was given through the application Whatsapp and Google Form. Three different typesof self-assessed mental health screening were incorporated in the questionnaire which are GAD-7, PHQ-9 and PSS-10 to assess the anxiety, depression and stress level respectively. From the questionnaire, a descriptive and statistical analysis was done by using IBM Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 25. Results and Discussion: The results showed that there is a significant association between several sociodemographic characteristics and mental health problems. For depression, age group (x2=56.156; df=3; p-value=<0.001) and total income (x2=12.029; df=3; p-value=0.007) are the said sociodemographic characteristics. For the Generalized Anxiety Disorder, the study found that age group (x2=36.626; df=3; p-value=<0.001), gender (x2=5.794; df=1; p-value=0.016), race (x2=14.549; df=4; p-value=0.006), education level (x2=15.740; df=5; p-value=0.008) and total income (x2=18.506; df=3; p-value=<0.001) were significantly associated with prevalence of GAD. As for stress, the sociodemographic characteristics that have a significant association (p<0.05) with prevalence of stress are age group (x2=22.383; df=3; p-value=<0.001) and total income (x2=30.375; df=3; p-value=<0.001). There is also a significant association between the working conditions with prevalence of depression and anxiety. However, there is no significant association between working conditions and prevalence of stress. Conclusion: In conclusion, from the findings of this study, better policies or intervention programs related to mental health of the workers in the occupational health setting during COVID-19 or any other pandemic that will happen in the future can be developed. Keywords: Mental health, COVID-19, workplace, occupational health

Item Type:	Project Paper
Faculty:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Science
Depositing User:	Mr Hafizzuddin Hamidon
Date Deposited:	24 Aug 2023 04:39
Last Modified:	24 Aug 2023 04:39
URI:	http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/1005

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