Abstract
Abstract
Background
: Mental distress refers to a range of symptoms associated with common mental disorders, including depression, anxiety, and somatic complaints that may affect an individual's functioning and well-being. Healthcare workers are among the professionals who are more vulnerable to mental distress, which could be due to individual and work-related factors such as the demanding nature of their Work, including heavy workloads, long working hours, exposure to suffering and death, work-related stress, and staff shortages. Enhancing mental health and well-being among healthcare workers is essential not only for their individual well-being but also for the quality of patient care and the provision of healthcare services. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of mental distress and its associated factors among healthcare workers (HCWs) at Kilwa Road Police Regional Referral Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Design
. A hospital-based cross-sectional study.
Study Setting
: Kilwa Road Police Regional Referral Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Participants
: 241 HCWs were screened for mental distress using the World Health Organization self-reporting questionnaire, 20-item (SRQ 20) tool in the past 30 days. Participants scoring six and above were considered to have mental distress.
Results
: Among the 241 participants enrolled in the study, 131 (54.4%) were female, and 110 (45.6%) were male, with median ages ranging from 20 to 59 years. In the past 30 days, more than half of the participants (n = 131; 56.4%) reported experiencing mental distress, including 82 females (62.6%) and 54 males (49.1%). Health care workers who resided in government housing and those who reported being dissatisfied with their job were more likely to report experiencing mental distress (aOR = 2.31 (95% CI 1.07 to 4.98) and (aOR = 6.57 (95% CI 3.22 to 13.45), respectively.
Conclusion
: Reported mental health distress is common among healthcare workers at Kilwa Road Police Regional Referral Hospital. Therefore, there is a need to implement interventions to enhance the detection of mental distress among HCWs at Kilwa Road Police Regional Referral Hospital. While implementing it, Special consideration should be given to healthcare workers who reside in government housing, and those who reported that their job dissatisfied them.