The Mental Health Situation of Hospital Librarians during COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic has many physical and psychological effects on medical workers around the world. As other health workers, supporting the hospital librarians’ mental health are necessary. This study aimed to evaluate anxiety, stress, and depression levels in hospital librarians in Tehran.

This cross-sectional study recruited 60 hospital librarians and 60 age and gender-matched academic librarians working at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and Iran University of Medical Sciences from May 2020 to July 2020. An online questionnaire was used to measure librarians’ mental problems (stress, anxiety, and depression) and evaluate welfare services and facilities, which hospital/faculty administrators provide during the pandemic. Chi-square and t-test were used to compare categorical and continuous variables between hospital and academic librarians, respectively. Multivariable regression was used to adjust the confounding variables.

Of 120 librarians, 12 (10%) librarians screened positive for stress, and 23 (19.2%) for anxiety. The prevalence of stress was higher among hospital librarians than academic ones (16.6% versus 3.3%, P=0.032). Similarly, the prevalence of anxiety was higher among hospital librarians (38.3% versus 0, P<0.001). The mean scores of stress (9.13±6.63 versus 2.70±3.48), anxiety (4.66±4.89 versus 1.83±1.85), and depression (1.63±2.34 versus 1.40±1.65) were significantly higher among hospital librarians. After adjustment for confounding variables, higher stress (B=-0.19, P=0.001), anxiety (B=-0.27, P=0.037), and depression (B=0.52, P=0.010) were observed in hospital librarians.

The findings revealed that hospital librarians are at high-risk for psychological disorders. Accordingly, early administrative and psychological interventions targeting hospital librarians may be beneficial.