Evaluation of the Incidence of Depression among Residents Studying in Zahedan University of Medical Sciences during the COVID-19 Pandemic; A Cross-sectional Study

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) started in Wuhan, Hubei province of China, and after a short period, it spread throughout China and many other countries. Being in an environment infected with the virus causing COVID-19 has led to widespread psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, stress, and sleep problems in many hospital staff and students. Especially, medical and dental students experienced significant mental stress during the COVID-19 era, due to academic pressure, being exposed to infection and night shifts and lack of sleep, which affected their mental health. During this time, medical students, including residents who underwent training in hospitals, had to endure long shifts with meager wages, which made the situation more complicated. Considering the importance of the topic, we decided to investigate the level of depression and factors affecting depression among the residents working in Ali Ibn Abi Talib and Khatam Al Anbia Hospitals in Zahedan, Iran.

This is a cross-sectional study, which was carried out as a census of students of any age and gender enrolled in residency programs, who were working in Ali Ibn Abi Talib and Khatam Al Anbia Hospitals, Zahedan, Iran, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the first three months of 2022. The tool used for collecting information for depression grading was Hamilton's checklist and questionnaire, and the effect of factors such as gender, level of education, place of residence, field of study, marital status, direct contact with COVID-19 patients, and the hospital they were working in on depression among residents was investigated. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software.

This research was conducted on all residents undergoing training in Ali Ibn Abi Talib and Khatam Al Anbia teaching hospitals in Zahedan, Iran, using the census method. The included residents were aged 29 to 60 years, with an average age (standard deviation) of 34.38 (5.866) years. Thirty-three were men, and 47 were women. The results of the research showed that the average depression score of the residents is 17.52, which indicates moderate depression among them. There was a significant relationship between being single (p-value=0.011) and direct contact with COVID-19 patients (p-value=0.003) with depression.

The results of the present study showed the high prevalence of depression among residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the high rate of depression was more prominent in female residents, single residents, obstetrics and gynecology residents, non-native residents, and residents in direct contact with COVID-19 patients.