Investigating Self-rated Health Among Health Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic in Northwest Iran

Health promotion among health workers requires appropriate evidence of relevant determinants.

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between mental health and its measured covariates with self-rated health (SRH) among health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in northwest Iran.

In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 569 health workers from three educational hospitals of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Iran. From July 1 to September 5 (2020), participants were asked to provide demographic and clinical information and to complete the symptom checklist 90 (SCL-90) questionnaire. The relationship between suboptimal SRH with each of the SCL-90 domains and measured covariates were analyzed using logistic regression models.

The Mean±SD age of participants was 34.73(7.95) years. A total of 148 health workers (26%) reported their suboptimal SRH, which was higher in women (odds ratio [OR]: 1.98; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.21, 3.24), as well as among participants without physical activity (OR: 2.14; 95% CI: 1.35, 3.39). Depression (OR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.64, 2.77) and anxiety (OR: 3.76; 95% CI: 2.78, 5.09) showed significantly higher odds of suboptimal SRH. Also, other SCL-90 domains indicated a positive association with suboptimal SRH during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mental health, gender, and physical activity were significant variables related to SRH. The current findings suggest that we should pay attention to mental health problems and other important covariates during the COVID-19 epidemic. Hence, policymakers should consider this issue in health promotion programs for health workers.