Risk perception and psychological state of healthcare workers in referral hospitals during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Uganda

Table 4 Factors associated with psychological distress among healthcare workers in tertiary referral hospitals during the early phase of the COVID-19 epidemic, Uganda, April–May 2020 (N = 328)

Characteristic	Psychological distress		Univariable analysis		Multivariable analysis**
Characteristic	Distressed (n = 144), n (%)	No distress (n = 184), n (%)	PR (95% CI)	P value	Adjusted PR (95% CI)	P value
Level of concern/risk perception
Low	13 (9.0)	59 (32)	Ref		Ref
Moderate	72 (50)	103 (56)	2.3 (1.3–4.1)	0.006	2.2 (1.2–4.0)	0.010
High	59 (41)	22 (12)	4.0 (2.2–7.4)	< 0.001	3.8 (2.0–7.0)	< 0.001
Age category
≤ 35 years	73 (51)	101 (55)	Ref
> 35 years	71 (49)	83 (45)	1.1 (0.79–1.5)	0.571
Sex
Male	67 (47)	105 (57)	Ref		Ref
Female	77 (53)	79 (43)	1.3 (0.98–1.8)	0.156	1.2 (0.84–1.7)	0.322
Category of HCW by patient contact
Direct contact	110 (76)	132 (72)	Ref
Indirect contact	34 (24)	52 (28)	0.87 (0.60–1.3)	0.477
Years of experience
< 5 years	46 (32)	78 (42)	Ref		Ref
5–10 years	43 (30)	46 (25)	1.3 (0.86–2.0)	0.213	1.3 (0.84–1.9)	0.253
> 10 years	55 (38)	60 (33)	1.3 (0.87–1.9)	0.204	1.1 (0.79–1.6)	0.778
Hours worked per week
≤ 40 h	58 (40)	62 (34)	Ref
> 40 h	86 (60)	122 (66)	0.86 (0.61–1.2)	0.358
Number of children
None	45 (31)	58 (32)	Ref
One or more	99 (69)	126 (69)	1.0 (0.71–1.4)	0.969
Provided direct care for suspected COVID-19 case*
No	71 (49)	71 (39)	Ref
Yes	73 (51)	113 (61)	0.78 (0.57–1.1)	0.146
Provided direct care for confirmed COVID-19 case
No	91 (63)	86 (47)	Ref		Ref
Yes	53 (37)	98 (53)	0.68 (0.49–0.96)	0.027	0.87 (0.61–1.2)	0.430

Ref reference category, CI confidence interval, PR prevalence ratio, HCW healthcare worker
*Excluded from multivariable model due to collinearity with provision of direct care to confirmed case
**Adjusted for sex, years of professional experience, and providing direct care to a confirmed COVID-19 case

ISSN: 2050-7283