Public trust and media influence on anxiety and depression levels among skilled workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in Serbia
Background/Aim. Along with the great impact of 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on physical health, social functioning, and economy, this public health emergency has significant impact on mental health of people as well. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of outbreak-related informati...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, University of Defence, Belgrade
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Vojnosanitetski Pregled |
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| Online Access: | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0042-8450/2020/0042-84502000108M.pdf |
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| _version_ | 1850237017529516032 |
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| author | Marković Ivan Nikolovski Srđan Milojević Stefan Živković Dragan Knežević Snežana Mitrović Aleksandra Fišer Zlatko Đurđević Dragan |
| author_facet | Marković Ivan Nikolovski Srđan Milojević Stefan Živković Dragan Knežević Snežana Mitrović Aleksandra Fišer Zlatko Đurđević Dragan |
| author_sort | Marković Ivan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background/Aim. Along with the great impact of 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on physical health, social functioning, and economy, this public health emergency has significant impact on mental health of people as well. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of outbreak-related information and public trust in the health system and preventive measures during the COVID-19 outbreak in Serbia in 2020 on levels of anxiety and depression in education, army and healthcare professionals. Methods. An anonymous questionnaire was disseminated to skilled professionals working in fields of education, army, and healthcare. The questionnaire included the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, as well as the section assessing the perceived disturbance by the outbreak-related information and the trust of participants in healthcare system and preventive measures proposed by the crisis team. Results. Out of 110 subjects enrolled in this study (mean age 35.25 ± 9.23 years), 59.1% were women. Among healthcare workers, the frequency of perceiving outbreak-related information available in public media as disturbing, as well as the average level of anxiety, were higher compared to the group of army professionals (p < 0.05). Women also perceived outbreak-related information available in public media as disturbing in a higher percentage compared to men (p < 0.01), and had higher levels of anxiety (p = 0.01) and depression (p < 0.05). The lack of public trust was associated with higher levels of depression, and the perception of outbreak-related information as disturbing with higher levels of both anxiety and depression. Conclusion. Significant perception of outbreak-related information as disturbing among healthcare workers, as well as the lack of trust in healthcare system and preventive measures proposed by the crisis team are important factors influencing the mental state. This finding has the guiding purpose for competent institutions to make efforts to increase public trust, as one of the important preventive measures, in order to preserve and improve the mental well-being of the population in outbreak conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-339cc4ce2d884224ac3df89ec085ce13 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0042-8450 2406-0720 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, University of Defence, Belgrade |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vojnosanitetski Pregled |
| spelling | doaj-art-339cc4ce2d884224ac3df89ec085ce132025-08-20T02:01:50ZengMinistry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, University of Defence, BelgradeVojnosanitetski Pregled0042-84502406-07202020-01-0177111201120910.2298/VSP200713108M0042-84502000108MPublic trust and media influence on anxiety and depression levels among skilled workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in SerbiaMarković Ivan0Nikolovski Srđan1Milojević Stefan2Živković Dragan3Knežević Snežana4Mitrović Aleksandra5Fišer Zlatko6Đurđević Dragan7Clinical Center of Serbia, Clinic for Psychiatry, Belgrade, SerbiaUniversity of Belgrade, Faculty of Medicine, Belgrade, SerbiaAlfa BK University, Faculty of Finance, Banking and Auditing, Belgrade, Serbia + Audit, Accounting, Financial and Consulting Services Company “Moody’s Standards”, Belgrade, SerbiaAcademy Dositej, Technical School, Belgrade, SerbiaUniversity of Belgrade, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Belgrade, SerbiaUniversity of Kragujevac, Faculty of Hotel Management and Tourism, Vrnjačka Banja, SerbiaSerbian Resuscitation Council, Novi Sad, SerbiaAcademy for National Security, Belgrade, SerbiaBackground/Aim. Along with the great impact of 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on physical health, social functioning, and economy, this public health emergency has significant impact on mental health of people as well. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of outbreak-related information and public trust in the health system and preventive measures during the COVID-19 outbreak in Serbia in 2020 on levels of anxiety and depression in education, army and healthcare professionals. Methods. An anonymous questionnaire was disseminated to skilled professionals working in fields of education, army, and healthcare. The questionnaire included the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, as well as the section assessing the perceived disturbance by the outbreak-related information and the trust of participants in healthcare system and preventive measures proposed by the crisis team. Results. Out of 110 subjects enrolled in this study (mean age 35.25 ± 9.23 years), 59.1% were women. Among healthcare workers, the frequency of perceiving outbreak-related information available in public media as disturbing, as well as the average level of anxiety, were higher compared to the group of army professionals (p < 0.05). Women also perceived outbreak-related information available in public media as disturbing in a higher percentage compared to men (p < 0.01), and had higher levels of anxiety (p = 0.01) and depression (p < 0.05). The lack of public trust was associated with higher levels of depression, and the perception of outbreak-related information as disturbing with higher levels of both anxiety and depression. Conclusion. Significant perception of outbreak-related information as disturbing among healthcare workers, as well as the lack of trust in healthcare system and preventive measures proposed by the crisis team are important factors influencing the mental state. This finding has the guiding purpose for competent institutions to make efforts to increase public trust, as one of the important preventive measures, in order to preserve and improve the mental well-being of the population in outbreak conditions.http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0042-8450/2020/0042-84502000108M.pdfanxietycommunications mediacovid-19depressionmedicine, preventivemental healthsurveys and questionnaires |
| spellingShingle | Marković Ivan Nikolovski Srđan Milojević Stefan Živković Dragan Knežević Snežana Mitrović Aleksandra Fišer Zlatko Đurđević Dragan Public trust and media influence on anxiety and depression levels among skilled workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in Serbia Vojnosanitetski Pregled anxiety communications media covid-19 depression medicine, preventive mental health surveys and questionnaires |
| title | Public trust and media influence on anxiety and depression levels among skilled workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in Serbia |
| title_full | Public trust and media influence on anxiety and depression levels among skilled workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in Serbia |
| title_fullStr | Public trust and media influence on anxiety and depression levels among skilled workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in Serbia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Public trust and media influence on anxiety and depression levels among skilled workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in Serbia |
| title_short | Public trust and media influence on anxiety and depression levels among skilled workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in Serbia |
| title_sort | public trust and media influence on anxiety and depression levels among skilled workers during the covid 19 outbreak in serbia |
| topic | anxiety communications media covid-19 depression medicine, preventive mental health surveys and questionnaires |
| url | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0042-8450/2020/0042-84502000108M.pdf |
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