Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health among the Armed Forces Personnel

Authors

  • Umar Rashed Munir Assistant Director of Medical Services, 17 Infantry Division
  • Md Jubayer Salehin General Officer Commanding, 17 Infantry Division and Area Commander, Sylhet Area, Bangladesh
  • Sheikh Sujaur Rahman Commanding Officer 75 Field Ambulance
  • Muhammad Kamal Hossain GSO-2 Education, 17 Infantry Division

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3329/jafmc.v17i2.58359

Keywords:

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Impact of Event Scale (IES), Intrusion, Avoidance, Hyper-arousal

Abstract

Introduction: There is a wide consensus that the COVID-19 pandemic not only affects physical health, but also mental health and well-being. It can lead to heightened levels of distress and cause anxiety, fear, denial or depressive symptoms among the military personnel.

Objective: To assess the impact of COVID-19 on mental health among the confirmed cases of Armed Forces Personnel of Sylhet and Jalalabad Cantonment.

Methods: A total of 180 participants were selected using convenience sampling. The mental health was assessed by a 22 items Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) adopted from Horowitz 1979. The scale comprised of 3 subscales of intrusion, avoidance and hyper-arousal which represents major symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Stress for job, financial issue, home and feeling horrified or helpless due to the COVID-19 were also assessed.

Results: This study revealed that 47.7% were experiencing moderate distress whereas 30.1% were experiencing high to severe post-COVID stress. Mean stress was observed as 41.5 ± 19.0. Mean Intrusion (34.9 ± 22.9) and Hyper-arousal (27.8 ± 23.5) depicted mild to moderate but Avoidance (58.5 ± 20.9) revealed a higher level of stress. A majority were not at all stressed for their job (56.7%) or financial issue (49.4%). But stress for family (28.4%), feeling horrified (35.6%) and helpless (36.6%) were quite high.

Conclusion: The study observed a moderate to high prevalence of mental health symptoms among the COVID affected personnel which was considered to be significant and demands appropriate intervention.

JAFMC Bangladesh. Vol 17, No 2 (December) 2021: 7-11

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Published

2022-05-30

How to Cite

Munir, U. R. ., Salehin, M. J. ., Sujaur Rahman, S. ., & Kamal Hossain, M. . (2022). Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health among the Armed Forces Personnel. Journal of Armed Forces Medical College, Bangladesh, 17(2), 7–11. https://doi.org/10.3329/jafmc.v17i2.58359

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 2 (2021)

Section

Original Papers

License

Submission of a manuscript for publication implies the transfer of the copyright from the author to the publisher upon acceptance. Accepted manuscripts become the permanent property of the Journal of Armed Forces Medical College and may not be reproduced by any means in whole or in part without the written consent of the publisher.