Background and objectives: Mental health assessment of healthcare workers (HCWs) is essential to inform prevention-oriented policies and interdisciplinary support strategies to strengthen HCWs’ mental health and optimize patient care. Therefore, the present study assessed mental health status and associated factors of HCWs using the DASS-21. Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design and the standardized DASS-21 questionnaire, we assessed the mental health status of HCWs of different categories from various healthcare settings of northern Saudi Arabia. A binomial logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the factors associated with each DASS-21 domain. Finally, Spearman’s correlation test was done to find the correlation across the domains. Results: Of the 385 participants, some forms of depression, anxiety, and stress were found in 49.6%, 49.4%, and 39.0% of the participants, respectively. Extremely severe symptoms were observed in depression and anxiety (9.6% each), and the lowest were observed for stress (3.9%). Depression was significantly associated with female gender (p = 0.017) and being single (p = 0.043), while anxiety was associated with nurses (p = 0.002) and non-Saudi nationality (p = 0.037). Stress was higher among HCWs working in specialty hospitals (p = 0.045) and lower among those aged > 40 years (p = 0.003). Furthermore, a positive correlation was noted within each DASS-21 domain (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Given the high prevalence of mental health issues, the relevant authorities should consider implementing preventative measures, including regular screening, psychoeducation workshops, interdisciplinary care, and proper referral pathways for the HCWs who screen positive for any of the mental health domains.
Alhuwaydi et al. (Mon,) studied this question.