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Mental Health Status during COVID-19 Pandemic and its Relationship with Economic Hardship and Financial Threat among Rural Population in Sarawak, Malaysia

Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, job and income loss, social isolation may aggravate mental health, particularly among the most vulnerable groups. Objective To assess the current mental health situation among the rural population in Samarahan district and determine the relationship between...

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Main Authors: Amirah, N., Md Mizanur, Rahman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Kathmandu University 2023
Subjects:
R Medicine (General)
Online Access:http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/42653/1/Mental.pdf
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spelling my.unimas.ir.426532023-08-24T02:19:36Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/42653/ Mental Health Status during COVID-19 Pandemic and its Relationship with Economic Hardship and Financial Threat among Rural Population in Sarawak, Malaysia Amirah, N. Md Mizanur, Rahman R Medicine (General) Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, job and income loss, social isolation may aggravate mental health, particularly among the most vulnerable groups. Objective To assess the current mental health situation among the rural population in Samarahan district and determine the relationship between economic hardships, financial threats, and mental health status. Method This study was a cross-sectional study conducted among the 530 households in the Samarahan district. A multistage cluster sampling technique was used to select the participants in this study. Data were collected by face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire. The mental health status was assessed by using a validated and translated DASS-21 scale. Data analysis was done by SPSS version 27.0. A p-value of ≤ .05 was considered statistically significant. Result Analysis showed that two-thirds of the respondents (66.6%) had no mental health problem. Meanwhile, 22.4% had anxiety, 1% had depression, and 0.19% had stress. Anxiety and depression accounted for 5.8% and stress and anxiety 1.3%. However, 2.64% had stress, anxiety, and depression. In bivariate analysis, age, monthly income, type of job, economic hardship, and expenditure difference appeared to be significant predictors of mental health problems (p < .05). Conclusion Depression, anxiety, and stress pose a significant threat to the rural population’s health. Therefore, public health practitioners and policymakers need to address this to minimise the pandemic’s impact on mental health and provide psychological support, particularly among the most affected group. Kathmandu University 2023-08 Article PeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/42653/1/Mental.pdf Amirah, N. and Md Mizanur, Rahman (2023) Mental Health Status during COVID-19 Pandemic and its Relationship with Economic Hardship and Financial Threat among Rural Population in Sarawak, Malaysia. Kathmandu University Medical Journal, 21 (2 (82)). pp. 291-297. ISSN 4812-2078 http://www.kumj.com.np/index.php?page=searchResult
institution Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
building Centre for Academic Information Services (CAIS)
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
content_source UNIMAS Institutional Repository
url_provider http://ir.unimas.my/
language English
topic R Medicine (General)
spellingShingle R Medicine (General)
Amirah, N.
Md Mizanur, Rahman
Mental Health Status during COVID-19 Pandemic and its Relationship with Economic Hardship and Financial Threat among Rural Population in Sarawak, Malaysia
description Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, job and income loss, social isolation may aggravate mental health, particularly among the most vulnerable groups. Objective To assess the current mental health situation among the rural population in Samarahan district and determine the relationship between economic hardships, financial threats, and mental health status. Method This study was a cross-sectional study conducted among the 530 households in the Samarahan district. A multistage cluster sampling technique was used to select the participants in this study. Data were collected by face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire. The mental health status was assessed by using a validated and translated DASS-21 scale. Data analysis was done by SPSS version 27.0. A p-value of ≤ .05 was considered statistically significant. Result Analysis showed that two-thirds of the respondents (66.6%) had no mental health problem. Meanwhile, 22.4% had anxiety, 1% had depression, and 0.19% had stress. Anxiety and depression accounted for 5.8% and stress and anxiety 1.3%. However, 2.64% had stress, anxiety, and depression. In bivariate analysis, age, monthly income, type of job, economic hardship, and expenditure difference appeared to be significant predictors of mental health problems (p < .05). Conclusion Depression, anxiety, and stress pose a significant threat to the rural population’s health. Therefore, public health practitioners and policymakers need to address this to minimise the pandemic’s impact on mental health and provide psychological support, particularly among the most affected group.
format Article
author Amirah, N.
Md Mizanur, Rahman
author_facet Amirah, N.
Md Mizanur, Rahman
author_sort Amirah, N.
title Mental Health Status during COVID-19 Pandemic and its Relationship with Economic Hardship and Financial Threat among Rural Population in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_short Mental Health Status during COVID-19 Pandemic and its Relationship with Economic Hardship and Financial Threat among Rural Population in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_full Mental Health Status during COVID-19 Pandemic and its Relationship with Economic Hardship and Financial Threat among Rural Population in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_fullStr Mental Health Status during COVID-19 Pandemic and its Relationship with Economic Hardship and Financial Threat among Rural Population in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Mental Health Status during COVID-19 Pandemic and its Relationship with Economic Hardship and Financial Threat among Rural Population in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_sort mental health status during covid-19 pandemic and its relationship with economic hardship and financial threat among rural population in sarawak, malaysia
publisher Kathmandu University
publishDate 2023
url http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/42653/1/Mental.pdf
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/42653/
http://www.kumj.com.np/index.php?page=searchResult
_version_ 1775627333581930496
score 13.211869

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