Browsing by Author "Otai, James"

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Covid – 19 pandemic effects on the mental healthcare service delivery at Butabika National Referral hospital, Uganda
(Kyambogo University(Unpublished work), 2025-05) Otai, James
A global catastrophe impacting many areas of society, including health, social welfare, and the environment, was brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The psychiatric and mental health care systems, which were already overburdened for years, saw an unprecedented amount of strain as a result of the health catastrophe that preceded this epidemic. This study was aimed at finding the COVID – 19 pandemic effects on the mental healthcare service delivery at Butabika National Referral Hospital. A cross-sectional design with both quantitative and qualitative approaches was used to collect information at the health facility. A total of 198 hospital staff participated in the study. Pre –tested structured questionnaires, interview guides were used to collect information from the hospital staff that consented to take part voluntarily in the study while document review was used to collect patients’ information on trends of mental health service utilisation. The findings of the study showed that there was a decrease in the number of appointments for the mental health services and an increase of patients on treatment during the pandemic. The prevalence of psychometric disorders at the facility was moderate to high stress 91.9%, minimal anxiety 65.2% ad likely depression 63.8%. The doctors and clinicians had higher stress levels than the other staff. There was a positive significant relationship between quality of life and service delivery (r =0.576**, p < 0.01). Fear of contracting COVID-19 at health facilities, transportation difficulties, shortage of human resource and restricted movement were the major challenges that hindered services delivery during the pandemic. There is need for government to train health workers on remote technologies, enhance mental health support, combat misinformation, and boost funding to strengthen resilience and access to care during and after crises.
Prevalence and predictors of stress, anxiety, and depression among healthcare workers during the COVID–19 pandemic at a mental referral hospital in Kampala, Uganda
(BMC Public Health, 2025-08-08) Otai, James; Ekakoro, Newton; Masaba, Henry; Nvumetta, Ruth
Background Healthcare workers faced immense psychological strain during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID – 19) pandemic due to increased workloads, infection risk, and limited protective equipment. This study assessed the prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression among them and identified factors contributing to these mental health challenges during the outbreak. Methods A cross-sectional study was done at Butabika National Mental Referral Hospital between February and March of 2023. We gave self-administered, paper-based surveys to all willing Healthcare workers (HCWs) working day shifts during this period. Sections on socio-demographics characteristics, perceived stress (PSS–10), anxiety (GAD–7), and depression (PHQ–9) were all included in the questionnaire. The SPSS version 26.0 program was used to analyse the data. To determine the variables that predict psychological distress, we employed Modified Poisson regression. When the p-value was less than 0.05, statistical significance was declared. Results Among the 209 enrolled participants, 198 (94.7%) eligible subjects were included in the analysis. Majority of the participants (58.6%) were female, (73.7%) were married, (49.5%) were nurses and 58.6% had more working hours. The prevalence of symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic was 91.9%, 27.3% and 57.6%, respectively. In relation to perceived stress, being female (aRR = 1.219; 95% CI: 1.010–2.922), being younger in age (aRR = 1.672; 95% CI: 1.050–5.733) and having worked for 11–15 years (aRR = 1.274; 95% CI: 1.020–2.503) were significantly associated with higher risk of perceived stress. Participants with a bachelor’s degree had higher risk of generalized anxiety disorder symptoms (aRR = 2.577; 95% CI: 1.123–4.980), whereas being a nurse (aRR = 0.082; 95% CI: 0.040–0.900) showed lower risk of anxiety. Being married (aRR = 1.322; 95% CI: 1.042–2.260) and being younger in age (aRR = 1.037; 95% CI: 1.005–2.834) were significantly associated with higher risk of depressive symptoms, whereas being a technician (aRR = 0.683; 95% CI: 0.480–0.972) and having no change in work volume (aRR = 0.711; 95% CI: 0.532–0.987) were associated to lower risk of depression symptoms. Conclusion Psychological distress was high among mental health workers during COVID-19. Supportive measures such as adequate PPE, manageable workloads, mental health check-ins, and challenging societal stigma are needed to improve well-being, within study limitations.