The global Prevalence of Depression among Health Workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a Systematic review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: This study was designed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing literature examining the prevalence of depression among hospital staff and the impact of various factors with a view to organize related programs for reducing the complications of this mental disorder. Method: A total of 24 studies were extracted from a literature search conducted through electronic databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science from January 2019 to February 2021. Findings: Following the extraction of data, the total number of hospital staff was reported to be 42,010. Based on the results, depression prevalence among them was 26% (95% Cl, 0.18–0.35). Furthermore correlation coefficients revealed a significant relationship between the rate of depression and variables including type of career, age, and gender (P-value < 0.05). The highest and lowest prevalence of depressive disorder among hospital staff was in Africa 82% (95% Cl, 0.35–0.97) and Asia 19% (95% Cl, 0.11–0.29). Conclusion: Our findings affirmed that female workers who aged between 29 and 35 and worked as administrative and support staff in hospitals were among the population being at higher risk of developing mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

• Prevalence
• Depression
• Health workers
• COVID-19 pandemic
• Review