COVID-19-Related Self-Stigma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Insomnia, and Smartphone Addiction Among Frontline Government Workers with COVID-19 Pandemic Control Duties

Abstract

Po-Ching Huang,1 Ching-Hsia Hung,1,2 Guan-Wei Chen,3 Ciaran Cashin,3 Mark D Griffiths,4 Wen-Chi Yang5,6 *, Hsiao-Wen Wang3 *, Chung-Ying Lin1,7– 9*, Nai-Ying Ko10 1Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 2Department of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 3Department of Hydraulic and Ocean Engineering, College of Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 4International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK; 5Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, E-DA Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 6Faculty of School of Medicine, College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 7Biostatistics Consulting Center, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 8Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 9Department of Public Health, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 10Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Chung-Ying Lin, Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 1 University Rd, Tainan, 701, Taiwan, Tel [phone] ext. 5106, Fax [phone], Email [email protected]: The duties related to COVID-19 control and prevention may have caused psychological stress for the individuals in charge (eg, frontline government workers) and have reportedly led to mental health issues, such as insomnia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the prevalence of these COVID-19-related disorders and their associated factors remain unclear. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence rates of insomnia, PTSD, COVID-19-related self-stigma, and smartphone addiction, along with the identification of risk factors and protective factors for Taiwan frontline government workers with COVID-19 pandemic control duties.Methods: The survey was carried out with 151 participants between September and October 2021. All participants completed the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (assessing fear of COVID-19), Self-Stigma Scale (assessing self-stigma during the COVID-19 pandemic), Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (assessing the risk of smartphone addiction), Insomnia Severity Index (assessing insomnia), Impacts of Event Scale-6 (assessing PTSD), and a self-designed set of questions assessing trait resilience.Results: The results showed that the prevalence rate was 31.1% for insomnia and 33.8% for PTSD. Furthermore, service duration (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.86, 0.999) and trait resilience (AOR = 0.19; 95% CI = 0.08, 0.46) were protective factors and fear of COVID-19 (AOR = 1.91; 95% CI = 1.02, 3.57) was a risk factor for insomnia. Fear of COVID-19 (AOR = 2.63; 95% CI = 1.35, 5.14), self-stigma (AOR = 3.62; 95% CI = 1.19, 11.02), and smartphone addiction (AOR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.001, 1.19) were risk factors, and trait resilience was a protective factor (AOR = 0.58; 95% CI = 0.29, 1.17) for PTSD.Conclusion: The findings demonstrated a high prevalence of insomnia and PTSD. Risk-reducing strategies and protective factor promotion strategies are recommended to help reduce the symptoms of insomnia and PTSD among Taiwan frontline government workers.Keywords: mental health, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, smartphone addiction, village officer

Keywords

• mental health
• insomnia
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• smartphone addiction
• village officer