Assessment of Psychological Distress and Associated Factors among Hospitalized Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic at Selected Hospitals in Southwest Ethiopia

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic characteristics of patients admitted to selected hospitals in southwest Ethiopia, 2020 (n=337)

	n	%
Residence
Urban	186	55.2
Rural	151	44.8
Sex
Male	185	54.9
Female	152	45.1
Age, years
18–24	83	24.6
25–34	138	40.9
35–44	55	16.3
45–54	35	10.4
≥55	26	7.7
Marital status
Single	132	39.2
Married	182	54.0
Other*	23	6.8
Religion
Protestant	136	40.4
Orthodox	141	41.5
Muslim	60	17.8
Education
None	131	38.9
Primary (1–8)	69	20.5
Secondary (9–12)	66	19.6
College and above	71	21.1
Ethnicity
Kaffa	90	26.7
Amhara	77	22.8
Bench	93	27.6
Tigre	20	5.9
Oromo	27	8
Other**	7	2.1
Occupation
Farmer	76	22.6
Merchant	50	14.8
Housewife	38	11.3
Government employee	89	26.4
Student	53	15.7
Daily worker	14	4.2
Nongovernmental organization	17	5.0

Notes: *Separated, divorced, and widowed; **Sheka, Wolayeta, and Mexhenger.

Table 2 Clinical characteristics of patients admitted to selected hospitals in southwest Ethiopia, 2020 (n=337)

	n	%
History of mental illness
Yes	38	11.3
No	299	88.7
Trauma in childhood
Yes	71	21.1
No	266	78.9
Family history of mental illness
Yes	31	9.2
No	306	90.8
Use of any specific preventive measure
Yes	220	65.3
No	117	34.7

Table 3 Psychosocial and substance-related characteristics of respondents admitted to selected hospitals in southwest Ethiopia, 2020 (n=337)

Variables	n	%
Perceived life threat
Low	102	30.3
Medium	164	48.7
High	71	21.1
Social support
Poor	163	48.7
Intermediate	123	36.5
Strong	51	15.1
Current alcohol use
No	123	36.5
Yes	214	63.5
Current khat use
No	278	82.5
Yes	39	17.5
Current cigarette use
No	314	93.2
Yes	23	6.8

Table 4 Factors associated with psychological distress among patients admitted to selected hospitals in southwest Ethiopia, 2020 (n=337)

	Psychological distress		COR (95% CI)	AOR (95% CI)
	No	Yes
Sex
Male	106 (57.3)	79 (42.7)	1.00^+	1.00^+
Female	36 (23.7)	116 (76.3)	4.32 (2.69–6.94)	3.69 (2.08–6.55)*
Marital status
Single	49 (37.1)	83 (62.9)	1.00^+	1.00^+
Married	91 (50.0)	91 (50.0)	0.59 (0.37–0.93)	0.70 (0.39–1.24)
Divorced/widowed	2 (8.7)	21 (91.3)	6.19 (1.39–27.58)	5.25 (0.96–28.7)
Education
None	54 (41.2)	77 (58.8)	1.23 (0.69–2.12)	2.01 (0.90–4.47)
Primary	35 (50.7)	34 (49.3)	0.84 (0.43–1.63)	1.98 (0.83–4.59)
Secondary	20 (30.3)	46 (69.7)	1.99 (0.99–4.03)	2.22 (0.91–5.41)
Tertiary and above	33 (46.5)	38 (53.5)	1.00^+	1.00^+
Residence
Urban	89 (47.8)	97 (52.2)	1.69 (1.09–2.63)	1.14 (0.62–2.08)
Rural	53 (35.1)	98 (64.9)	1.00^+	1.00^+
Social support
Poor	43 (26.4)	120 (73.6)	9.07 (4.35–18.91)	3.97 (1.70–9.29)*
Moderate	60 (48.8)	63 (51.2)	3.41 (1.63–7.13)	3.17 (1.36–7.41)*
Strong	39 (76.5)	12 (23.5)	1.00^+	1.00^+
Perceived life treat
Low	72 (70.6)	30 (29.4)	1.00^+	1.00^+
Medium	56 (34.1)	108 (65.9)	4.62 (2.71–7.89)	3.37 (1.75–6.48)*
High	14 (19.7)	57 (80.3)	9.77 (4.74–20.14)	5.45 (2.35–12.66)*
History of mental illness
Yes	6 (15.8)	32 (84.2)	4.45 (1.80–10.95)	1.37 (0.45–4.11)
No	136 (45.5)	163 (54.5)	1.00^+	1.00^+
Childhood trauma
Yes	21 (29.6)	50 (70.4)	1.98 (1.13–3.49)	1.79 (0.87–3.69)
No	121 (45.5)	145 (54.5)	1.00^+	1.00^+
Current alcohol use
Yes	45 (36.6)	78 (63.4)	1.43 (0.91–2.26)	1.51 (0.83–2.76)
No	97 (45.3)	117 (54.7)	1.00^+	1.00^+
Current khat use
Yes	10 (16.9)	49 (83.1)	4.43 (2.15–9.09)	4.16 (1.67–10.35)*
No	132 (47.5)	146 (52.5)	1.00^+	1.00^+
Current cigarette use
Yes	6 (26.1)	17 (73.9)	2.16 (0.83–5.63)	2.48 (0.72–8.49)
No	136 (43.3)	178 (56.7)	1.00^+	1.00^+

Notes: *Statistically significant; ⁺reference category.