Evaluation of anxiety in patients who admitted to an ophthalmology
outpatient clinic during COVID-19 pandemic.
Abstract
Purpose Many studies revealed that stress, anxiety and depressive
symptoms are increased during the pandemic in both healthcare workers
and the general public. In our study, we aimed to evaluate anxiety
levels in patients who applied to an Ophthalmology outpatient clinic
during the COVID-19) pandemic. We thought that close contact requirement
in eye examination might lead to the anxiety of COVID-19. Methods This
is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in Dicle University
Ophthalmology department outpatient clinic. Data were collected for
COVID-19 fear and safety measurements and all the patients were applied
Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A). Results A total of 223 voluntary
participants were recruited. Of the participants, 101 were female and
122 were male. HAM-A total score mean was found 9.28 ± 8.717 and
approximately half of the patients (51.6%) had a score of higher than 6
which means clinical significance. Women and single participants had
higher anxiety levels compared with men and married/partnership
respectively. Age, educational level and fear of COVID-19 when visiting
the hospital were found to be related to HAM-A levels. 41.7% of the
patients had postponed the hospital admission because of the pandemic
and this was also significantly associated with the anxiety levels.
Conclusions This is the first study that investigates anxiety
specifically in an eye clinic specifically during the COVID-19 outbreak.
This study, apart from supporting the increased anxiety levels in the
pandemic, highlights that anxiety must have caused a problem of proper
access to health services. Key words: COVID-19, anxiety, pandemic,
ophthalmology