Double Burden of COVID-19 Pandemic and Military Occupation: Mental Health Among a Palestinian University Community in the West Bank
Background: The Covid-19 pandemic created major global health crises, with serious effects on all aspects of life. The pandemic reached the Israeli occupied West Bank of Palestine in early March 2020, and lockdown immediately ensued. Objectives: To assess the prevalence and predictors of distress an...
Guardado en:
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN |
| Publicado: |
Ubiquity Press
2020
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/58d8e230d2384f7e9ded86346a65d078 |
| Etiquetas: |
Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
|
| id |
oai:doaj.org-article:58d8e230d2384f7e9ded86346a65d078 |
|---|---|
| record_format |
dspace |
| spelling |
oai:doaj.org-article:58d8e230d2384f7e9ded86346a65d0782021-12-02T11:05:08ZDouble Burden of COVID-19 Pandemic and Military Occupation: Mental Health Among a Palestinian University Community in the West Bank2214-999610.5334/aogh.3007https://doaj.org/article/58d8e230d2384f7e9ded86346a65d0782020-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/3007https://doaj.org/toc/2214-9996Background: The Covid-19 pandemic created major global health crises, with serious effects on all aspects of life. The pandemic reached the Israeli occupied West Bank of Palestine in early March 2020, and lockdown immediately ensued. Objectives: To assess the prevalence and predictors of distress and insecurity among Birzeit University’s community during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Methods: An online survey completed in March-April 2020 using standardized and previously validated distress and insecurity scales. The survey was placed on the University portal accessed by students, faculty and employees, and was sent by email to faculty and employees. Data were weighted to reflect the University community’s distribution. Findings: There were 1,851 participants in the study: 84% were undergraduate students, 10% graduate students, and 6% faculty and employees. Sixty two percent were women. Ages ranged from 17 to 70 years (mean 24 ± 9.7). Prevalence of moderate/high distress and insecurity were 40% and 48% respectively. Multiple logistic regression revealed that women, those under 35 years old and those with worse reported income, had significantly higher odds of distress and insecurity compared to their counterparts. Undergraduate students or living with a person at home with high risk of illness with COVID-19 were associated with higher odds of distress compared to their counterparts (OR = 1.56, 95%CI[1.13–2.15]) and (OR = 1.34, 95%CI[1.11–1.62]) respectively. A COVID-19 worry score was significantly associated with higher odds of distress and insecurity (OR = 1.77, 95%CI[1.46–2.14]) and (OR = 4.3, 95%CI[3.53–5.23]) respectively. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the need to pay attention not only to physical health but also to mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among young people, women, those with lower economic status, and those living with high risk persons during the pandemic. We hope that this study will inform the policies and interventions of the Palestinian Authority, local non-governmental organization, international groups working in the occupied Palestinian territory, and beyond.Rula GhandourRasha GhanayemFarah AlkhanafsaAyah AlsharifHiba AsfourAisha HoshiyaAmani MasalmehMuna NadiLaila OthmanSameera RyaheYasmeen WahdanShatha WahshAla'a YamaniRita GiacamanUbiquity PressarticleInfectious and parasitic diseasesRC109-216Public aspects of medicineRA1-1270ENAnnals of Global Health, Vol 86, Iss 1 (2020) |
| institution |
DOAJ |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
EN |
| topic |
Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
| spellingShingle |
Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Rula Ghandour Rasha Ghanayem Farah Alkhanafsa Ayah Alsharif Hiba Asfour Aisha Hoshiya Amani Masalmeh Muna Nadi Laila Othman Sameera Ryahe Yasmeen Wahdan Shatha Wahsh Ala'a Yamani Rita Giacaman Double Burden of COVID-19 Pandemic and Military Occupation: Mental Health Among a Palestinian University Community in the West Bank |
| description |
Background: The Covid-19 pandemic created major global health crises, with serious effects on all aspects of life. The pandemic reached the Israeli occupied West Bank of Palestine in early March 2020, and lockdown immediately ensued. Objectives: To assess the prevalence and predictors of distress and insecurity among Birzeit University’s community during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Methods: An online survey completed in March-April 2020 using standardized and previously validated distress and insecurity scales. The survey was placed on the University portal accessed by students, faculty and employees, and was sent by email to faculty and employees. Data were weighted to reflect the University community’s distribution. Findings: There were 1,851 participants in the study: 84% were undergraduate students, 10% graduate students, and 6% faculty and employees. Sixty two percent were women. Ages ranged from 17 to 70 years (mean 24 ± 9.7). Prevalence of moderate/high distress and insecurity were 40% and 48% respectively. Multiple logistic regression revealed that women, those under 35 years old and those with worse reported income, had significantly higher odds of distress and insecurity compared to their counterparts. Undergraduate students or living with a person at home with high risk of illness with COVID-19 were associated with higher odds of distress compared to their counterparts (OR = 1.56, 95%CI[1.13–2.15]) and (OR = 1.34, 95%CI[1.11–1.62]) respectively. A COVID-19 worry score was significantly associated with higher odds of distress and insecurity (OR = 1.77, 95%CI[1.46–2.14]) and (OR = 4.3, 95%CI[3.53–5.23]) respectively. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the need to pay attention not only to physical health but also to mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among young people, women, those with lower economic status, and those living with high risk persons during the pandemic. We hope that this study will inform the policies and interventions of the Palestinian Authority, local non-governmental organization, international groups working in the occupied Palestinian territory, and beyond. |
| format |
article |
| author |
Rula Ghandour Rasha Ghanayem Farah Alkhanafsa Ayah Alsharif Hiba Asfour Aisha Hoshiya Amani Masalmeh Muna Nadi Laila Othman Sameera Ryahe Yasmeen Wahdan Shatha Wahsh Ala'a Yamani Rita Giacaman |
| author_facet |
Rula Ghandour Rasha Ghanayem Farah Alkhanafsa Ayah Alsharif Hiba Asfour Aisha Hoshiya Amani Masalmeh Muna Nadi Laila Othman Sameera Ryahe Yasmeen Wahdan Shatha Wahsh Ala'a Yamani Rita Giacaman |
| author_sort |
Rula Ghandour |
| title |
Double Burden of COVID-19 Pandemic and Military Occupation: Mental Health Among a Palestinian University Community in the West Bank |
| title_short |
Double Burden of COVID-19 Pandemic and Military Occupation: Mental Health Among a Palestinian University Community in the West Bank |
| title_full |
Double Burden of COVID-19 Pandemic and Military Occupation: Mental Health Among a Palestinian University Community in the West Bank |
| title_fullStr |
Double Burden of COVID-19 Pandemic and Military Occupation: Mental Health Among a Palestinian University Community in the West Bank |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Double Burden of COVID-19 Pandemic and Military Occupation: Mental Health Among a Palestinian University Community in the West Bank |
| title_sort |
double burden of covid-19 pandemic and military occupation: mental health among a palestinian university community in the west bank |
| publisher |
Ubiquity Press |
| publishDate |
2020 |
| url |
https://doaj.org/article/58d8e230d2384f7e9ded86346a65d078 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT rulaghandour doubleburdenofcovid19pandemicandmilitaryoccupationmentalhealthamongapalestinianuniversitycommunityinthewestbank AT rashaghanayem doubleburdenofcovid19pandemicandmilitaryoccupationmentalhealthamongapalestinianuniversitycommunityinthewestbank AT farahalkhanafsa doubleburdenofcovid19pandemicandmilitaryoccupationmentalhealthamongapalestinianuniversitycommunityinthewestbank AT ayahalsharif doubleburdenofcovid19pandemicandmilitaryoccupationmentalhealthamongapalestinianuniversitycommunityinthewestbank AT hibaasfour doubleburdenofcovid19pandemicandmilitaryoccupationmentalhealthamongapalestinianuniversitycommunityinthewestbank AT aishahoshiya doubleburdenofcovid19pandemicandmilitaryoccupationmentalhealthamongapalestinianuniversitycommunityinthewestbank AT amanimasalmeh doubleburdenofcovid19pandemicandmilitaryoccupationmentalhealthamongapalestinianuniversitycommunityinthewestbank AT munanadi doubleburdenofcovid19pandemicandmilitaryoccupationmentalhealthamongapalestinianuniversitycommunityinthewestbank AT lailaothman doubleburdenofcovid19pandemicandmilitaryoccupationmentalhealthamongapalestinianuniversitycommunityinthewestbank AT sameeraryahe doubleburdenofcovid19pandemicandmilitaryoccupationmentalhealthamongapalestinianuniversitycommunityinthewestbank AT yasmeenwahdan doubleburdenofcovid19pandemicandmilitaryoccupationmentalhealthamongapalestinianuniversitycommunityinthewestbank AT shathawahsh doubleburdenofcovid19pandemicandmilitaryoccupationmentalhealthamongapalestinianuniversitycommunityinthewestbank AT alaayamani doubleburdenofcovid19pandemicandmilitaryoccupationmentalhealthamongapalestinianuniversitycommunityinthewestbank AT ritagiacaman doubleburdenofcovid19pandemicandmilitaryoccupationmentalhealthamongapalestinianuniversitycommunityinthewestbank |
| _version_ |
1718396288888733696 |