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The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on secondary school teachers in Sfax, Tunisia : anxiety disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

N. Regaieg ,
L. Zouari ,
Y. Mejdoub ,
S. Omri ,
I. Gassara ,
R. Feki ,
N. Smaoui ,
M. Maalej ,
J. Ben Thabet  and
N. Charfi
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N. Regaieg*
Affiliation:
Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Psychiatry C, Sfax, Tunisia
L. Zouari
Affiliation:
Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Psychiatry C, Sfax, Tunisia
Y. Mejdoub
Affiliation:
Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Epidemiology, Sfax, Tunisia
S. Omri
Affiliation:
Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Psychiatry C, Sfax, Tunisia
I. Gassara
Affiliation:
Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Psychiatry C, Sfax, Tunisia
R. Feki
Affiliation:
Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Psychiatry C, Sfax, Tunisia
N. Smaoui
Affiliation:
Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Psychiatry C, Sfax, Tunisia
M. Maalej
Affiliation:
Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Psychiatry C, Sfax, Tunisia
J. Ben Thabet
Affiliation:
Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Psychiatry C, Sfax, Tunisia
N. Charfi
Affiliation:
Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Psychiatry C, Sfax, Tunisia
M. Maalej
Affiliation:
Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Psychiatry C, Sfax, Tunisia
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

During the COVID-19 pandemic time, teachers have to adapt to many changes that could potentially make them more vulnerable to psychological distress.

Objectives

To determine the prevalence and the factors for anxiety during the COVID-19 epidemic among the high school teachers in Sfax, Tunisia.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study, for descriptive and analytical purposes, conducted on google drive in May 2021.We involved 97 junior and secondary school teachers from Sfax, Tunisia, practicing in public high schools. Anxiety was assessed by using Generalized Anxiety Disorder tool (GAD-7).

Results

The average age of the participants was 44.23 years old with a sex-ratio (M/F) of 0.32. Since the advent of COVID-19, 54.2% had presented sleep disturbances while 10.4% had suicidal thoughts. Among all participants, 77.8% were afraid of the virus transmission within the classroom or the school and 81.3% reported regular mask wear at work. The median score on the GAD-7 was 6.5 (Q1=3, Q3=11). Scores’ distribution indicated that 68% of the participants had no to mild symptoms of anxiety while 32% had moderate to severe anxiety. Furthermore, the presence of anxiety was associated to the female gender (p=0.01), sleep disturbances (p<0.001), suicidal thoughts (p=0.006), and to the conviction that wearing masks blocks the transmission of voice, information or emotions between teacher and student (p=0.025).

Conclusions

During the COVID-19 outbreak, high school teachers in Sfax, Tunisia have high levels of anxiety.This can lead to a decreased effectiveness of their complex work.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

AnxietyCovid-19secondary school teachers
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S336 - S337
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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