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Category: Volume 11 Issue 09 September 2023
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Title: The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Adult Patients pre and post receiving COVID-19 vaccine at KAMC Vaccination center, Riyadh, April 2021

The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination on the Adult Population of Saudi Arabia

Authors: Dr Wejdan Alshehri, Dr Anas Alfadda, Dr Shahd Alblowi, Dr Badr Albadr

 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v11i9.10

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was declared by the WHO on March 11, 2020. To limit the spread of theSARS-CoV-2 virus that caused the pandemic, Saudi Arabia took precautionary steps like many other countries.COVID-19 symptoms typically resemble those of a cold and include a cough, fever, dyspnea, anosmia, ageusia, and headache. Not only did the COVID-19 have an impact on physical health, but also on mental health. Numerous factors, regardless of age, including work-related stress, lockdowns, social isolation, and quarantine in response to contain SARS-CoV-2 have a negative impact on the mental health of large populations. Individuals and communities have been impacted by public health emergencies, which have led to strong emotions and unhealthy behaviors. The most common manifestations of psychological problems are disorders of anxiety, depression, and panic. Due to the rapid spread of the disease, persistent efforts were put into developing a vaccine as soon as possible. Despite the fact that vaccines have been widely disseminated and given to large populations, there is still vaccine hesitancy, which may be brought on by concerns about the effectiveness of the vaccines, early trials, and related side effects. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia started the vaccination process in December 2020. BioNTech/Pfizer and AstraZeneca are the vaccines that are being used in Saudi Arabia. The most common side effect of the COVID-19 vaccines is mild to moderate pain at the injection site. Fatigue, headache, fever, chills, and myalgia have also been reported. The side effects are reported to last for one day. This study aims to assess the psychological impact of the COVID-19 vaccine on the adult population of Saudi Arabia.

Methodology: This study is a cross-sectional study. Target papulation is people living in Saudi Arabia who have received COVID-19 vaccines. Data collection was achieved by distributing an online questionnaire. Snowballing technique was used to recruit more participants. Different scales were used for the assessment of generalized anxiety disorder, depression and psychological well-being, which include the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8), and the 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5).

Results: The study included 220 participants whose mental health was assessed before and after the COVID-19 vaccination. The majority of the participants were female (69.1%) and Saudi nationals (90%). There was no significant psychological impact of the COVID-19 vaccination on the participants (p > 0.05). However, the study found significant mental stress among the female participants as compared to the male participants.

Conclusion: The study found no significant impact of COVID-19 immunization on the mental health of the adult population of Saudi Arabia. The study also indicated that gender and level of education might have an impact on the psychological state of the adult population of Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: COVID-19, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Depression, COVID-19 vaccine.

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Corresponding Author

Dr Wejdan Alshehri

Residents of the Saudi Board Family Medicine, Department of Family Medicine - King Abdulaziz Medical City