A survey on nurses from Aceh to Papua has found that more than half have anxiety and depression, exacerbated by the stigmatization of frontline workers.
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AHMAD ARIF/Anita Yossihara
·4 minutes read
KOMPAS/FABIO M LOPES COSTA
Tent for patient care in the yard of the General Hospital Region II Jayapura on Friday (17/7/2020). This hospital is one of the referral places for handling Covid-19 patients in Papua. Ironically, as many as 97 hospital staff were infected by Covid-19.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Covid-19 health crisis has had a negative impact on the mental health of medical workers. A survey on nurses from Aceh to Papua has found that more than half have anxiety and depression, exacerbated by the stigmatization of frontline workers.
"Our survey found that most nurses are experiencing anxiety and depression with a variety of symptoms. As a matter of fact, some have even thought about ending their lives," Herni Susanti, a psychiatric nursing lecturer at the University of Indonesia (UI) Faculty of Nursing, said in Jakarta on Monday (3/8/2020).
The survey was conducted in April-May 2020 by researchers from the Psychiatric Nursing Department of the UI nursing school in collaboration with the research division of the Indonesian Mental Health Nurses Association (IPKJI). The survey involved 2,132 nurses of various specializations at both hospitals and puskesmas (community health centers) treating Covid-19 patients across Indonesia.
Using the self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ), the survey discovered that 55 percent or 1,172 nurses had experienced anxiety and depression. The leading symptoms included appetite loss (87 percent); nervousness, tension, and worry (70 percent); headaches (68 percent); sleeping disorders (57 percent); and fear (55 percent). In addition, 1.4 percent of the respondents had contemplated ending their own lives.
Medical workers at the Duren Sawit Community Health Center (Puskesmas) in East Jakarta, take photos together after administering rapid and swab tests on sellers at Perumnas Klender Market on Friday (29/5/2020). More than 50 sellers underwent testing. Similar tests conducted last week found 50 sellers had COVID-19.
According to Herni, the pressure the nurses felt was exacerbated by the stigmatization of Covid-19 frontline workers. The survey found that 100 percent of the respondents had experienced social stigmatization and discrimination, with 26 percent experiencing high stigmatization and 74 percent experiencing mild stigmatization.
The survey found that 389 nurses, or 18 percent of all respondents, had experienced stigmatization and discrimination. The forms of stigmatization included social avoidance, people closing their doors on seeing nurses, eviction, denied access to public transportation, social ostracism of their families, marriage rejections, and the threat of divorce from their spouses.
"The stigmatization they experienced is a very heavy burden in the midst of increasing pressures at work. Many nurses who volunteer in specialist hospitals work for up to three months [without a break]," said Herni.
She said that social stigmatization was also due to the lack of public awareness about Covid-19 and how it was transmitted. She expressed the hope that all parties, including the mass media and social media users, would not spread misinformation about Covid-19, and called on the government to take a firm stance on the issue.
Indonesian National Nurses Association (PPNI) chairman Harif Fadhilah added that the organization had received 19 reports from its members who had experienced social stigmatization. PPNI data shows that, to date, 58 nurses have died of Covid-19. Meanwhile, data from the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) shows that 73 doctors have died of the disease.
Jomima Orno (38), a Covid-19 patient nurse at the Ambon Haulussy Regional General Hospital who was beaten by a number of people.
Campaign improved
Responding to the high number of Covid-19 cases, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that the campaign on implementing the health protocols must have greater outreach and be more focused.
"I don\'t know why, in the past few weeks, people have become [more] worried about Covid-19. Perhaps it is because the number of cases is rising or [because] the people, especially the upper-middle class, are seeing that many members of the public are still not obeying the health protocols," said the President.
As of Monday, Indonesia had recorded 113,134 confirmed cases of Covid-19, an increase of 1,679 new cases from the previous day. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 death toll is 5,302 deaths, an increase of 66 additional deaths since Sunday.
President Jokowi stressed that the government still had a lot of housework. One of these was to suppress the rate of confirmed cases and the fatality rate of Covid-19 through a public campaign on the importance of following the health protocols. So that the campaign message was easily understood among the public, the President has instructed that the nationwide campaign deliver specific messages, starting with the importance of wearing face masks, to washing hands, and to keeping safe physical distance.
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