Abstract
Objectives This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depression and anxiety, and assess the knowledge, practice, and concerns regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among the residents of an urban slum in Chandigarh, India. Materials and Methods Participants were screened using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scales. Results The mean (standard deviation) age of 200 enrolled participants was 33 (13) years with 83% ( n = 166) being females. The prevalence of depression and anxiety was 3.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.956.05) and 2.5% (95% CI: 0.344.66), respectively. Of total, 46% ( n = 92) knew that COVID-19 can transmit through droplets and 30.5% ( n = 61) were concerned that they might get infected with disease. Half of the participants ( n = 100) believed that there was unnecessary worry regarding COVID-19 and 78% ( n = 156) covered mouth while coughing or sneezing. Conclusion To cope with this critical situation, it is necessary to strengthen the awareness programs targeting the mental health issues of the people.
Copyright
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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License, which permits unrestricted reproduction and distribution, for non-commercial purposes only; and use and reproduction, but not distribution, of adapted material for non-commercial purposes only, provided the original work is properly cited.