Mental health of children of health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

Children are exposed to large amounts of information and high levels of stress and anxiety from adults around them, the media, and social communication networks during the Covid-19 period. The purpose of this study was to compare the anxiety and depression levels of the children of health workers following the declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) of Covid-19 as a global pandemic with those of age-matched children of non-health worker parents. This prospective, case-controlled, cross-sectional study was performed between July and September 2020. One hundred forty-six participants were enrolled, 71 children of health worker parents in the study group, and 75 age- and sex-matched children of non-health worker parents in the control group. While no significant difference was determined between the children of health workers and non-health workers in terms of CDI scores, total STAI-C scores were higher among children of health workers (70.36 ± 12.43) than in children of non-health worker parents (65.62 ± 11.83) (p = .02). This study shows that since their parents work in intensive and high-risk environments during the Covid-19 pandemic, the children of health workers may be at greater psychological risk than other children.