Impact of Coronavirus Disease-19 Pandemic on Mental Health of Housewives – A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: The recent pandemic of coronavirus disease-19 caused by newly discovered coronavirus has affected the mental health of the individuals and brought a significant change in their lives. Hence, the present study was planned to assess the impact of this pandemic among housewives. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among housewives using Google forms from April 15,2020 to May 15, 2020. After taking informed consent, their demographic characteristics, level of depression, anxiety, and stress were assessed using Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) score. Questionnaire was also included to see the practices adopted by housewives during this pandemic. Data management and analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS. Results: Out of total 95 housewives, 55 (57.9%) were 18–44 years of age and 40 (42.1%) were 45 years of age and above. According to DASS- 21 score; depression, anxiety, and stress were present in 27.4%, 36.8%, and 29.5% of the participants, respectively. More than 95% were buying vegetables/fruits from sellers. More than 90% were washing hands on coming from outside and almost 90% were using mask. About 38.9% each were using surgical and cloth masks while 20% were using N-95. Conclusion: On statistical analysis, it was observed that age was significantly associated with the anxiety ( P = 0.001) and stress ( P = 0.014) while it has no effect on the depression. It was also found that depression ( P = 0.004) and anxiety ( P = 0.009) were significantly higher among housewives who were below graduates as compared to those who were graduates and above. Key words: Anxiety, coronavirus disease-19, depression, housewives, practices, stress