Taiwanese healthcare personnel had more psychological anguish.
Researchers from National Cheng Kung University studied how the Covid-19 outbreak affected people in south-east Asia psychologically. Covid-19 was more dreaded than other groups in Hong Kong. The Covid-19 pandemic had negative effects on people’s physical and mental health in addition to the economy, trade, and commerce. Researchers have recently looked at how the epidemic affected healthcare staff, outpatients, and the general population in some parts of South Asia psychologically.
The National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) scientists discovered that the lockdowns had deeply changed people’s lifestyles and social behaviour. Their emotional anguish was related to these changes.
Effect of Covid on medical professionals:
In reality, those in the medical field, were severely affected.
The team studied the psychological damage and protective behaviours among Taiwanese healthcare personnel, outpatients, and a sample of the broader Hong Kong population. This was in order to understand the psychosocial impact of the pandemic.
It was discovered that residents of Hong Kong were more afraid about Covid-19. Taiwanese outpatients and healthcare staff scored higher than persons in Hong Kong in terms of psychological discomfort, according to the study, which was published in Frontiers in Medicine. However, compared to the other two groups, Taiwanese healthcare professionals displayed less apprehension of Covid-19.
According to Dr. Chung-Ying Lin, the study’s primary author, they studied psychological distress and protective behaviours among 192 Taiwanese outpatients, 500 Taiwanese healthcare professionals, and 1,067 people in Hong Kong.
Regarding the adoption of protective behaviours that might lower the risk of COVID-19 infection, an inverse relationship was observed. Participants from Hong Kong exhibited greater protective behaviours than outpatients from Taiwan.
The study was carried out as a component of a project that supported the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) throughout Asia.
Parvathy Sukumaran 
