Asia Pacific Environmental and Occupational Health Journal

Objective: This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the prevalence and socio-demography risk factors of depression, anxiety and stress among Kota Kinabalu district healthcare workers from January to June 2018.
Method: A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect all the socio-demography information such as gender, marital status, occupation, years of service, income, workplace location and types of living. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was assessed through the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale for 21 Items (DASS-21) questionnaire. IBM SPSS software was used for the statistical analysis.
Result: Based on voluntary consent, there were a total of 395 respondents which included doctors, nurses, medical attendants, health inspectors, pharmacists, nutritionists and laboratory technicians. Pregnant and workers with physical disability was excluded. Prevalence rates of depression, anxiety, and stress were recorded as 16.2%, 26.3%, and 11.4% respectively. Regression modelling suggested depression score were associated with occupation (F=1.331; p=0.026) and anxiety score were associ-ated with age (F=3.472; p=0.016), occupation (F=3.645; p=0.001) and workplace location (F=2.748; p=0.048). Meanwhile, stress scores were associated with occupation (F=2.773; p=0.031) and work-place location (F=2.258; p=0.032). Occupation was identified as the most significant factor that contrib-uted to depression, anxiety and stress among healthcare workers.
Conclusion: More research is recommended to identify relevant and accurate biomarkers as well as other potential occupational risk factors for depression, anxiety and stress to improve the wellbeing of healthcare workers.