Comparing Anxiety and Depression among Midwives and Nurses Working in Pediatric Wards and Other Clinical Settings during the Covid-19 Outbreak

Background: This study aims to compare the COVID-related anxiety and depression between Midwives and nurses working in pediatric wars and the other clinical settings during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: Random sampling method was implemented for sample selection. Modified Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to measure anxiety and depression related to COVID-19; and the data was analyzed through linear regression. Results: In this study, 88.6% of the participants were female and the mean age of nurses was 30.41 +/- 6.59 years. 36.4% of the nurses were midwives, 35% were pediatric nurses and the rest were other nurses. The mean and standard deviation of anxiety and depression scores were 12.76 +/- 7.75 and 1.78 +/- 2.27, respectively. 92.9% of the participants were anxious and 11.4% were depressed. The variables of marital status and sports activity had a significant effect on nurses' depression scores. Conclusion: Anxiety and depression scores were not significantly different among the treatment staff. The prevalence of COVID-19 anxiety was high among hospital staff in Iran and the prevalence of depression was moderate, which can have detrimental effects on the quality of care provided by nurses and midwives to the patient.