What’s is the Current Situation About Health Care in the Maternity Facilities of Defense Forces in Benin?

Nihel Omri^1,2, Imen Mlouki^1-3, Nadia Keskes⁴, Hazem Sfar¹, Fatma Ben Youssef^1,3, Awatef Mahfoudh⁵ and Sana EL Mhamdi^1-3*

¹Department of Preventive and Community Medicine, University Hospital Tahar Sfar Mahdia, Tunisia
²Faculty of Medicine of Monastir, University of Monastir, Tunisia
³Resarch Laboratory “Epidemiology Applied to Maternal and Child Health” 12SP17, Tunisia
⁴Department of Pneumology, University Hospital Tahar Sfar Mahdia, Tunisiaa
⁵Department of Occupational Medicine, University Hospital Tahar Sfar Mahdia, Tunisia

*Corresponding Author: Sana EL Mhamdi, Department of Preventive and Community Medicine, University Hospital Tahar Sfar Mahdia, Tunisia.

Received: September 18, 2024; Published: August 26, 2025

Abstract

Background: The massive spread of the COVID-19 being relatively deadly, leads to psychological pressures dominated by an atmosphere of panic and worries mainly among Health Care Workers (HCWs). Only few studies have evaluated this impact on HCWs mental health in Tunisia.

Aim: We aimed at determining the prevalence of COVID-19 fear and its associated factors among HCWs at a University Hospital in Tunisia.

Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study among HCWs staff in the University Hospital Tahar Sfar Mahdia which is located in the Central-East part of Tunisia in December 2020. The fear of corona virus disease was assessed using the valid French version of the Fear of Covid-19 Scale (FCV-7).

Results: A total of 173 professionals were recruited with a mean age of 35.3 ± 9.4 years. Among them, 66% were women. One third of participants (33.3%) were medical professionals. Almost, 68% have experienced a high level of fear.

Our survey showed a significantly higher level of fear among females 70.1% and elderly people 60.8%. It was positively associated (p < 0.05) with anxiety and depression, high risk perception and the responsibility degree of being a virus vector for their loved ones.

Anxiety and depression disorders (standardized β = 3.118, CI = 0.545-5.832, p = 0.018), high risk perception (β = 3.321,CI = 0.097-6.545, p = 0.044), knowledge about Covid-19 transmission (β = 2.586, CI = 0.439-4.734, p = 0.019), degree of responsibility (β = 3.130, CI = 0.373-5.887, p = 0.026), being a doctor (β = -6.475, CI = -8.785- -4.165, p = 0.001) and Perceived Vulnerability to Disease (β = 0.26,CI = 0.157-0.363, p < 001) were found to be predictive factors of corona virus fear in the linear regression model (Adjusted R2 = 0.374).

Conclusion: Authorities should introduce a preventive strategy based on psychological intervention for HCWs to overcome their fear and worries.

Keywords: Fear; Health Care Workers; Covid-19; Pandemic; Tunisia

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Citation

Citation: Sana EL Mhamdi., et al. “Psychological Impact of a Sanitary Crisis on Health Care Workers in Tunisia: The COVID-19 as an Example". Acta Scientific Women's Health 7.9 (2025): 20-29.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2025 Sana EL Mhamdi., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.