Unpad Research: Journalists In The Field Are Prone To Depression Due To COVID-19

JAKARTA - The impact given by COVID-19 is indeed extraordinary. Not only physical, because from a psychological side it can also have an impact that is not kidding.

This was revealed from research conducted by Academics at Padjadjaran University (Unpad) regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trends in depressive symptoms and actors in society. This study aims to calculate how much the estimated cost of depression symptoms that occur in community groups.

Based on the questionnaires distributed, there were a number of groups that had been mapped, namely 1,465 respondents from the student group, 563 health worker respondents, and 98 journalist respondents from various regions in Indonesia who were successfully netted in this study.

This research was conducted with researchers from the Center for Economics and Development Studies, FEB Unpad, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Psychology, and Unpad Health Clinic. The research instrument used the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD) -10 with 10 question items about the psychological condition of the respondents.

Academic Faculty of Economics and Business, Dr. Padjadjaran University. Adiatma Yudistira Manogar Siregar said that the COVID-19 pandemic did not only cost a lot of money to handle sufferers. But, also the costs of dealing with people who are mentally affected by this outbreak.

"We do not map whether a person is depressed or not, but whether there are symptoms of depression or not," he said, in a written statement, Tuesday, July 21.

Adiatma said the results showed that 47 percent of student respondents experienced symptoms of depression. Meanwhile, from the group of journalists as much as 45.92 percent of respondents, and about 28 percent of respondents from the group of health workers.

Furthermore, Adiatma explained, journalists who are still out of the house to cover news are more likely to have depressive symptoms than journalists who do not leave the house.

Statistical analysis shows that there are a number of factors that cause depression symptoms in journalists. Adiatma said, this factor is different from what appears to students. One of the factors that emerged was related to the status of a journalist's employee.

"People as journalists are still much safer than non-permanent journalists / contributors from the financial side. This is one of the possible emergence of depressive symptoms in journalists," he explained.

According to Adiatma, if the estimated cost of depression is calculated using the same method and literature as the student group, then out of 98 journalist respondents, there are 22 respondents who are at risk of experiencing the possibility of depression.

"If calculated with the cost of depression per person, the total cost of depression reaches Rp. 183 million per year," he said.

Meanwhile, said Adiatma, the percentage of health worker respondents (health workers) who had depressive symptoms in the study was 28 percent. This is much lower than the percentage of students and journalists alike.

"Maybe this low percentage is because health workers by training are better prepared to deal with situations like this," he said.

Adiatma said, health workers who have been in contact with and handled COVID-19 patients have a 1.84 chance of experiencing depressive symptoms. As a profession that is at the forefront of handling epidemics, the possibility of experiencing depressive symptoms for health workers is quite high.

"If the estimated cost of depression is calculated using the same formula, the total cost of depression for health workers reaches Rp. 647 million per year. Based on 563 samples of health workers, 77 people are at risk of experiencing the possibility of depression," he said.

The student group, said Adiatma, almost 51.16 percent of students felt pessimistic and 42.98 percent of students were worried about the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, nearly 60 percent of students felt social media caused anxiety.

Depressive symptoms in students occur because of physical restrictions and are driven by an attitude of worry and pessimitis. Adiatma explained, although most students understand social and physical restrictions, their application is not sufficiently implemented.

Adiatma said, of the 47 percent of student respondents who had depressive symptoms, it was found that 49.1 percent had the possibility of depression.

If calculated, from 1,465 samples, 338 people are at risk of experiencing depression. Adiatma said, based on literature analysis, the cost of depression per person was IDR 8.3 million. This means that if you multiply it by 338 people, the total cost of depression will reach IDR 2.8 billion.

"These are costs per year. If within a year (the pandemic) goes wrong, the costs will increase," he said.