A Qualitative Survey on Psychological Experiences Among Malaysian COVID-19 Patients

Authors

  • Hana Maizuliana Solehan Medical Lecturer, Consultant Physician & Neurologist Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
  • Nurul Azmawati Mohamed Medical Lecturer, Consultant Physician & Neurologist Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
  • Mohd Dzulkhairi Mohd Rani Medical Lecturer, Consultant Physician & Neurologist Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
  • Muslimah Ithnin Medical Lecturer, Consultant Physician & Neurologist Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31344/ijhhs.v6i0.426

Keywords:

COVID-19, psychological experiences, emotions, qualitative study

Abstract

Objectives: COVID-19 not only affects physical health, but also causes a significant impact on psychosocial wellbeing. Hence, it is important to understand the emotional and psychological experiences of COVID-19 patients. The objective of this study is to explore the psychological experience among the public when they were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Methods. This cross-sectional study was done using a qualitative survey approach. The survey was conducted online via Google Form platform asking open-ended questions among patients diagnosed with COVID-19. The link to the online form was disseminated through social media and messaging applications from 1st March to 30th April 2021. Malaysian adult respondents with a history of positive COVID-19 were invited to share their experience, emotions and feelings dealing with the disease. The data was analysed using The Colaizzi method.

Results. Ninety-five responses were received. Majority of the respondents were female (76.8%) with a median age of 35 years old. Four themes emerged from the qualitative analysis. The first theme was negative emotions experienced during early diagnosis of COVID-19 including denial, fear, guilt, stress, and depression. The second theme was the worry of other people, such as the stigma faced from others and concern regarding the family members’ health. The third theme was frustration and disappointment towards the health care system and then fourthly, positive emotions such as acceptance, good behaviour, and gratitude towards the health care staffs.

Conclusion. COVID-19 imposed a great variety of emotional and psychological consequences. It is important to address a patient's psychosocial and emotional wellbeing for further support on coping mechanisms. Factors such as assistance from society, excellent care from the medical staffs and a good health-care system may ease their emotional burden. This study provides an understanding of negative and positive psychological impacts among COVID-19 patients in Malaysia. We found that negative emotions mainly occurred during the early COVID-19 diagnosis.

International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Supplementary Issue: 2022 Page: S36

Downloads

Published

2022-03-13

How to Cite

Solehan, H. M., Mohamed, N. A., Mohd Rani, M. D., & Ithnin, M. (2022). A Qualitative Survey on Psychological Experiences Among Malaysian COVID-19 Patients. International Journal of Human and Health Sciences (IJHHS), 6, S36. https://doi.org/10.31344/ijhhs.v6i0.426

Issue

2022: Supplementary Issue: 2022

Section

Poster Presentation

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Hana Maizuliana Solehan, Nurul Azmawati Mohamed, Mohd Dzulkhairi Mohd Rani, Muslimah Ithnin

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish in the International Journal of Human and Health Sciences agree to the following terms that:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant International Journal of Human and Health Sciences the right of first publication of the work.

  2. Creative Commons Licence
    Articles in International Journal of Human and Health Sciences are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License CC BY-4.0.This license permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
  3. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  4. Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as greater citation of published work.