Mental health well -being of Frontline Health Care Professionals (FHCP) managing Covid-19 cases in two selected tertiary hospitals in Bayelsa and Edo States, Nigeria

This study investigated the mental health well-being of frontline health care professionals managing COVID-19 cases in two selected tertiary hospitals in Bayelsa and Edo States. The descriptive analytical survey design was adopted. The population of this study comprises of all health care professionals managing COVID -19 cases in Bayelsa and Edo States. The purposive sampling technique was utilized to sample 181 respondents made up of 39 from Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH) Okolobiri, Bayelsa and 142 from Irrua Specialist Hospital, Edo State. The instrument for data collection is a questionnaire titled “Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) and New Well-being Measure Tools adapted by the researchers”. The responses were structured into Likert four-point scale of Every time (ET), Often (O), Rarely (R) and Never (N). The instrument was validated by the researchers and other experts. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained using the Cronbach alpha statistic to obtain a reliability coefficient of 0.87. One research question was raised and three hypotheses formulated to guide the direction of this study. The ethical clearance was obtained from relevant authorities. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation, bar chart and inferential statistics of t-test, and One-way analysis of variance. The study found among others that participants in Bayelsa and Edo States have a negative mental health well-being in managing COVID 19 cases. It was concluded amongst others the need for training and re-training of health care professionals, incentives and allowances be given to health care professionals, etc.