The Role of Perceived Mental Stress in the Health of Suspected Cases of COVID-19

Background and Aim: Mental stress has always influenced behavioral responses in different life situations, so the purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of perceived mental stress in the health of persons suspected of COVID-19. Methods: This was a descriptive correlational study. The statistical population of the study was all female referrals to Sayyad Shirazi Hospital in Gorgan, Iran with suspected symptoms of COVID-19 such as respiratory disorders, runny nose, dry cough, dizziness, sore throat, myalgia and fever on March 15-18 in 2020. 134 people were selected according to the inclusion criteria. In this study, perceived stress questionnaire of Cohen et al., Goldberg and Hillier health questionnaire and researcher-made questionnaire of demographic information were used. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression using SPSS22 software. Results: 87 patients had COVID-19 with mean age of 59.34 years old. There was a significant positive correlation between the level of perceived mental stress with all health subscales at the level of 0.01. Given the value obtained from Multiple Correlation Coefficient (R2) perceived mental stress is able to predict (0.425) of health. Also the value obtained from the coefficient (β) of perceived mental stress (0.369) effects on health. Conclusion: Overall, this study emphasizes the significant contribution of perceived mental stress to the health of people with suspected COVID-19, which can provide therapeutic implications for therapists.