It's all not negative: a cross-section study on the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic on Iranian population

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 2297 - 8
• Main Authors: Namdar Areshtanab, Hossein, Hosseinzadeh, Mina, Vahidi, Maryam, Hurst, Sheila K, Soheili, Soraya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 08-12-2022; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Aged; Communicable Disease Control; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Epidemics; Genetics; Health care facilities; Humans; Hygiene; Information sources; Iran; Iran - epidemiology; Lifestyle; Medical personnel; Medical research; Pandemic; Pandemics; Personal hygiene; Post-traumatic growth; Psychological aspects; Public health; Quality of Life; Random sampling; Social aspects; Statistical sampling; Surveys; Iran; Lifestyle; Pandemic; Covid-19; Iran
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-14777-3

Covid-19 has had significant effects on the quality of life of individuals around the world. Research highlights many negative impacts related to Covid-19; however, there are also potential positive impacts. The current study aimed to identify both the perceived negative and positive effects of Covid-19 among the residents of Tabriz, Iran.
The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 10 health centers in Tabriz city in 2021. Cluster random sampling was used to select the 861 study participants. A questionnaire was developed to collect demographic and Covid-19 impacts. Data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS 16 software.
The mean (SD) of negative and positive impacts of Covid-19 was 37.7 (5.10) and 36.35 (5.31), respectively. Significant negative impacts included restriction in participation in cultural (90.4%) and religious (88.9%) activities. Positive impacts were increased attention to personal hygiene (88.7%) and attention to elders (87.6%). Gender (p = 0.006), work status (p = 0.004) and age (p = 0. 01) had significant association with the mean of negative impacts and work status (p = 0.01), age (p < 0.001), history of Covid-19 (p = 0.01) and family history of Covid-19 (p < 0.001) had the significant association with the mean of positive impacts of Covid-19.
The findings revealed that the general population experienced many negative impacts of Covid-19. This may be related to the priority of religious gatherings in Iranian culture. Despite the unfavorable effects of Covid-19, its positive effects and post-traumatic growth should not be ignored. Covid-19 may be used as an opportunity to develop personal growth and a positive outlook on life. Healthcare workers should reinforce the positive impacts of Covid-19 while taking into consideration the importance of spirituality among Iranian individuals during times of community lockdowns.