The Effects of Extended Enhanced Community Quarantine on the Mental and Physical Health of Medical Technologists Working in Laboratories Testing for COVID-19 Patients in the National Capital Region, Philippines

Abstract

Quarantine is a public health measure that restricts the movement of individuals to prevent exposure of people to a contagious disease (CDC, 2017). Although it is an essential tool in the fight against COVID-19, it also has unwanted effects, such as the negative impact on psychological response and physical inactivity (Maugeri et al., 2020). As such is the case, it is important to study further how quarantine affects people's health, especially healthcare workers. The study aimed to identify the effects of the extended ECQ on medical technologists' mental health and physical health working in COVID-19 laboratories and hospitals. The study gathered data before and during the extended ECQ through the DASS-21 questionnaire for mental health, and IPAQ questionnaire, for physical health. Surveys containing the questionnaires and demographics were deployed through various social media, and the study was able to gather 147 respondents in the National Capital Region, Philippines. The data from the IPAQ and DASS-21 questionnaires were then analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The results showed that the medical technologists working in COVID 19 facilities during the extended ECQ had experienced a significant increase in severity of depression, anxiety, and stress (p < 0.05). Furthermore, during the extended ECQ, they had significantly lower levels of physical activity (p < 0.05). Hence, the implementation of the extended ECQ had caused the mental health and physical health of medical technologists working in COVID-19 laboratories and hospitals to be remarkably worse.