COVID19 pandemic and Police Personnel – front line COVID 19 warriors; A Cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Due to COVID 19 pandemic, almost each sector was affected. Among them, police sector was the most underappreciated and vulnerable. Without them, achieving the primary objective of the lockdown restricting the outbreak would have been impossible. They risk catching the infection, taking it home and exposing their family. Objective: To assess depression, anxiety, stress among police persons during COVID 19; To find out the impact of COVID19 on their personal life. Methodology: This is Descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted on Police Persons in Narasarao Pet Division, Guntur. Sample population selected by simple random sampling. A self-designed, and semi-structured questionnaire and DASS -21 scale were used to collect the data. Results: Out of 60, 32 (54%) were 25-35 years of age, 53(88%) were males, 39(65%) were graduated, and 32(53%) were police constables. Out of them 8(1.8%) have past medical history and 20(33%) were COVID 19 positive. Out of them16 (9.6%) were with depression, 32 (19.2%) with anxiety, and 25(15%) with stress. Conclusion: Due to the prolonged duration of working hours, inadequate supplementation of personal protection equipment (PPE) and irregular pay scale may influence their physical and mental health.