@article{ref1,
title="Assessing the psychological impact of COVID-19 outbreak and its related factors on Lebanese individuals with physical disabilities",
journal="Disability and health journal",
year="2021",
author="Summaka, Marwa and Zein, Hiba and Naim, Ibrahim and Fneish, Sleiman",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: In February 2020, the Lebanese authorities announced the first Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) case. Since then, the cases increased significantly, but information on the public's psychological status and specifically individuals with physical disabilities is still limited. <br><br>PURPOSE: The study aims to assess the psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on Lebanese individuals with physical disabilities and study the associated factors. <br><br>MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study involving 118 individuals with physical disabilities. Each filled out an online survey with three sections: a personal questionnaire, the Arabic versions of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 and the Fear of COVID-19 scale. Data regarding participants' baseline characteristics, fear, anxiety, and depression were collected and analyzed using the Chi-square test and regressions models. <br><br>RESULTS: Individuals with physical disabilities exhibited mild fear of COVID-19, with fear being correlated with age, educational level, and employment status. Furthermore, 22.9% of the population was found to be anxious, and 31.5% were depressed. Anxiety was associated with both marital status and employment status. Finally, depression was proved to be influenced by marital status, employment, and educational level. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Results extracted showed that individuals with physical disabilities require substantial attention in order to manage their psychological state during pandemics.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1936-6574",
doi="10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101073",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101073"
}