• Gauri Adhikari, Leela Poudel, Bidushi Pokhrel, Ganesh Bhandari, and Kshitij Kumar Shrestha.
• Hospital for Advanced Medicine and Surgery, Dhumbarahi, Kathmandu, Nepal.
• JNMA J Nepal Med Assoc. 2021 Jul 1; 59 (238): 558-563.

IntroductionThe emergence and propagation of COVID-19 pandemic has subjected resident doctors to greater workload and consequent psychological implications. Many studies have illustrated various degrees of mental health issues among health care workers in general; however very limited ones have focused primarily on the resident doctors. Therefore, this study aimed to find out the prevalence of stress among the resident doctors of Nepal.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in all the teaching hospitals of Nepal with ethical clearance from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number-245). An online self-designed structured questionnaire developed using Google forms along with questions from stress subscale of Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 was disseminated to the residents via social media platforms using Convenience sampling technique. Responses generated were analyzed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data.ResultsThe prevalence of stress among resident doctors was found to be 16 (8.2%) (4.3-12.1 at 95% Confidence Interval). Greater prevalence of stress was seen among residents working outside Kathmandu valley, those in the frontline and those who were unmarried. Loss of collaborative study/ professional and academic growth experiences was responsible for causing extremely severe stress among 60 (30.9%) residents, followed by stress due to uncertainty regarding COVID-19 58 (29.9%) and unavailability/lack of quality control of personal protective equipment 58 (29.9%).ConclusionsThis study has shed light upon the prevalence of stress and its precipitating factors in Nepalese resident doctors due to COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings could help address these issues for their mitigation promptly.

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