Mental health of people with and without disabilities in Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: To assess mental health status among people with and without disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam.

Methods: We conducted online quantitative research on 410 people with disabilities (PWD) and 358 people without disabilities in Vietnam. The mental health status was assessed by The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21). The Chi-square test was used to detect the differences between PWD and people without disabilities. Multivariate logistic regression modeling was performed to evaluate the association between the COVID-19 impacts and stress, anxiety, and depression among PWD, compared to people without disabilities.

Results: In our study, the majority of PWD lived in the countryside (57.3%), were female (53.9%), had not completed high school (56.1%), had no religion (74.4%), and were married (53.4%). PWD had a higher median score for stress (8 vs. 2), anxiety (4 vs. 0), and depression (4 vs. 0), compared to people without disabilities. After adjusting for demographic factors and government support during the COVID-19 pandemic in the multivariable logistic regression model, the odds of having stress, anxiety, and depression among PWD were 4.40 times (CI 95%: 2.46,7.88), 3.84 times (CI 95%: 2.31,6.38), and 5.80 times (CI 95%: 2.97,11.31) higher than those without disabilities, respectively.

Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, PWD have a higher level of poor mental health than those without disabilities. PWD with support from the government have the level of poor mental health lower than those who do not.

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