The Prevalence of Depression and its Impact on Health Workers’ Performance in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, 2013

Background: Depression is one of the common mood disorders in many societies which lead to a significant drop in job, educational, social, or family performance. This research aimed to determine the depression rate and its impact on the health workers’ performance in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2013. Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study of correlation type, 297 health workers in health care homes of Isfahan University of Medical Science were selected via systematic sampling. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to measure the depression rate, and the health workers’ performance was evaluated by the trainers of health training center using a checklist provided in health training unit. The findings were statistically analyzed using Pearson and Spearman correlation, independent t, and one-way ANOVA tests. Findings: The prevalence of depression was 53.9% in the selected health workers; 26.6% had mild, 11.8% had moderate, and 16.5% had severe or extremely severe depression. Depression showed a higher rate in female health workers compared to males. There was a significant relationship between depression and age, work experience, and residential type (P < 0.050). Health workers’ performance had an inverse relationship with depression severity (P < 0.050). Moreover, the level of health workers’ education had an inverse relationship with depression and a direct relationship with performance. Conclusion: Health workers suffer from high rate of depression, and it has an impact on their performance; planning to reduce their depression plays an important role in health promotion programs.