Kathmandu, Apr. 17: The lockdown, now in its fourth week, and the increasing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, now in double digits, does not seem to have much fazed the average Nepali, according to a survey conducted by the Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation (TPO) Nepal. The survey, conducted over a period of one week from April 3 to April 10, among 1,507 respondents, shows that Nepalis are, in large, mentally sound, despite the abnormal situation that the nation and the society is going through.
The survey looked at the issues of restlessness, fearfulness, anxiety and sadness and on all these accounts, an overwhelming majority of more than 70 per cent of the respondents reported not ‘always’ suffering from these psychosocial ailments, ‘always’ being the keyword.
Most of the respondents said that they did experience these issues ‘sometimes’, indicating that Nepalis’ mental health is starting to suffer, although it is not at an extreme level of deterioration yet. According to the survey, the current crisis is taking a toll on the people’s psychological state and needs to be addressed by the government and other relevant stakeholders before it gets too bad.
Aside from mental health, the survey also looked at the public’s level of satisfaction with the government’s efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus in the country. More than half of the respondents said that they were satisfied with the government’s current actions. 2The survey was conducted through social media and used questionnaires which were developed after consultations with a pool of experts which included health workers, researchers and academicians.
-The Rising Nepal
