Based on findings from the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, this research estimates the global prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms among doctors. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) on January 30, 2020, the highest level of alarm. Local and national 'lockdowns,' quarantines, travel restrictions, and physical distancing measures were implemented in an unprecedented worldwide response to try to reduce transmission rates. There have been approximately 114 million confirmed cases and over 2.5 million recorded COVID-related deaths as of this writing (WHO, 2021). As a result of the unprecedented strain on global health systems, there has been a greater emphasis on the mental health of healthcare workers. The Lancet published a position paper in April 2020 stating their potential pandemic research priorities: "The immediate research priority is to track and report rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide, and other mental health problems to better understand processes and, most importantly, to inform interventions." This should be implemented for the general public as well as vulnerable groups, such as front-line workers."
