The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted
negatively on public mental health. As a
result, monitoring the level of the
population mental health is a priority
during crises. This study aims to
measure stress during the COVID-19
pandemic in Selangor. Cross-sectional
study was done using SELANGKAH
apps, where users are Selangor citizens.
Data was collected from September 2021
until March 2022. This app was initially
used as contact tracing and mental
health modules (SEHAT) were added,
consisting of a validated Perceived
Stress Scale (PSS-10) questionnaire.
Out of 42072 SEHAT users, 6411 people
had completed the questionnaire.
Majority were female (53.6%), Muslims
(79.6%), had formal education up to
secondary (49.0%), low income (89.9%),
and young and middle- aged adults
(59.7%). Majority have a moderate stress
(66.8%), while 23.3% and 9.9% are low
and high levels, respectively. High stress
is significantly associated with females,
high education, younger age groups, and
low monthly income. Several factors
could have contributed to this throughout
the COVID-19 pandemic, such as online
learning, uncertainty on study duration,
financial constraints and limited social
interactions. Moreover, as an effect of
prolonged pandemic and MCO, a surge
in the number of job terminations has
also affected the source of income, which
contributed to high levels of stress
among the general population. The level
of stress in Selangor was high during the
pandemic as an effect of MCO
