Anxiety level and COVID-19 awareness of patients in a non-COVID-19 outpatient clinic of a pandemic hospital

Abstract

Background and Aims: The aim of this study is to investigate the COVID-19 awareness and anxiety levels of patients who visited the outpatient department in a hospital. Methods: A questionnaire for socio-demographic data and COVID-19 awareness, Beck Anxiety Scale (BAS), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) data were collected from patients who volunteered to participate in the study. Counts, percentages, independent groups t-test, and correlation analysis were used during statistical data analysis. Those patients who were over 18 years of age, literate, having no psychiatric disorder and from whom informed consent was obtained were included in the study. Patients younger than 18 years of age, patients who had psychiatric disorders, and illiterate patients were excluded. Results: The questionnaire form and scales were distributed to 254 patients, while 210 patients were included in the study. Therefore, the response rate from the patients was 82.7%. The mean age of the patients participating in this study was 44.41 years ±16.9 SD. The BAS scores of patients over 65 years of age were significantly higher than the patients at younger ages (p<0.001). The percentage of female patients was 42.6% (n=89) and that of males was 57.4% (n=120). Both the BAS scores (p<0.001) and HADS scores (p<0.01) of the female patients were significantly higher than those of the male patients. Conclusion: The BAS and HADS scores of females were found to be significantly higher than those of the males. Although the mean of the BAS scores of the patients was low, the BAS scores of those women who were at an age of 65 years or above, and those who had secondary school education or below, were significantly higher. Therefore, related research focusing on these groups should be conducted in the future.