Abstract
Background: Considering the importance of health anxiety (HA) and its impact on the management of a pandemic, the present study investigated HA among healthcare workers during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and Methods: The sample of this cross-sectional study consisted of 220 healthcare staff working in health centers and hospitals in Iran. Participants were selected using convenience sampling method. The data collection tool was a two-part questionnaire. The first part contained demographic information and the second part included a health anxiety questionnaire (HAQ). This questionnaire was provided to the target community through social media and the required data was collected. Data analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., USA). Results: In the present study, out of 220 participants 128 (58.2%) were employed in health centers and 92 (41.8%) in hospitals. The mean HA score was 17.36 ± 7.66. Moreover, the mean HA scores in health center and hospital personnel was 17.81± 8.02 and 16.52 ± 6.78, respectively, which were not significantly different (P=0.217). The results showed that exercise and chronic disease are significant predictors of HA (P=0.0001 and P=0.043, respectively). Conclusion: The HA level was very high in healthcare personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study showed that physical activity and having an underlying disease are important predictors of HA. Hence, in order to reduce the level of anxiety in healthcare personnel, it is recommended to plan regular physical activity programs and make changes in the work schedule of personnel with underlying disease.
Highlights
Health anxiety (HA) occurs when a person interprets perceived emotions or bodily changes as disease symptoms [1]
The results of the health anxiety questionnaire (HAQ) showed that the mean health anxiety (HA) score of the subjects was 17.36 ± 7.66
The results revealed that 58.6% of the subjects obtained scores higher than 15 from HAQ, indicating a high HA level
Summary
Health anxiety (HA) occurs when a person interprets perceived emotions or bodily changes as disease symptoms [1]. It has been found that the cost of healthcare for HA patients referring to physicians is 41%-78% higher than patients who refer to physicians with a specific disease [4], which indicates the HA-related financial burden imposed on the individual and society This issue becomes more important because experts believe that HA may have increased among people in recent years [3]. The first part contained demographic information and the second part included a health anxiety questionnaire (HAQ) This questionnaire was provided to the target community through social media and the required data was collected. In order to reduce the level of anxiety in healthcare personnel, it is recommended to plan regular physical activity programs and make changes in the work schedule of personnel with underlying disease.
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