Abstract
Aim of the studyHealthcare workers (HCWs) are more prone to extraordinary fears of COVID -19 virus infection. This study aimed to explore the frequency and predictors of health anxiety to COVID-19 virus infection among HCWs and identify its relationship to their quality of life (QOL).Subject or material and methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of HCWs in hospitals of Sharkia Province, Egypt from June 30 to July 16, 2020. A total of 218 HCWs were interviewed using the short health anxiety inventory (SHAI), Symptom Check List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), and The World Health Organization Quality of Life – BREF (WHOQOL-BREF).ResultsThe frequency of health anxiety to COVID-19 virus among HCWs was 28%. Symptoms of depression, hostility, phobia and somatization, and history of chronic medical illnesses showed greater odds of health anxiety to COVID-19 virus (OR: 6.7, 9.1, 7.3, 7.7, and 12.6, respectively). Being physicians and the increased number of sleeping hours were less likely associated with health anxiety to COVID-19 virus (OR: 0.1 and 0.5, respectively). Health anxiety to COVID-19 virus was inversely correlated with all domains of QOL among HCWs.DiscussionThe study findings were consistent with other previously conducted similar studies.ConclusionsHealth anxiety to Covid-19 virus infection is common among HCWs, and it negatively affects their QOL.
Highlights
In March 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak was declared by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic
It was documented that healthcare workers (HCWs) who were caring for patients during the previous outbreaks like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)
Our study found that the majority of participants with higher levels of health anxiety to COVID-19 virus infection were nurses (69.4%), which was consistent with the results of a study investigating the mental health wellbeing among physicians and nurses during COVID-19 epidemic in China and found that about 60% of the participants experiencing psychological symptoms were nurses [23]
Summary
In March 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak was declared by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 COVID-19 (SARSCoV-2), which was a newly emerging virus, was recognized as the offending agent of COVID-19 virus infection that began first in December 2019 in Wuhan, China and spread world-. The current COVID-19 pandemic put healthcare workers (HCWs) around the world under extraordinary pressures. The HCWs would have to make life-saving decisions under extreme pressures. These decisions included how to judiciously utilize the limited resources to patients, how to stabilize the balances between their own physical and mental wellbeing needs with those of their patients, and between their duty commitments to patients with those to their families and friends, and how to continue providing the medical care for all affected patients with limited or inadequate resources [6]
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