Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection has become a clinical threat to healthy people as well as immunocompromised patients and those with pre-existing chronic diseases around the world. This study, which used a cross-sectional correlational design, aimed to assess the levels of fear and health anxiety and to investigate their predictors during the current outbreak of COVID-19 in immunocompromised and chronic disease patients in Saudi Arabia. Sociodemographic and clinical data, fear of COVID-19, and health anxiety measurements were collected by online surveys from June 15 to July 15, 2020. Univariate and multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify predictors. A total of 1,030 patients in 13 provinces in Saudi Arabia completed the questionnaire. A significant number of patients with chronic diseases experienced considerable levels of fear and anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak. It was found that 21.44% of participants met the criteria for anxiety cases, and 19.4% were considered borderline anxiety cases. In regression analysis, significant predictors of fear and health anxiety were female gender, lower education, middle-aged, divorced or widowed, receiving immunosuppressants, type of chronic disease (Crohn’s disease, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases), and media use as a source of knowledge about COVID-19. Immunocompromised and chronic disease patients are vulnerable to fear and anxiety during epidemic infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Optimizing this population’s compliance with appropriate infection prevention and control strategies is crucial during the infectious outbreaks to ensure their safety, to decrease the risk of infection and serious complications, and reduce their fear and health anxiety. Effective positive psychological interventions and support strategies also need to be immediately implemented to increase psychological resilience and improve the mental health of these patients. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, chronic disease patients in Saudi Arabia need special attention from health authorities, policymakers, and healthcare professionals to manage maladaptive forms of health anxiety and fear.
Highlights
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an infectious respiratory syndrome caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has spread exponentially across 211 countries since January 2020, including the Middle East
This cross-sectional correlational study was conducted from June 15 to July 15, 2020, in a period when the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) reported a high number of COVID-19 cases, including critical cases, and precautionary strict measures were imposed by several Middle Eastern countries, and fear and worry towards this emerging infection was increasing among the public
I am most afraid of Corona It makes me uncomfortable to think about Corona My hands become clammy when I think about Corona I am afraid of losing my life because of Corona When I watch news and stories about Corona on social media, I become nervous or anxious I cannot sleep because I’m worrying about getting Corona My heart races or palpitates when I think about getting Corona Total (7 questions) Hospital Anxiety and Depression Item
Summary
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an infectious respiratory syndrome caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has spread exponentially across 211 countries since January 2020, including the Middle East. In June 15, 2020, more than 7 million COVID-19 cases and 431 541 deaths occurred around the world [2]. In Saudi Arabia (SA), the Ministry of Health (MOH) COVID-19 daily reporting as of June 14, 2020, revealed a total of 131,774 confirmed cases among Saudis [3]. The WHO formally declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public emergency on January 30, 2020, and a global pandemic on March 11, 2020 [4, 5]. Immunocompromised and chronic disease patients are under tremendous psychological and physical stress in the face of this large-scale infectious public health crisis
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