Relationship between Knowledge and Anxiety about Covid-19 among Nurses in Iran: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

The level of knowledge people have about Covid-19 can affect their anxiety and worry about this disease. The present study was conducted to assess the relationship between knowledge and anxiety about Covid-19 in nurses at Guilan University of Medical Sciences, north of Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 270 nurses working in selected hospitals of Guilan University of Medical Sciences in northern Iran using a questionnaire that included demographic characteristics, knowledge (21 questions), and anxiety about Covid-19 (18 questions with two components of physical and mental). The data were analysed in SPSS ver. 21 using descriptive and analytical statistics. The mean score of knowledge of subjects about Covid-19 was 18.65±1.5 (range: 0–21); the mean score of physical symptoms of anxiety was 3.31±4.77 (range: 0–27); and the mean score of mental symptoms was 10.77±5.61 (range: 0–27). The mean of general anxiety about Covid-19 was 14.08±9.54 (range: 0–54) and most participants had sufficient knowledge and mild anxiety about Covid-19. In the present study, there was no significant relationship between the level of knowledge and the level of anxiety about Covid-19. It was found in the present study that nurses were well aware of Covid-19 and mildly anxious about it, but there were mental anxiety symptoms present. It is more critical than ever to engage nurses in educational and practical programmes provided by disparate institutions, primarily educational departments of hospitals, in different domains of mental health.