Evaluation of Health Anxiety in Healthcare Workers During Coronavirus Disease ۲۰۱۹ (COVID-۱۹) Pandemic

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 ۲۰۱۹ (COVID-۱۹) pandemic.Materials and Methods: The sample of this cross-sectional study consisted of ۲۲۰ 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 ۲۱ (IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., USA).Results: In the present study, out of ۲۲۰ participants ۱۲۸ (۵۸.۲%) were employed in health centers and ۹۲ (۴۱.۸%) in hospitals. The mean HA score was ۱۷.۳۶ ± ۷.۶۶. Moreover, the mean HA scores in health center and hospital personnel was ۱۷.۸۱± ۸.۰۲ and ۱۶.۵۲ ± ۶.۷۸, respectively, which were not significantly different (P = ۰.۲۱۷). The results showed that exercise and chronic disease are significant predictors of HA (P = ۰.۰۰۰۱ and P = ۰.۰۴۳, respectively).Conclusion: The HA level was very high in healthcare personnel during the COVID-۱۹ 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.

کلیدواژه ها:

Health anxiety ، Health personnel ، Medical personnel ، COVID-۱۹