Assessing health anxiety among healthcare providers of covid-19 patients from March to May 2020, Rafsanjan County, Iran

Mirzabeigi, M.; Hasani, P. A. M.; Sayadi, A.; Safarian, M.; Afshar, S. P.

Background: Health concerns are among the major concerns of the staff dealing with infectious diseases, such as COVID-19. This study aimed to examine health anxiety (HA) in the healthcare workers (HCWs) of COVID-19 patients from March to May 2020. Material and Methods: The statistical population of this descriptive study consisted of all 101 HCWs of COVID-19 patients at Ali ibn-Abi Talib Hospital in the Rafsanjan County, who were invited to help with this survey using the census sampling method. They completed the Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI). The data were analyzed using ANOVA and the independent t-test. Results: A total of 39 (38.6%) of the participants witnessed the death of COVID-19 patients. Out of the 101 staff, 72.3% suffered from mild anxiety, 24.8% from moderate anxiety, and 3% from health anxiety. The mean score of health anxiety was significantly higher in male participants (p= 0.040) and also in those who witnessed the death of COVID-19 patients (p= 0.036). There was a significant negative correlation between health anxiety and work experience (p=0.032) so that health anxiety was higher in employees with less experience (p= 0.033). Conclusion: The level of anxiety and health anxiety in staff dealing with COVID-19 patients is high. Due to negative effects of anxiety on effectiveness of employee performance, it is necessary to make necessary interventions to improve their mental state. © The Author(s) 2021;All rights reserved. Published by Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences Press.