Fear of COVID‐19, poor quality of sleep, irritability, and intention to quit school among nursing students: A cross‐sectional study

De Los Santos, Janet Alexis A.; Labrague, Leodoro J.; Falguera, Charlie C.

PURPOSE: This study aims to assess the fear of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) and its influence on the students' fear of COVID‐19 and intention to leave nursing school. DESIGN AND METHODS: This study employed a cross‐sectional design using self‐report questionnaires distributed to 261 nursing students from the Philippines. FINDINGS: The first‐year nursing students are found to be the most fearful among the group. The students' fear of COVID‐19 is associated with their high irritability, poor sleep quality, and desire to quit nursing school. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Students are perturbed by the pandemic and teachers should implement supportive, teaching–learning strategies to address the student's needs.