Frontiers in Public Health (Aug 2022)

Fear of COVID-19 among homeless individuals in Germany in mid-2021

  • André Hajek,
  • Franziska Bertram,
  • Victoria van Rüth,
  • Katharina Dost,
  • Wiebke Graf,
  • Anna Brenneke,
  • Veronika Kowalski,
  • Klaus Püschel,
  • Christine Schüler,
  • Benjamin Ondruschka,
  • Fabian Heinrich,
  • Hans-Helmut König

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.915965
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

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AimsTo investigate the prevalence and the correlates of fear of COVID-19 among homeless individuals.MethodsWe used data from the “national survey on psychiatric and somatic health of homeless individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic” (NAPSHI-study) which took place in several large cities in Germany in Mid-2021 (n = 666 in the analytical sample). Mean age equaled 43.3 years (SD: 12.1 years), ranging from 18 to 80 years. Multiple linear regressions were performed.ResultsIn our study, 70.9% of the homeless individuals reported no fear of COVID-19. Furthermore, 14.0% reported a little fear of COVID-19, 8.4% reported some fear of COVID-19 and 6.7% reported severe fear of COVID-19. Multiple linear regressions revealed that fear of COVID-19 was higher among individuals aged 50–64 years (compared to individuals aged 18–29 years: β = 0.28, p < 0.05), among individuals with a higher perceived own risk of contracting the coronavirus 1 day (β = 0.28, p < 0.001) as well as among individuals with a higher agreement that a diagnosis of the coronavirus would ruin his/her life (β = 0.15, p < 0.001).ConclusionsOnly a small proportion of homeless individuals reported fear of COVID-19 in mid-2021 in Germany. Such knowledge about the correlates of higher levels of fear of COVID-19 may be helpful for addressing certain risk groups (e.g., homeless individuals aged 50–64 years). In a further step, avoiding extraordinarily high levels of fear of COVID-19 may be beneficial to avoid irrational thinking and acting regarding COVID-19 in this group.

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