Anxiety and Fear of COVID-19 in Nurses Working in the Intensive Care Units and Emergency Departments of Hospitals Affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Background & Aims Corona virus became an epidemic in the world in 2019. During the epidemic, fear and anxiety were the main reports of nurses, and nurses in departments such as special care and emergency are more susceptible to these disorders, which, if left untreated, have a negative impact on the quality and safety level of the care system. Materials & Methods The current research was a cross-sectional study that was conducted on 205 nurses working in the Corona special care and emergency departments of Iran University of Medical Sciences. Sampling was done by enumeration method. The tools included demographic questionnaires, anxiety of COVID-19 and fear of COVID-19. Results There was a negative and significant correlation between the anxiety of nurses due to COVID-19 and the duration of work in the corona ward (P<0.001). The fear of COVID-19 was significantly higher in married nurses (P=0.02) and nurses with a history of COVID-19 (P=0.006) than other nurses. There was a statistically significant relationship between the fear of COVID-19 and the frequency of contracting this disease (P=0.021). The fear of COVID-19 was significantly higher in nurses who were infected with this disease than those who were not infected at all (P=0.034). Conclusion The results showed the average level of anxiety and fear in nurses. Considering the many problems that such disorders cause for nurses, the need for effective planning to reduce and improve its physical and psychological effects on nurses is recommended in order to provide optimal and high-quality care.

Keywords

• covid 19
• fear
• anxiety
• intensive care unit
• emergency department
• nurse