Abstract
Introduction: COVID-19 is a highly challenging threat to public health on both national and international levels, with a high psychological impact on healthcare workers. Uncertainty about the mode of transmission, fear of being infected or infecting family members, the heavy workload, and the intermittent shortage of personal protective equipment - all these can cause increased anxiety among staff, which can impair quality of life, increase mistakes, and lead to impaired quality of care.
Aim: To describe and examine the correlation between levels of anxiety (trait and situational); fear of the pandemic; and perception of personal responsibility, knowledge, and behavioral intentions for performing hand hygiene; among healthcare workers in three wards with varying levels of exposure to COVID-19 patients.
Method: A cross-sectional study using an anonymous questionnaire composed of 55 questions was distributed to healthcare workers - medical staff, nursing staff and auxiliary staff - in three wards of a secondary hospital. Internal reliability of the questionnaire and each of its dimensions were tested.
Results: There was a 78.8% response rate - 106 responses out of 135 distributed surveys. We found a high level of anxiety in healthcare workers, regardless of the actual level of exposure to COVID-19 patients; there was also no significant variation between the wards. Situational anxiety M = 2.8 on the 1-4 Likert scale, SD = 0.6) (Feature anxiety M = 3.05 on the 1-4 Likert scale, SD = 0.56).
At the same time, there was a significant correlation between fear of the pandemic and perception of microbial responsibility. (p Conclusions: Fear of self and family infection, and perception of personal responsibility influence the levels of compliance toward hand hygiene intentions.
We suggest conducting further research to discover the effects of emotions on patterns of behavior in preventing infections; with the aim of developing intervention programs which will increase compliance with hand hygiene procedures, by adapting them to the specific needs of healthcare professionals; thus providing optimal care to patients.
Aim: To describe and examine the correlation between levels of anxiety (trait and situational); fear of the pandemic; and perception of personal responsibility, knowledge, and behavioral intentions for performing hand hygiene; among healthcare workers in three wards with varying levels of exposure to COVID-19 patients.
Method: A cross-sectional study using an anonymous questionnaire composed of 55 questions was distributed to healthcare workers - medical staff, nursing staff and auxiliary staff - in three wards of a secondary hospital. Internal reliability of the questionnaire and each of its dimensions were tested.
Results: There was a 78.8% response rate - 106 responses out of 135 distributed surveys. We found a high level of anxiety in healthcare workers, regardless of the actual level of exposure to COVID-19 patients; there was also no significant variation between the wards. Situational anxiety M = 2.8 on the 1-4 Likert scale, SD = 0.6) (Feature anxiety M = 3.05 on the 1-4 Likert scale, SD = 0.56).
At the same time, there was a significant correlation between fear of the pandemic and perception of microbial responsibility. (p Conclusions: Fear of self and family infection, and perception of personal responsibility influence the levels of compliance toward hand hygiene intentions.
We suggest conducting further research to discover the effects of emotions on patterns of behavior in preventing infections; with the aim of developing intervention programs which will increase compliance with hand hygiene procedures, by adapting them to the specific needs of healthcare professionals; thus providing optimal care to patients.
| Translated title of the contribution | Anxiety, fear and hand hygiene among healthcare workers during COVID-19 |
|---|---|
| Original language | Hebrew |
| Pages (from-to) | 35-44 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | גוף ידע |
| Volume | 21 |
| State | Published - Jul 2022 |