Determinants of nurses’ fear of COVID-19 in Japan

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to address the issue of the fear of COVID-19 among nurses and to determine the extent to which three factors affected their fear of COVID-19: (a) personal factors, (b) working conditions, and (c) coping behaviors. We conducted a web-based survey of 152 nurses working in the Tohoku region. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that living with elderly people, working in the small hospital, and working long hours at night affected their fear of COVID-19. The results also revealed that “escape from anxiety” as a coping behavior led to a fear of COVID-19. These results suggested that the fear of becoming a source of infection may increase a nurse’s fear of COVID-19 and that the accumulation of physical fatigue may also lead to a fear of COVID-19. In addition, the results suggested that avoidant coping behaviors were related with infection fears, and that organizational support may be able to reduce nurses’ fear of COVID-19.