An assessment of anxiety towards COVID-19 among Nigerian general population using the Fear of COVID-19 scale

Abstract

Background: The study sought to assess the fear of COVID-19 among the general population and suggested ways to reduce anxiety levels Materials and Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey was designed using Google forms to collect data Participants were recruited using a convenience snowballing technique The questionnaire contained 3 sections on Socio-demographic data, the Fear of COVID-9 scale, and an open-ended question on suggested ways to mitigate anxiety towards COVID-19 For the open-ended question, scores were grouped based on the similarity of thematic content Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 0 Results: A total of 1011 respondents completed the survey The Mean Sum Fear of Corona was 18 28±5 909 out of a possible maximum score of 35 More than half (53 6%, n = 542) of the respondents had ‘Low fear’ of COVID-19 There was an increasing fear of COVID-19 with increasing educational qualification, however, this was not statistically significant Respondents with health-related occupations had less anxiety towards COV-ID-19 compared to people in non-health related occupations (17 83±5 85 Vs 18 54±5 91) When respondents were asked to suggest ways anxiety towards COVID-19 could be reduced, one-third of them (34%, n =344) responded that public enlightenment programs with accurate information on the virus should be embarked on Conclusion: Overall, there was a low fear of COVID-19 among the general Nigerian population surveyed in this study Public enlightenment and limited consumption of news on COVID-19 were the most suggested ways to abate fear of the virus © 2021 Polish Psychiatric Association All rights reserved