Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Coronaphobia of Nurses: An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of individual and professional characteristics of nurses on the prevalence of coronaphobia during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Material and Methods: This research was designed as an analytical cross-sectional study and the ''Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology'' checklist was used. As of 2020, all of the nurses (198,465) in Türkiye constituted the population of the study, and of 605 nurses (511 females, 94 males) that could be reached by the snowball method the sample. Data were collected online through the submission of a Personal Information Form and the COVID-19 Phobia Scale. The data were analyzed through SPSS software packages using Pearson's correlation and variance analyses. Results: Fear of COVID-19 was found to be higher in married nurses than were single nurses. In addition, it is indicated that nurses with children and women nurses have a high level of fear of COVID-19. The highest total scores were recorded in nurses with one child, those living in the Black Sea region, those working in intensive care units, and those with 6 to 10 years of work experience. Coronaphobia was higher in nurses who had tested positive or had at least one family member or friend test positive for COVID-19. Conclusion: Sex and having child stand out as important factors in coronaphobia. Nurses with more professional experience and those working in intensive care units also demonstrated higher levels of coronaphobia.