Fear of COVID-19, Health Anxiety and Work-Family Conflict in Nurses Working in the COVID-19 Ward.

Background: COVID-19 is an example of an epidemic and sudden crisis that has affected many aspects of life and work and identifying the factors that contribute to its impact can help prevent similar crises in the future. The purpose of this study was to investigate fear of COVID-19, health anxiety, and work-family conflict in nurses working in COVID-19 wards in hospitals affiliated with the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS).

Materials and methods: This descriptive-analytical study used a census method to survey 226 nurses working in eight hospitals affiliated with TUMS. Demographics information and three questionnaires including; the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Short Health Anxiety Inventory, and Work-Family Conflict Scale were completed online. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and analytical statistics, and a significance level of p < 0.05 was considered.

Results: Structural equation modeling test showed that work-family conflict had an effect on health anxiety, and health anxiety had an effect on fear of COVID-19 (p < 0.05). The severity of the effect of work-family conflict on health anxiety was 0.73, and the severity of the effect of health anxiety on fear of COVID-19 was 0.46. Work-family conflict had an indirect effect on fear of COVID-19 mediated only by health anxiety (p < 0.05) and the severity of the indirect effect was 0.33.

Conclusions: Health anxiety plays a mediating role in the relationship between work-family conflict and fear of COVID-19. Workplaces should provide more support to their employees during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and prevention programs should be implemented to decrease anxiety.