Persons in helping professions in social assistance facilities and their fears related to COVID-19 using the example of Poland and Spain.

Background: The aim of the research was to collect opinions on concerns related to COVID-19 among persons in helping professions in social assistance facilities.

Participants and procedure: The study involved 407 people, including 207 from Poland and 200 from Spain (346 women and 61 men). The research tool was the authors' questionnaire. Employees of social welfare institutions located in Poland and Spain were selected using purposive sampling. Respondents completed paper and electronic versions of the survey questionnaire.

Results: The relationship between each helping profession and concerns about the threat to one's own life and that of loved ones in connection with COVID-19, as well as the relationship between each profession and the fear that the financial situation would deteriorate due to COVID-19, showed a statistically significant relationship only in the study of employees from Poland. The relationship between each profession and the fear of losing one's job due to COVID-19 showed a statistically significant result only in the study of employees from Spain.

Conclusions: Our study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic affected employees in helping professions in social assistance institutions. Employees from Poland feared more that their financial situation would deteriorate, and felt a threat to their health and the health of their relatives and charges. On the other hand, many more workers from Spain expressed a fear of losing their jobs. Occupational therapists most often indicated fears related to the COVID-19 pandemic except for concerns about charges, which were expressed most often by psychologists.