Analysis of anxiety in nursing staff during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The nursing staff was at risk of suffering from pathological anxiety during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This research aimed to analyze the predisposing factors of anxiety in 102 nursing staff during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Medicine Service of the Ramiro Prialé National Hospital, Huancayo, Peru. Data were collected using the Zung Anxiety Self-Rate Scale. Most of the participants did not manifest pathological anxiety (61.8%). Those who lived in rural or marginal urban areas were 2.74 times more likely to suffer from anxiety than those who lived in urban areas (p=0.021), according to bivariate logistic regression, confirmed by multivariate linear regression (OR=3.89; p=0.005). The predominant characteristics in the study population were: over 34 years of age, single status, female sex, Catholic religious affiliation, residents of an urban area, nursing professionals with a higher technical level, direct care work for patients with COVID-19, with no family history of mental illness, no reports of family or work violence, and no smoking or alcoholism.