Fear of COVID-19 among nurses in mobile COVID-19 testing units in Greece

Background: Mobile COVID-19 testing units are used worldwide to test quickly and easily individuals for COVID-19. Aim: To assess the level of fear of COVID-19 among nurses in mobile COVID-19 testing units and compare it with demographic characteristics. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during November and December 2020. Study population included 57 nurses working in mobile COVID-19 testing units in Attica, Greece. We collected demographic data from the nurses, i.e. gender, age, marital status, children, living status (alone or with others), clinical experience, and chronic disease. We used the fear of COVID-19 scale to measure fear of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The mean score on the fear of COVID-19 scale was 14.3. Among nurses, 31.6% experienced elevated fear indicative of presence of anxiety symptoms, while the respective percentages for health anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptomatology were 22.8% and 17.5%. Fear of COVID-19 was not affected by demographic variables. However, fear was higher in females, nurses who had children and nurses who lived with others. Increased clinical experience was related with decreased fear. Conclusions: Creating a secure work environment for nurses in these units could decrease fear of COVID-19 and increase work performance.