Anxiety and Death Anxiety Levels of Nurses in the COVID-19 Pandemic and Affecting Factors

INTRODUCTION: Background: The aim of this study was to determine the anxiety and death anxiety levels of nurses during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and the affecting factors.
METHODS: Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out online with 617 nurses. Data were collected using the introductory information form, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Death Anxiety Scale. The descriptive statistics Spearman, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal-Wallis H tests were used to evaluate the data. A P-value <.05 was considered significant in the study.
RESULTS: Results: In the study, it was determined that anxiety (41.72 ± 8.91) and death anxiety (11.58 ± 2.59) levels of nurses were high. A total of 78.4% of the nurses stated that they were afraid of infection, and 96.1% were afraid of carrying an infection to their family. It was found that 53.2% of the nurses had psychological needs and that these individuals had higher anxiety and death anxiety (P <.001). A statistically significant difference was found between the total number of children of the nurses, the need for psychological support, the negative effect of their working conditions on their children, and the anxiety and death anxiety scores (P <.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Conclusion: As a result of the study, it was determined that the anxiety and death anxiety levels of nurses were high. It has been determined that nurses are afraid of being infected and carrying infections to their families. It was found that nurses needed psychological support during this period, and their children were also affected by this process. Our recommendation is to take into account the factors that adversely affect nurses during the pandemic process and to take initiatives to provide the necessary support.