Background One of the psychological issues that may affect health care workers (HCWs) during the outbreak of COVID-19 is health anxiety. Health anxiety disorder goes beyond normal health concerns and can seriously affect occupational and interpersonal performance. The present study was designed to determine the level of COVID-19-related health anxiety and its predictors in Iranian HCWs. Methods This is a cross-sectional study. Data were collected online through a demographic information questionnaire and the short version of the Health Anxiety Questionnaire. The online questionnaires were created via Google Form and the URL link was sent to HCWs via email or social networking applications. In total, questionnaires were sent to more than 1,500 HCWs throughout Iran. Data were analyzed with SPSS software version 23. Results Five hundred and fifty-two HCWs completed and sent the questionnaires. The mean scores of health anxiety of HCWs were higher than the cutoff point of health anxiety (17.28 ± 8.84) and 58.1% of HCWs had health anxiety. There was a significant inverse relationship between health anxiety score and age (r = − 0.13; P = 0.002), work experience (r = − 0.16; P < 0.001) and income level (r = − 0.097; P = 0.03). The rate of health anxiety was significantly higher in females (P = 0.03). Based on regression results, age and hospital category were significant risk factors for health anxiety. Conclusion Based on the results of this study, employees working in health centers in Iran had high health anxiety. Due to the high level of health anxiety in HCWs, it is important to consider strategies to reduce their health anxiety in the current situation.

Background This study aimed to investigate the effect of telephone counseling on COVID-19-related health anxiety in pregnant women. Methods The present research was a randomized controlled trial. Eighty pregnant women were randomly selected and assigned to the control and intervention groups. The intervention group received telephone counseling for one month. Health anxiety was assessed using a health anxiety questionnaire. One month following the intervention, the mean score of health anxiety showed a statistically significant difference between the control and intervention groups (P <0.001). Results The mean score of health anxiety was 23.57 ± 3.55 in the intervention group, which was significantly lower than the mean health anxiety score of the control group (30.1 ± 5.93). In addition, there was a statistically significant difference between the mean health anxiety scores before and after telephone counseling in the intervention group (P <0.001). Conclusion Based on the findings of this study, telephone counseling can play a major role in reducing COVID-19-related health anxiety in pregnant women. So, this method can be utilized to prevent mothers’ physical and psychological problems during the COVID-19 outbreak. Trial registration This study was registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) with the code “IRCT20220531055038N1” on 13/06/2022.