Fear of COVID 19 Infection Across Different Cohorts: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: Psychological stressors like panic, fear, phobia, etc., are being substantially reported during the COVID-19 outbreak. In the prior outbreaks, fear of being infected was reported as the prominent suicide stressor. Therefore, fear of infection has become a concern in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic because it worsens emotion, cognition, and behavioral responses. Understanding the extent of fear of COVID-19 infection in various cohorts would aid in gauging the mental health services, which was a remedy in the present review.Methods: Adhering to Arksey and O'Malley's framework for conducting a scoping review, a systematic search was performed in the month of September 2020 in several databases, including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, etc. Considering the inclusion criteria, a total of 14 articles were included in the present review.Results: All of the included studies were conducted via online platforms, whereas all but one of the studies were cross-sectional in nature (including a mixed-method study, and a comparative study). Most of the studies were conducted among the general population (n = 12), within March and May 2020 (n = 9), from Asian countries (n = 7), and considered a self-developed item for fear of COVID-19 assessment (n = 8; whereas the Fear of COVID-19 Scale was used in 6-studies). The prevalence of fear of COVID-19 was reported to be 18.1–45.2%, although no cutoff point or criteria was mentioned for such a prevalence estimation of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale. However, females, younger adults, urban residents, divorcees, healthcare workers, those in quarantine settings, those in suspicion of being infected, and those with mental health problems, etc., were found to be at an increased risk of COVID-19 fear.Conclusions: Being one of the first reviews in this context, the findings are anticipated to be helpful to predict the possible solutions for reducing fear of COVID-19 and facilitate further studies on strategies of how to alleviate such a stressful situation.

The Assessment of Fear of COVID-19 among the Elderly Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…As an example, in a survey of 44,000 participants conducted in Belgium in April 2020, the number of people who reported anxiety (20%) or depression (16%) had increased substantially compared to the survey conducted in 2018 [2]. Furthermore, changes in daily lives and behavior and the implementation of social restrictions also led older adults to have increased stress and anxiety levels affecting their mental health conditions [3]. Studies determined four domains of fear: (1) fear of oneself or their family members getting infected, (2) fear of having economic losses and being unemployed, (3) fear of avoidance behaviors toward gaining knowledge about the pandemic, or (4) fear of making decisions on showing or not showing actions like whether to visit other family members or not, whether to look for information on death rates or not, etc.…”

Prevalence and factors associated with mental health problems in Saudi general population during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Many studies reported fear of COVID-19 infection as the leading suicidal factor (Mamun et al, 2021), negatively correlated with knowledge. People with a lack of COVID-19 knowledge have higher fear of it and are more concerned or worried about its infection, which had been reported as the risk factor for mental disorders (Quadros et al, 2021). Contact with a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case was also found to be significantly associated with a higher degree of psychological illness.…”

Suicidality in Bangladeshi Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Behavioral Factors, COVID-19 Risk and Fear, and Mental Health Problems

“…Studies have consistently reported that people are dying by suicide due to unusual COVID-19 fear in Bangladesh and its neighboring countries. 1,13,14 Therefore, fear of COVID-19 related to the emergence of new variants, unending pandemic situation, and frequent lockdowns, and so on, leads people to an increased risk of psychological suffering, 15,16 including suicidality. 17 A recent systematic review considering the COVID-19 pandemic-related mental health problems in South Asian countries found that Bangladeshi people are at higher risk.…”