Influence of Death Anxiety on the Preventive Practices of Healthcare Professionals During Covid-19 Outbreak

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:To ascertain the degree of death anxiety in healthcare professionals and their preventive practices during the ongoing pandemic and to find correlations between these two variables. METHODS:This cross-sectional study was conducted on healthcare professionals working in Combined Military Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, from July 2020 to February 2021. A descriptive online questionnaire was distributed to measure demography, death anxiety using Collette-Lester Fear of Death Scale Revised and preventive practices using the prevention section of WHO European Region COVID-19 survey tool and guidance. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24. RESULTS:Out of 136 subjects, 65 (47.8%) were male and 71 (52.2%) were female. Median (IQR) age of the participants was 28 (26-40) years. Median total degree of death anxiety was 83 (66-107). The four subscales showed Median (IQR) scores as follows: your own death 18 (12-27), your own dying 20 (15-27), the death of others 23 (18-28), and the dying of others 22 (16-29). Death anxiety was mild in 55 (40.4%), moderate in 65 (47.8%) and high in 16 (11.8%) participants. Significant association of female gender (p=0.002), experience of death of a patient (p=0.001) or loved one (p=0.001) was found with death anxiety. Zero participants recorded a high preventive practice score. CONCLUSION:A significant proportion of healthcare professionals suffered from undiagnosed moderate levels of death anxiety. The level of preventive practices amongst healthcare professionals was moderate to low. Death anxiety had no correlation with preventive practices. Further study is required to investigate the reason behind these unconventional findings.