Date of Presentation
5-2-2024 12:00 AM
College
Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine
Poster Abstract
Background: Illness anxiety and fear of contracting coronavirus increased considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic. The media, being in lockdown, and cyberchondria had the largest impact on the population’s anxiety surrounding illness. While this kind of reaction to illness is expected during the pandemic, there is limited data on post-pandemic illness anxiety levels in the general population. Patients’ perception of disease impacts medicine at every level; medical professionals need to understand the concerns and fears of their patients in order to treat the post-pandemic patient. We hypothesized that sanitation practices and anxiety surrounding illness have not returned to baseline pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
Methods: A 26-question survey was designed and distributed via Qualtrics. The questions included demographic information, sanitation practices, and illness anxiety levels pre- and post-pandemic. Participants were recruited in-person at Rowan-Virtua Family Medicine Offices. They were given the option to take the survey on their personal device using a QR code to access the survey or complete the survey in Qualtrics using the researcher’s laptop. All participants chose to complete the survey in Qualtrics using the researcher’s laptop.
Results: The study analyzed fifty-five responses using SPSS. Paired t-test for hand sanitizing and masking pre- and post-pandemic showed significant results (p= 0.001) towards a decline in these behaviors post-pandemic. Concern for contracting COVID-19 also decreased post-pandemic (p= 0.001). Furthermore, female identifying participants were more likely to make an appointment to see their physician if they develop a new symptom (p= 0.026). Lastly, 87% of participants were vaccinated for COVID-19 and 71% of participants received at least one booster. There was no statistically significant difference between ethnicity and illness anxiety post-pandemic.
Conclusion: Illness anxiety levels and sanitation practices have returned to pre-pandemic baseline.
Keywords
COVID-19, Illness anxiety, Sanitation practices, pandemic, anxiety, Hand Sanitizers, Masks
Disciplines
Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms | Community Health | Environmental Public Health | Equipment and Supplies | Health and Medical Administration | Health Services Research | Medicine and Health Sciences | Primary Care | Virus Diseases
Document Type
Poster
Included in
Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons, Community Health Commons, Environmental Public Health Commons, Equipment and Supplies Commons, Health and Medical Administration Commons, Health Services Research Commons, Primary Care Commons, Virus Diseases Commons
The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sanitation Practices and Anxiety in the General Population
Background: Illness anxiety and fear of contracting coronavirus increased considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic. The media, being in lockdown, and cyberchondria had the largest impact on the population’s anxiety surrounding illness. While this kind of reaction to illness is expected during the pandemic, there is limited data on post-pandemic illness anxiety levels in the general population. Patients’ perception of disease impacts medicine at every level; medical professionals need to understand the concerns and fears of their patients in order to treat the post-pandemic patient. We hypothesized that sanitation practices and anxiety surrounding illness have not returned to baseline pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
Methods: A 26-question survey was designed and distributed via Qualtrics. The questions included demographic information, sanitation practices, and illness anxiety levels pre- and post-pandemic. Participants were recruited in-person at Rowan-Virtua Family Medicine Offices. They were given the option to take the survey on their personal device using a QR code to access the survey or complete the survey in Qualtrics using the researcher’s laptop. All participants chose to complete the survey in Qualtrics using the researcher’s laptop.
Results: The study analyzed fifty-five responses using SPSS. Paired t-test for hand sanitizing and masking pre- and post-pandemic showed significant results (p= 0.001) towards a decline in these behaviors post-pandemic. Concern for contracting COVID-19 also decreased post-pandemic (p= 0.001). Furthermore, female identifying participants were more likely to make an appointment to see their physician if they develop a new symptom (p= 0.026). Lastly, 87% of participants were vaccinated for COVID-19 and 71% of participants received at least one booster. There was no statistically significant difference between ethnicity and illness anxiety post-pandemic.
Conclusion: Illness anxiety levels and sanitation practices have returned to pre-pandemic baseline.