Anxiety and perception among nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19 in University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Akwa Ibom State

Emilia James OYIRA, Easter Chukwudi OSUCHUKWU, Margaret Mombel OPIAH,Ndukaku Nwakwe CHINAZAEKPERE,Teresa Achi OSAJI, Augusta Nkechi EMEH,Chinedu Godwin AWODepartment of Nursing Science, University of Calabar, Calabar,Nigeria; Department Of Nursing Science, Ebonyi State University, Abakiliki, Ebonyi, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This study sought to examine the anxiety and perception of nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19 in University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH). Two research questions one hypothesis were used. What is the level of anxiety among nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19?What is the perception of nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19? The hypothesis states that there is no significant relationship between anxiety and perception of nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19. Literature was reviewed based on the research variables.

Methods: The research instrument used in collecting the data for the analysis was a questionnaire administered to 100 nurses in UUTH, Uyo.Their responses were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, and Chi-square analysis, and the following results were obtained.

Results: The results indicated that 36 (36%) of the respondents strongly agreed that most nurses perceive that poor provision of equipment’s in the hospital result into the transmission of COVID-19 to another person, 35 (35%) agreed, 20 (20%) of the respondents strongly agreed,whereas 9 (9%) of the respondents disagreed. Majority of the respondents 56 (56%) strongly agreed that nurses sometimes perceive that patients sometimes harbor COVID-19 without showing the symptoms.

Conclusion: The above data, therefore, showed that nurses in UUTH, Uyo, had moderate perception toward COVID-19.

Keywords: Anxiety, COVID-19, nurses, perception, university of Uyo teaching hospital

INTRODUCTION

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has become one of the central health crises of this generation. The pandemic has affected people from different nations, continents,races, and socioeconomic groups, thus resulting in the quarantining of communities, closing of schools, social isolation, and shelter-in-place orders. This has prompted the researchers to carry out the study in other to educate nurses, other health-care professionals, policy-makers,and as well the society on the importance of carrying out universal precautions that is, social distancing, use of mask,frequent washing of hands with soap, use of hand sanitizer,therefore, rapidly becoming discipline toward the pandemic diseases.[1]

Observation has shown that, anxiety among nurses and other health-care professionals is what any organization should deal with seriously without delay concerning COVID-19 by providing enough tools to manage the cases, especially on the arrival of patient in the hospital. Some Nigerians due to delusions and perception of the science behind the infection prefer only to pray (even violating the social-distancing rule by attending churches or mosques during the lockdown) and use anointing oils, talisman, herbs or rituals,[2]to prevent contacting and spreading the virus. Some also use social media platforms to spread fear, project fake news concerning the source of the virus, promote prejudice against China,incite panic buying, proffer fake cures, and undermine medical advice, deliberately or ignorantly.[3]The present study aimed at investigating the anxiety and perception of nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19 in University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), Akwa Ibom State.

METHODS

Study design

Nonexperimental, descriptive, survey design was utilized in this study. It involved systematic collection, analysis, and presentation of data to give a clear picture of the present situation. This design was utilized because it helped in the understanding of the existing phenomenon in life as they naturally exist. This study was carried out in UUTH, Uyo.

Two research questions and one hypothesis were used: What is the level of anxiety among nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19? What is the perception of nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19? The hypothesis states that there is no significant relationship between anxiety and perception of nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19.

Participants

The target population consisted of nurses working in UUTH,Uyo, in the five different wards, nurses who had <1-year experience, but those who were not on duty or declined participation were excluded from the study. The accessible population for the study consisted of nurses on duty in the five different wards (emergency, surgical, medical, casualty,and pediatric wards), and there were 100 nurses. This implies that a stratified sampling method was used in selecting 20 nurses from the five wards for the study making it a total of 100 for the sample size.

Procedure

In order to validate the instrument, anxiety and perception of nurses toward COVID-19 questionnaire copies were presented to experts in measurement and evaluation to scrutinize. In order to test the reliability of the instrument, a pilot study was carried out on nurses on duty in Saint Luke General Hospital Anua,Uyo. A test-retest reliability method was used in determining the reliability of the instrument. Here, the questionnaire was administered on the respondents, and after 1 week, it was again administered on the same respondents, and a Chi-square Analysis was used as presented in Table 1. Data collected from the respondents were coded and transferred into a spread sheet and summarized using the frequency.

Table 1: Test-retests reliability of the assessment of anxiety and perception among nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19

Ethical consideration

A letter of introduction was collected from the ethical committee which introduced the researchers to the Chairman,Medical Advisory Committee, and UUTH, permitted the researchers to proceed with the collection of the data for this study. The nurses were informed by the researchers that anonymity and confidentiality would be maintained in all the information given. Informed consent was obtained.

RESULTS

The results in Table 2 indicate the socio-demographic data of respondents which reveals that majority of the respondents 28 (28%) were aged 31–35 years; 41 (41%) of the respondents were male; when asked about religion,84 (84%) of the respondents identified they were Christians;78 (78%) of the respondents were married, majority of the respondents 26 (26%) were ranked NO1; 12 (12%)of the respondents had RN as their highest education qualification. This implies that majority of the respondents who are aged 31–35 years had fear and anxiety toward COVID-19 in UUTH, both the single and marital respondents perceived fear because there were afraid to approach incoming patients perceiving that the could be infected and not lived up to expectation.

Research question 1

What is the level of anxiety among nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19 in UUTH? The result in Table 3 showed that nurses had anxiety toward COVID-19 in the hospital:70 (70%) of nurses have anxiety approaching or attending to an incoming patient believing that he/she could be a carrier of COVID-19; 40 (40%) of the respondents strongly disagreed that they are not anxious because they feel they have good immunity to fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

Table 3: Level of anxiety among nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19

Research question 2

What is the perception of nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19? The findings in Table 4 showed 12 (12%) of the respondents strongly agreed that COVID-19 is not real in most hospitals this implies that the nurses believe on the existence of the disease; 100 (100%) of the respondents strongly agreed that sometimes direct contact with other patients with infections disease is dangerous. Thus, it was concluded that nurses in UUTH had perception toward COVID-19 in the hospital.

Table 4: Perception of nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19

The hypothesis is that there is no significant influence between anxiety and perception of nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19. The result in Table 5 showed a statistical relationship between anxiety and perception of nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19, when the Chi-square calculated of 19.435a was greater that the Chi-squared critical of 5.991 at 0.05 level of significance with 1° of freedom.With this result, the null hypothesis was rejected, while the alternate was upheld, this implies that there is a significant relationship between anxiety and perception of nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19 in UUTH.

Table 5: Statistical relationship between anxiety and perception of nurses toward the outbreak of COVID-19

DISCUSSION

When were facing uncertainty, it can trigger feelings of anxiety, fear, and stress. However, no matter how much time we spend worrying or strategizing, we cannot predict the future or control what happens. That’s where mindfulness comes in. It can help us reconnect to the present moment,interrupt the worries and worst case scenarios running through our minds, and become more comfortable with uncertainty.[4]This implies that anxiety exists and it is a feeling that nurses must learn to manage irrespective of the catastrophic circumstances.

As the COVID-19 is a recent pandemic, it is imperative to explore not only the clinical appearance of the disease but also the perceptions and knowledge of health-care professionals (nurses) who work in risky and chaotic environments. Moreover, as there are more myths than evidence-based information circulating the globe, evaluation of nurses’ insight of COVID-19 becomes indispensable. For that reason, we gathered insight from nurses practicing in a public hospital of Quetta city regarding their perceptions, awareness,and familiarity of COVID-19. We are sure that the results of this study will contribute to identifying nurses’ knowledge gaps in response to COVID-19 handling and management.[5,6]

The result of this study revealed that nurses were anxious toward COVID-19 in the hospital. Although these sources of anxiety may not have affected everyone, they can weaken the confidence of health-care professionals in themselves and the health-care delivery system precisely when their ability to stay calm and reassure the public is most needed. This is also in line with the research results of Adams and Walls,[7]Chenet al.,[8]and Cohenet al.[9]who assert that at the same time they cope with the societal shifts and emotional stressors faced by all people, health-care professionals face greater risk of exposure, extreme workloads, moral dilemmas, and a rapidly evolving practice environment that differs greatly from what they are familiar with.

The results of this study also revealed that nurses had perception about COVID-19 in UUTH. However, when it comes to infectious diseases, nurses’ awareness of established epidemics has been understood in an unclear manner[10]and information on nurses’ preparedness of infectious disease outbreak management is scarce. As the COVID-19 is a recent pandemic, it is imperative to explore not only the clinical appearance of the disease but also the perceptions and knowledge of health-care professionals (nurses) who work in risky and chaotic environments.

CONCLUSION

Based on the result of findings, it is concluded that even though the governments have invested much effort in providing the frontlines (nurses) protective kits and gadget to fight against this disease, some nurses are still having that anxiety and fear with the perception of what could happen to them while working in the hospital. Therefore,recognizing the sources of anxiety allows health-care leaders and organizations to develop targeted approaches to address these concerns and provide specific support to their health care workforce. In line with the views expressed by the nurses, the following points are recommended for the improvement for the management of nurses in the hospital: (1) Necessary gadget to shield the nurses should be provided and appropriately used so as to boost confidence of approaching or attending to incoming patients and (2)Testing kits should be provided to assess patients when due.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Con flicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.