Levels of Anxiety and Fear among Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Aim. The aim of this review is to find out what levels of anxiety and fear have been shown by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Background. Health security crises affect not only physical health but also the mental health and wellbeing of healthcare professionals due to a higher level of exposure. Evaluation. A systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA statement. Methodological quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools. The literature search was carried out in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (WoS) electronic databases based on the keywords that the research question yielded following the PECOT strategy. For the selection of articles, original articles, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, short communication articles, and case reports were included. Then, a series of inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, screening the results to obtain a total of 18 articles, which were used to elaborate the study. Key Issues. Fear and anxiety levels were described in a total of 18 selected studies. The main fear-related concerns of the nurses were associated with the fear of infecting their family or friends and the fear of the death of a family member or friend. Conclusions. The main psychological impact on nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic was related to fear, anxiety, stress, and depression. Fear of infecting family members or of being infected were the main impacts perceived by nurses. Implications for Nursing Management. In general, high scores were found for levels of fear and anxiety, although the figures varied by country and time of data collection. Resilience was considered the main tool for coping with the loss and trauma experienced by nurses.