A national survey of pandemic fear and cyberchondria after ending zero-COVID policy: The chain mediating role of alexithymia and psychological distress

• Published in: Comprehensive psychiatry 2024-08, Vol.133, p.152505, Article 152505
• Main Authors: Fang, Jinbo, Qiu, Changjian, Sun, Zeyuan, Zhou, Jing, He, Ping, Conti, Aldo, Lu, Yi, Huang, Xia, Xu, Jiuping, Tang, Wanjie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alexithymia; Anxiety; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Cyberchondria; Data analysis; Education; Emotions; Fear & phobias; Frontline nurse; Hospitals; Infections; Internet; Mental disorders; Mental health; Nurses; Pandemic fear; Pandemics; Psychological distress; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Sociodemographics; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomic status; Stress; Validity
• ISSN: 0010-440X; 1532-8384; 1532-8384
• DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2024.152505

More than half the domestic population in China were infected with COVID-19 in two months after ending “zero-infection policy”, which severely overwhelmed frontline healthcare providers with stress and fear. However, there is no study to date investigating the associations between nurses' fear of pandemic and cyberchondria. This study aimed to 1) investigate the correlations between fear pandemic and cyberchondria among frontline nurses, and 2) discover its potential mechanism. A cross-sectional sample of frontline nurses (N = 8161) was recruited from 98 hospitals across China in February 2023. Participants were invited to complete an online, self-rated standardized questionnaire focused on pandemic fear, alexithymia, psychological distress, and cyberchondria. Environmental, clinical and socioeconomic information were collected for adjustment while conducting chain mediation analysis. When other covariates were controlled, it was found that fear of the pandemic significantly contributed to cyberchondria (b = 0.58, 95%CI [0.56, 0.60], p