Factors Associated with Nurses’ Fears in Caring for Patients with COVID-19

Background: Nurses face a high risk of experiencing excessive fear while caring for patients with COVID-19. However, to our knowledge, no study has yet explored the factors associated with nurses’ fears when caring for patients with COVID-19.Aim: The present study aimed to analyze the factors associated with nurses’ fears when caring for COVID-19 patients in Indonesia.Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 591 nurses caring for COVID-19 patients. The nurses were recruited from 26 provinces in Indonesia using a purposive sampling method in April 2020. The instruments consisted of a sociodemographic characteristics form and a valid instrument to explore nurses’ fears. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 23).Results: In total, 86.8% of the nurses felt fear when caring for COVID-19 patients. Moreover, despite using personal protective equipment, 83.8% of participants answered that they feared getting infected with the virus while caring for patients, and 87.5% of the participants feared that their families might become infected with the virus. Among the nurses who cared for COVID-19 patients, 91.2% feared they might pass the disease on to their families at home. Age, marital status, infection prevention control training, and nurses’ education level were significantly related to nurses’ fears (P lt;0.05, CI 95%).Implications for Practice: The excessive fear in nurses who care for COVID-19 patients is a major issue for nursing managers. Provision of viral transmission prevention and control programs, self-esteem improvement activities, and having pandemic course subjects in the nursing education curricula can help nurses become more aware and ready to face a pandemic.