COVID-19-Related Anxiety in Nurses Working on Front Lines in Turkey

Background: The novel coronavirus (COVID‑19) pandemic constituted serious impacts globally. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the pandemic related anxiety in nurses working in a university hospital in Turkey. Methods: A questionnaire‑based study was conducted to include 123 nurses working in the wards and intensive care units (ICUs). Data concerning age, gender, marital status, having a child, duration of employment, workplace, and state anxiety score were collected for every participant. Turkish version of Spielberg’s State‑Trait Anxiety Inventory (Form TX‑1) was applied to calculate the anxiety scores. Independent samples t‑test and Chi‑squared test were used for the statistical analysis. Results: Fifty‑seven (46.3%) nurses demonstrated an elevated level of anxiety. COVID‑19‑related anxiety was closely associated with advancing age and years of experience, having a child and working in the wards rather than ICUs (P < 0.05). However, gender and marital status did not affect significantly on the development of higher anxiety (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Alleviation of worries of health‑care providers is crucial in addition to the prevention of self‑contamination to provide the continuation of medical services.