Fear of COVID-19 for Individuals and Family Members: Indications from the National Cross-Sectional Study of the EPICOVID19 Web-Based Survey

Liliana Cori, Olivia Curzio, Fulvio Adorni, Federica Prinelli, Marianna Noale, Caterina Trevisan, Loredana Fortunato, Andrea Giacomelli and Fabrizio Bianchi
Additional contact information
Liliana Cori: Department of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Olivia Curzio: Department of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Fulvio Adorni: Unit of Epidemiology, Institute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council, Segrate, 20157 Milan, Italy
Federica Prinelli: Unit of Epidemiology, Institute of Biomedical Technologies, National Research Council, Segrate, 20157 Milan, Italy
Marianna Noale: Institute of Neurosciences, National Research Council, 35127 Padova, Italy
Caterina Trevisan: Institute of Neurosciences, National Research Council, 35127 Padova, Italy
Loredana Fortunato: Epidemiology and Health Research Laboratory, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Andrea Giacomelli: Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences L. Sacco, University of Milan, ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco, 20157 Milan, Italy
Fabrizio Bianchi: Department of Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, 56124 Pisa, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-20

Abstract: The study analyzed the association of the fear of contagion for oneself and for family members (FMs) during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with demographic and socioeconomic status (SES) and health factors. The study was performed within the EPICOVID19 web-based Italian survey, involving adults from April–June 2020. Out of 207,341 respondents, 95.9% completed the questionnaire (60% women with an average age of 47.3 vs. 48.9 years among men). The association between fear and demographic and SES characteristics, contacts with COVID-19 cases, nasopharyngeal swab, self-perceived health, flu vaccination, chronic diseases and specific symptoms was analyzed by logistic regression model; odds ratios adjusted for sex, age, education and occupation were calculated (aORs). Fear for FMs prevailed over fear for oneself and was higher among women than men. Fear for oneself decreased with higher levels of education and in those who perceived good health. Among those vaccinated for the flu, 40.8% responded they had feelings of fear for themselves vs. 34.2% of the not vaccinated. Fear increased when diseases were declared and it was higher when associated with symptoms such as chest pain, olfactory/taste disorders, heart palpitations (aORs > 1.5), lung or kidney diseases, hypertension, depression and/or anxiety. Trends in fear by region showed the highest percentage of positive responses in the southern regions. The knowledge gained from these results should be used to produce tailored messages and shared public health decisions.

Keywords: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19); voluntary respondents; web-based survey; self-reported symptoms; fear; health status; risk perception (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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