The Relationship between Social Support and Health Literacy with Health Anxiety of Medical Staff During the Covid-19 Epidemic

Abstract

Introduction: Medical personnel who are at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19 are at greater risk of health problems, such as stress and anxiety. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between social support and health literacy with the health anxiety of medical staff during the Covid-19 virus epidemic.
Materials and Methods: This study was a descriptive epidemiological study in which 200 medical staff took part according to inclusion criteria. Data collection tools were standard questionnaires of Iranian Health Anxiety, the Iranian Health Literacy Questionnaire and the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire (MSPSS). The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software version 22 using ANOVA, Chi-square and Pearson correlation tests.
Result: The results showed that there is a weak and non-significant negative relationship between the health literacy score and the health anxiety score (r = -0.131; P = 0.064) and also between the social support score and the health anxiety score (r = -0.034; P = 0.633). Most staff of any academic field had average health literacy, high health anxiety, and had moderate social support. there were no significant difference in different levels of health anxiety (P=0.487), health literacy (P=0.623) and social support (P=0.327).
Conclusion: One of the vital actions in any epidemic is to provide supportive care to maintain the health of the medical staff. Increasing health literacy, trying to reduce health anxiety and stress, and improving social support can be part of these interventions.