Impact of public health education on undue fear of COVID-19 among nurses: The mediating role of psychological capital

Namra Mubarak*, Samyia Safdar, Shazia Faiz, Jabran Khan, Mastura Jaafar

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study looked into the mechanism through which health education can reduce the fear of being infected with COVID-19 because health education helps individuals to improve their knowledge and attitudes towards a disease. The spread of COVID-19 has escalated the level of fear among public and nurses. Nevertheless, the mechanism that contributes to minimize the fear towards this pandemic remains unexplored. A cross-sectional survey was adopted to test the relationships among public health education, psychological capital, and fear of COVID-19. In total, 243 responses were obtained via online survey from nurses. The results revealed that public health education can reduce one’s fear of COVID-19. Psychological capital emerged as a strong explanatory mechanism for the phenomenon. Drawing on spillover theory, public health education seems to reduce fear of COVID-19 with the mediating role of psychological capital. Limitations and future directions are at the end of this paper. The study outcomes revealed that organizations should focus on educating nursing staff to overcome fear of COVID-19. One way to induce positivity among nursing staff is by holding trainings.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)544-552
Number of pages9
JournalInternational Journal of Mental Health Nursing
Volume30
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Nov 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • fear of COVID-19
  • psychological capital
  • public health education

Cite this