Previously submitted to: JMIR Mental Health (no longer under consideration since Nov 18, 2023)
Date Submitted: Nov 17, 2023
Open Peer Review Period: Nov 17, 2023 - Nov 18, 2023
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A national survey of pandemic fear and cyberchondria in Chinese nurses: The chain mediating role of alexithymia and psychological distress
ABSTRACT
Background:
More than half the domestic population were infected in two months after China stopped maintaining "zero-infection policy", which severely overwhelmed frontline healthcare providers with stress and fear. However, there is no study to date investigating the associations between nurses' fear of pandemic and heightened health-related anxiety.
Objective:
This study aimed to 1) investigate the correlations between fear pandemic and cyberchondria among frontline nurses, and 2) discover its potential mechanism.
Methods:
A cross-sectional sample of frontline nurses (N=8161) was recruited from 98 hospitals across China. Participants were invited to complete an online, self-rated standardized questionnaire focused on pandemic fear, alexithymia, psychological distress, and cyberchondria. Environmental, clinical and socioeconomic information were collected for adjustment while conducting chain mediation analysis.
Results:
When other covariates were controlled, it was found that fear of the pandemic significantly contributed to cyberchondria (b=0.58, 95%CI [0.56, 0.60], P<.001). The chain mediation model suggested that both alexithymia and psychological distress were mediating factors between pandemic fear and cyberchondria.
Conclusions:
The higher the perceived fear, the greater the cyberchondria, which suggested that reducing fear about the pandemic and providing adequate support could reduce the incidence of cyberchondria. As alexithymia and psychological distress may be transdiagnostic mechanisms between fear and cyberchondria, targeted interventions focused on expression dysregulation and emotional identification could be useful.
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