The psychology of coronavirus fear: Are healthcare professionals suffering from corona-phobia?

Abstract

Background: Coronaviruses are a category of associated viruses that trigger diseases, including severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2003, human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV NL63) in 2004, human coronavirus HKU1 (HKU1) in 2005, Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012, and severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in December 2019. Objective: This study used a qualitative and quantitative approach to measure Covid-19 pandamic’s impact on psychological well-being. At the moment, the world is fearing from this widespread pandemic, its outbreak and has no idea how it is leaving psychological effects on human well-being. Method: This study designed questionnaires to judge the psychological health of healthcare professionals those are directly treating quarantined patients within the hospital. We asked questions from 250-healthcare professionals (including doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff) who are treating quarantined patients at different hospitals of Lahore, Pakistan. Results: This study concludes that corona-phobia persist in healthcare professionals and cause various psychological symptoms on their mental health. Conclusion & Policy Implication: This study suggests the government need to provide medical facilities/equipment with those healthcare professionals who are frontline soldiers in treating quarantine patients.