Death Anxiety in Social Workers as a Consequence of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all social spaces, conditioning our daily routines, including those at work. All professions have been affected by stressful situations and anxiety in the proximity’s face of death generated by the pandemic. In this context, some professionals have emerged as essential, as social workers, acting in extreme situations in the face of increased demands and social uncertainty arising from the health crisis. The present study aimed to determine the levels of anxiety about death among social workers in Spain. For this purpose, an ad hoc questionnaire was designed, taking the Collett and Lester Fear of Death Scale as a reference (n = 304). The exploitation of the data was carried out from a quantitative perspective. First, a descriptive analysis was performed. Then, binary logistic regressions were carried out on the general scale. The dependent variable in all of them was the risk of suffering death anxiety to the set of its subscales. The main research results show high values of this anxiety in social workers concerning the general value of the scale—and the subscales—and the point of view of state and process. The highest values were Fear of Death of Others (81.6%) and Fear of the Process of Dying of Others (78.3%). Regarding the binary logistic regressions applied, predictor variables were identified in all of them, but the following stand out: Lack of personal protection equipment and Need psychological or psychiatric support. In addition, being a woman increases the risk of suffering Fear of the Dying Process of others.

Mental Health Outcomes in Northern Italian Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak: The Role of Demands and Resources in Predicting Depression

“…A fear of contamination is also closely linked to death anxiety, especially fear of the death of loved ones. Several studies have shown that this type of fear is very strong during the COVID-19 pandemic [69,70]. In our case, a very significant relationship emerged at the correlational level, but not in the regression models.…”

Cardiovascular therapeutics: A new potential for anxiety treatment?

“…Although acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the most challenging and harmful condition resulting in the serious course of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection, the affliction of the cardiovascular, 314,315 digestive, 317 and CNSs, among others, 318 are rather frequent complications. Moreover, stress and anxiety were disclosed in different groups of health care providers, such as dental practitioners, 319 other healthcare workers, 319,320 health profession students, 322 social workers 323 and in patients afflicted by COVID‐19 324 . The underlying reasons for mental disturbances involve fear of exposure to infection, proximity to death generated by the pandemic, extreme working demands, economic uncertainty, disruption of social life, insufficient knowledge of the disease and SARS‐CoV‐2‐induced physical disturbances in terms of endothelial inflammation, microvascular thrombosis, ischemia from pulmonary damage and multiple organ dysfunctions 318,319,321,323 .…”

Hopelessness and Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Any Role for Mediating Variables?

“…Particularly, because there is no baseline assessment of hopelessness or fear of death, we cannot have absolute certainty that these latter are anchored to COVID-19. However, in this context, a recently published paper relates death anxiety among social workers as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic [36]. Lastly, the PTSD symptoms have been investigated with a general evaluation scale, not specifically related to the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…Studies conducted in palliative care settings found that these feelings can be experienced by healthcare workers with the development of personal fear of death first, and later post-traumatic stress symptoms [34,35]. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, in light of many losses and ultimately the same feelings analogous to those that delineate the hopelessness concept [36], we hypothesized in this exploratory study that precisely the latter could act as a mediator with post-traumatic stress symptoms.…”