Investigation of the Effect of COVID-19 Perceived Risk on Death Anxiety, Satisfaction With Life, and Psychological Well-Being

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effect of COVID-19 perceived risk on death anxiety, satisfaction with life, and psychological well-being. The application part of the research was conducted on staff working in a public hospital. A convenience sample of staff working in a public hospital was used and data were obtained from 573 individuals. The result of the analysis determined that the COVID-19 perceived risk explains 13.5% of the total variance on death anxiety. The regression models identified that the increase in COVID-19 risk perceptions of the participants statistically increased their death anxiety and decreased their satisfaction with life and psychological well-being.

Report of the Lancet Commission on the Value of Death: bringing death back into life

“…302 , 303 The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the death system has not yet been fully evaluated, but there is emerging evidence that anxiety about death may have increased. 9 The pandemic might also have increased public appetite for a heightened medical response to death. 10…”

“…As 2021 draws to a close, we see no evidence of such a change. Indeed, we see signs of the opposite: governments have prioritised attempts to reduce only the number of deaths and not the amount of suffering; huge emphasis has been placed on ventilators and intensive care and little on palliative care; bereavement has been overlooked; anxiety about death and dying seems to have increased; 8 , 9 death and dying has come to belong still more to health care, with families and communities excluded; and we hear from Commissioners stories of doctors increasing their efforts to fend off death from causes other than COVID-19. The great success with vaccines has perhaps further fuelled the fantasy that science can defeat death.…”

Examination of Pandemic Awareness, Death Anxiety, and Spiritual Well-Being in Elderly Individuals

“…In the study, the participants’ death anxiety levels were moderate. In the studies by Özer et al (2021) and Bidgol et al (2020) , the participants experienced moderate levels of death anxiety. Likewise, in the studies by Kavaklı et al (2020) and Akyol Guner et al (2021) , the participants experienced moderate levels of death anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…Relying on the fact that death cases have been common among elderly individuals during the pandemic, COVID-19 is likely to affect individuals’ death anxiety. On the other hand, it is expressed that some factors such as personal characteristics, psychopathology and cultural characteristics may also affect death anxiety toward the virus ( Kavaklı et al, 2020 ; Özer et al, 2021 ).…”

Managing the Mental Health of Healthcare Professionals in Times of Crisis: The Aruban COVID-19 Experience

“…Frequent epidemic-related dreams, reported by HOH staff, indicate the perceived trauma of this ongoing event [ 31 ] and are one of the core symptoms of PTSD. Psychological distress and perception of COVID-19 risk have a negative impact on hospital staff on the front lines [ 32 ] and add to the stress levels exacerbated in an emergency setting of a pandemic.…”