Adults’ Perception of the New Coronavirus Pandemic, its Related Anxiety and Precautions: A Cross-Sectional Study with Adults from Turkey
The aim of the study was to identify the perceptions, anxiety and precautions of adults on new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among adults from Turkey.
Design and Methods. This cross-sectional comparative study employed an online questionnaire survey to collect data.
Participants. The snowball sampling method was used to recruit a convenience sample of 1092 adult participants in Turkey.
Results. The participants were following the agenda on COVID-19, their perceptions were alerted, their anxiety level was quite high and they were well-informed about precautions. More women than men responded positively to the assumption that alcohol and smoking raise the effect severity for COVID-19 disease. Women in relation to men were more undecided about the real danger of COVID-19 as it is told. The anxiety that appears from the fear to be infected with the virus or die because of COVID-19 was higher in women than men. Everyday checks for COVID-19 symptoms were more relevant for higher school graduates than for respondents with university education and for the youngest group of respondents than for older ones. Perceptions and precautions of higher educated individuals were higher and more correct. A larger proportion of persons of older age (46–72 years) was more sure that COVID-19 was a disease which more severely manifests in men compared with women and less believed in a statement that COVID-19 disease was a political game controlled by developed countries in relation to other age groups. The youngest respondents ignored the fact that this pandemic was a wrath of God against corrupted communities at a larger extent than the older participants of the study.
Conclusion. There are significant differences in the perception of healthy adults from Turkey towards the new coronavirus disease, their anxiety caused from this and precautions that are applied for prevention of the infection in relation to their gender, age and education level. The findings of this study suggest that educational precautions should be taken for individuals with lower education and precautions for mental health promotion should be taken regarding women. Policymakers and healthcare professionals should announce the confirmed scientific information on COVID-19 pandemic to the public to prevent information pollution.
Correspondence to N. Unal Ankara Medipol University, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, Talatpasa Boulevard, No 2, 06050, Altindag/Ankara, Turkey. E-mail: nurse_unal@hotmail.com