Li Yuan, Li Jie, Zhou Chunfen, Huang Chuanya, Luo Biru, Hu Yanling, Huang Xi, Fang Jinbo
Department of Nursing, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Department of Neonatology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2024 Nov 14;15:1489961. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1489961. eCollection 2024.
China's abrupt exit from the zero-COVID policy in late 2022 led to a rapid surge in infections, overwhelming healthcare systems and exposing healthcare providers to intensified psychological pressures. This sudden shift exacerbated pandemic-related psychological issues, including fear, health anxiety, and emotional processing difficulties. This study aimed to unravel the relationships among pandemic fear, cyberchondria, and alexithymia following China's exit from the zero-COVID policy.
A multi-center cross-sectional survey was conducted among 4088 nurses from 43 public hospitals in China. The web-based survey comprised the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Cyberchondria Severity Scale, and Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Network analysis was employed to explore the interconnections and identify central components within these psychological and behavioral constructs.
The analysis revealed a dense network with predominantly positive connections. Specific aspects of cyberchondria and pandemic fear exhibited the highest strength centrality, indicating their critical influence. The externally oriented thinking dimension of alexithymia emerged as a crucial bridge node, linking pandemic fear and cyberchondria. The network structure demonstrated consistency across diverse educational backgrounds and career stages.
These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions focusing on key network components, particularly externally oriented thinking, to disrupt the detrimental cycle of pandemic fear and cyberchondria. Healthcare organizations should promote balanced objective fact-focused and problem-solving approaches while also fostering skills in emotional awareness and expression, thereby mitigating the risk of maladaptive pandemic fear responses and dysfunctional online health information-seeking behaviors.
2022年末中国突然退出新冠疫情清零政策导致感染人数迅速激增，医疗系统不堪重负，医护人员面临更大的心理压力。这一突然转变加剧了与疫情相关的心理问题，包括恐惧、健康焦虑和情绪处理困难。本研究旨在揭示中国退出新冠疫情清零政策后，疫情恐惧、网络疑病症和述情障碍之间的关系。
对中国43家公立医院的4088名护士进行了多中心横断面调查。基于网络的调查包括新冠疫情恐惧量表、网络疑病症严重程度量表和多伦多述情障碍量表。采用网络分析来探索这些心理和行为结构之间的相互联系，并识别核心组成部分。
分析揭示了一个以正向连接为主的密集网络。网络疑病症和疫情恐惧的特定方面表现出最高的强度中心性，表明它们具有关键影响。述情障碍的外向性思维维度成为连接疫情恐惧和网络疑病症的关键桥梁节点。网络结构在不同教育背景和职业阶段具有一致性。
这些发现凸显了针对关键网络组成部分，特别是外向性思维进行有针对性干预的必要性，以打破疫情恐惧和网络疑病症的有害循环。医疗机构应推广以客观事实为重点的平衡方法和解决问题的方法，同时培养情绪意识和表达能力，从而降低适应不良的疫情恐惧反应和功能失调的在线健康信息寻求行为的风险。
