Health anxiety and its association with perceived subjective workload in psychiatric nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak: a correlational study

BACKGROUND: Health care professionals, especially nurses, experience added workload, and psychological impact during the COVID-19 outbreak. This study aimed to investigate health anxiety and its association with perceived subjective workload in nurses working in psychiatric hospital wards. METHODS: This descriptive correlational study was conducted on 206 nurses working in the psychiatric wards of Razi Psychiatry Hospital in Tabriz, Iran, in 2020–2021. Census sampling was applied and data were collected using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index, and the Health Anxiety Inventory. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and Pearson correlation in SPSS software version 16. RESULTS: The mean (SD) of health anxiety and workload of nurses was 23/22(6/86) score range of 0–54 and 71.46 (12.37) score range of 0–100, respectively. The correlation between the mean of health anxiety and workload was significant only in the temporary dimension. CONCLUSIONS: Given the high workload and moderate level of health anxiety and the significant correlation between health anxiety and the temporary dimension of workload and the important role of appropriate workload in the health of nurses and the quality of nursing care, organizations and nursing managers should provide some strategies, like stuff shortage management in psychiatric wards and creating a suitable organizational culture.