Hajek, André; Bertram, Franziska; van Rüth, Victoria; Dost, Katharina; Graf, Wiebke; Brenneke, Anna; Kowalski, Veronika; Püschel, Klaus; Schüler, Christine; Ondruschka, Benjamin; +2 more... Heinrich, Fabian; König, Hans-Helmut; (2022) Fear of COVID-19 among homeless individuals in Germany in mid-2021. Frontiers in public health, 10. p. 915965. ISSN 2296-2565 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.915965
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Abstract
AIMS: To investigate the prevalence and the correlates of fear of COVID-19 among homeless individuals. METHODS: We used data from the "national survey on psychiatric and somatic health of homeless individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic" (NAPSHI-study) which took place in several large cities in Germany in Mid-2021 (n = 666 in the analytical sample). Mean age equaled 43.3 years (SD: 12.1 years), ranging from 18 to 80 years. Multiple linear regressions were performed. RESULTS: In our study, 70.9% of the homeless individuals reported no fear of COVID-19. Furthermore, 14.0% reported a little fear of COVID-19, 8.4% reported some fear of COVID-19 and 6.7% reported severe fear of COVID-19. Multiple linear regressions revealed that fear of COVID-19 was higher among individuals aged 50-64 years (compared to individuals aged 18-29 years: β = 0.28, p < 0.05), among individuals with a higher perceived own risk of contracting the coronavirus 1 day (β = 0.28, p < 0.001) as well as among individuals with a higher agreement that a diagnosis of the coronavirus would ruin his/her life (β = 0.15, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Only a small proportion of homeless individuals reported fear of COVID-19 in mid-2021 in Germany. Such knowledge about the correlates of higher levels of fear of COVID-19 may be helpful for addressing certain risk groups (e.g., homeless individuals aged 50-64 years). In a further step, avoiding extraordinarily high levels of fear of COVID-19 may be beneficial to avoid irrational thinking and acting regarding COVID-19 in this group.
Item Type | Article |
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Faculty and Department | Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health > Dept of Medical Statistics |
PubMed ID | 36033736 |
Elements ID | 213934 |
Official URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.915965 |
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