ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was to empirically examine extreme anxiety, illness fears, and acute stress in COVID-19 frontline healthcare professionals. Building our argument by drawing on data collected from BMA, CMA, IPPR, MHA, NCAA, Pew Research Center, Statista, The University of New South Wales, and YouGov, we performed analyses and made estimates regarding how deficiencies in caring for COVID-19 patients can intensify pandemic-related emotional anxiety, clinically significant depression, and moral trauma. Perceived risk of infection, psychological ill-health, stress-related psychiatric disorders, emotional fatigue, and burnout syndrome configure cognitive, emotional, and behavioral disorders in medical personnel providing care to COVID-19 patients. Descriptive statistics of compiled data from the completed surveys were calculated when appropriate.
JEL codes: H51; H75; I12; I18; D91

Keywords: COVID-19; extreme anxiety; illness fear; acute stress; perceived risk

How to cite: Phillips, A., and Kucera, J. (2021). “Extreme Anxiety, Illness Fears, and Acute Stress in COVID-19 Frontline Healthcare Professionals,” Psychosociological Issues in Human Resource Management 9(2): 35–48. doi: 10.22381/pihrm9220213.

Received 24 April 2021 • Received in revised form 14 November 2021
Accepted 19 November 2021 • Available online 25 November 2021