Fear of COVID-19 and social distancing on the health behavior of coronary heart disease patients.
Kyungsook Kim, Jungok Yu
PMID 36635018WHAT IT FOUND
For coronary artery disease patients, fear of COVID-19 was not associated with health behavior, but social distancing compliance was associated with better health behavior.
Exercise and stress management were weakest.
Key findings
01162 participants were analyzed; mean fear was 2.15/5 and mean social distancing was 4.35/5.
02Mean health behavior was 3.07/5, and fear was not significantly correlated with health behavior.
03Social distancing was positively correlated with health behavior and was the strongest factor associated with health behavior.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a cross-sectional survey, so it cannot show that social distancing, religion, age, or living alone caused better or worse health behavior. It included only patients who came to one hospital outpatient clinic during the pandemic, so patients who avoided care because of fear may be missing. Data were collected after vaccination began and before variants emerged, when fear of COVID-19 was relatively mild, so the results may not apply to periods of higher fear. Health behavior, fear, and social distancing were measured by self-report questionnaires.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that social distancing improves health behavior. It is a cross-sectional survey of patients who came to hospital, so it can only show association, not cause.