Fear of COVID-19 Pandemic, Obsessive-Compulsive Traits and Sleep Quality among First Academic Year Nursing Students, Alexandria University, Egypt.

It is now recognized that the uncertainty caused by the international COVID-19 pandemic can lead
to excessive, intense, and repeated mental health problems such as obsessive-compulsive traits and
disturbed sleep quality. These psychological responses affect the well-being of individuals and can
persist long after the outbreak. Health care workers can be viewed as more vulnerable to these
psychological consequences, particularity the younger students such as the first academic year
nursing students. Thus, the present study aimed to determine and explore the impact of fear of
COVID-19 on obsessive-compulsive traits and sleep quality among the first-academic year nursing
students. Design: A descriptive correlational design was used in this study. Setting: The study was
conducted at the Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt. Subjects: A representative
sample of 275 first-year undergraduate students. Tools: Online web-based electronic questionnaires
were used including A socio-demographic and Academic Data, FCV-19S, AOCS and ISI. Results:
Results of the study revealed that 61.1% of the studied students had a moderate level of fear of
COVID-19 pandemic and 8.7% of them had a severe level. As well, 35.3% of those students had a
moderate level of obsessive-compulsive (OC) traits and 4.7% of them had a severe level of OC
traits. In addition, 14.2% of them had a moderate level of insomnia during COVID-19 pandemic.
Regression analysis indicates that fear of COVID-19 pandemic was a predictor of both obsessive
compulsive traits (P=0.000) and insomnia severity (P=0.052). Conclusion: level of fear of COVID-
19 pandemic can predict the OC traits and insomnia severity levels among studied nursing students.
Hence, early detection, picking up and effectively treating students who have intense fears of
COVID 19 are emphasized before they evolve to more complex and enduring obsessive-compulsive
symptoms. Immediate interventions via multidisciplinary teams, including academic mental health
professionals, to the vulnerable group of students are recommended.