Introduction:

Preprofessional health care practitioners were also mentally affected by COVID-19.

Objectives:

To determine the factors associated with having more worry and fear during COVID-19 in Peruvian pre-professional health care practitioners.

Methods:

Cross-sectional study with analytical methods, with the participation of 285 students from different health careers in southern Peru, to whom 2 locally validated tests were applied and crossed with different socio-educational variables.

Results:

The main concerns were that they could not help worrying despite the measures taken, the uncertainty of being an unpredictable disease, the fact that their workplace has many risks and the perception that their ability to work would be affected by being infected. The main fears were the perception that their heart was racing or that their hands were sweating. Those who were in an I-3 facility (without hospitalization) were less worried than those in other facilities (RPa: 0.56; 95 % CI: 0.43-0.72; p-value< 0.001), adjusted for sex and educational career. In addition, the older the age, the more fear (RPa: 1.76; 95 % CI: 1.46-2.11; p-value< 0.001), adjusted for 4 variables.

Conclusions:

The practitioners showed concern in relation to the unpredictability of the disease, occupational hazards and the fact that they could be infected; in addition, fear that caused a very strong cardiac acceleration and sweating in the hands. Associated with the concern was the level of the health facility where they worked. Associated with fear was the age of the respondents.

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