Anxiety and Insomnia Mediate the Association of Fear of Infection and Fatigue: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Nurses Deployed to a COVID-19 Epicenter in China

Zhixin Liu,1,2,* Huanyu Zhang,1 Nan Wang,1,* Yajie Feng,1,* Junping Liu,1 Lin Wu,1 Zhaoyue Liu,1 Xinru Liu,1 Libo Liang,1 Jie Liu,3 Qunhong Wu,1 Chaojie Liu4 1Department of Social Medicine, School of Health Management, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Intensive Care Unit, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Public Health, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Libo Liang; Jie Liu, Email llbhit@163.com; liujie21814@126.comBackground: This study aimed to test the mediating role of anxiety and insomnia in the association between fear of infection and fatigue.Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted on the nurses deployed to Heihe. A serial multiple mediation model was established to determine the role of anxiety and insomnia in the association between fear of infection and fatigue.Findings: Over half (53.0%) of the study participants reported experiencing fear of infection despite stringent personal protection measures. The scores of anxiety (11.87± 5.19), insomnia (16.33± 5.95), and fatigue (45.94± 12.93) were moderately correlated, with a Pearson correlation coefficient ranging from 0.501 to 0.579. Anxiety, either alone or in combination with insomnia, mediated the association between fear of infection and fatigue.Conclusion: The findings suggest that anxiety and insomnia play a mediating role in the relationship between fear of infection and fatigue. These results emphasize the importance of implementing targeted mental health interventions and work arrangements to address the well-being of healthcare professionals.Keywords: fear of infection, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue