anxiety levels among female iranian health care workers during the covid-19 surge: a cross-sectional study

Background objective: the recent surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) cases has exposed health care workers (hcws) to a wide range of psychological stressors and predisposed them to anxiety-related disorders. in this study, we observed the anxiety level in this population.materials methods: this multicenter, cross-sectional study was performed on 1,038 hcws in 14 hospitals of tehran during the covid-19 pandemic. in may 2020, beck anxiety inventory (bai) was used to measure the level of anxiety in this population.results: the mean±sd age of participants was 36.30±8.23 years old. most participants were 31 to 40 years old (43.2), female (87.6%), and nurses (49.5%). the bai scores of the participants were in a positive skew distribution, with a score range of 0-63, a median of 12, and a mean value of 15.30±11.43. out of 1,038 hospital staff, 411 (39.6%) had moderate to severe anxiety. the anxiety level was significantly higher in hcws ≤40 years old, women, and nurses. however, there was no significant relationship between stress levels among frontline workers compared to second-line workers (p < /em>=0.82).conclusion: it seems that hcws experienced a high level of anxiety in the covid-19 outbreak. one of the critical measures in every epidemic is to provide supportive care to maintain the mental well-being of hcws, especially in high-risk groups, including younger hcws, women, and nurses.