Anxiety and Perceived Risk in Red Cross Volunteer Personnel Facing the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Abstract

In the current situation of sanitary emergencies, humanitarian organizations and their volunteers are playing an important role in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A study is proposed that includes a network of volunteers who perform humanitarian activities during the COVID-19 pandemic to assess anxiety, perceived risk, and response behaviors and to explore their relationship with sociodemographic variables. For data collection, an online questionnaire was developed through the Google Forms® platform, where the perceived risk, anxiety, and behavioral responses of the general population to the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic were assessed. The survey presented is a modified version of that survey adapted for COVID-19. This adaptation was endorsed by an experts committee made up of the health chief of the Ecuadorian Red Cross, the focus point of operations from the International Federation of the Red Cross in Ecuador, and a member from the Health Unit of the Americas Regional Office of the International Federation of the Red Cross. A significant relationship has been shown between the job situation and perceived risk and anxiety, being the staff who worked full time away from home, which was exposed to greater risk and anxiety. Both perceived risk and perceived anxiety are very high (according to a 5-point Likert scale). Knowing these data from this first-line personnel will allow adopting measures that could be beneficial for stress management and, therefore, contribute to the well-being and support of these humanitarian and volunteer organizations in the worldwide response to COVID-1 9.