Death anxiety and burnout in intensive care unit specialists facing the COVID-19 outbreak: The mediating role of obsession with COVID-19 and coronaphobia.

The aim of the study was to examine the role of the obsession with COVID-19 thoughts and coronaphobia in the relationship of death anxiety with burnout among staff working at infectious diseases hospitals in the front-line of the fight against COVID-19. A cross-sectional online survey (N = 110) was conducted during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results showed that obsession with COVID-19 and coronaphobia mediated the relationship of death anxiety with burnout. Most of the participants reported higher levels of death anxiety compared with the general population and nurses reported higher levels of death anxiety than physicians.