Determination of parents’ COVID-19 anxiety, phobia, and traditional and complementary medicine practices used by parents: A descriptive study

Authors : Ayçin Ezgi Önel, Elif Bulut, İlknur Kahriman

Pages : 402-411

View : 32 | Download : 28

Publication Date : 2025-09-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Abstract Aim: To determine COVID-19 anxiety and phobia of parents with children aged 6-18 years and the preventive, traditional and complementary medicine practices of parents to protect their children against the risk of COVID-19. Methods: The study was conducted between July and September 2021 with 220 parents using the snowball sampling method. The research data were collected through an online survey using the \\\"Child-Parent Introduction Form, Parents\\\' Preventive, Traditional and Complementary Medicine Practices Form, Coronavirus Anxiety Scale and Coronavirus-19 Phobia Scale\\\". Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: 55.5% of parents (n=122) utilized Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM) practices to protect their children during the pandemic. The most common practice used by parents during COVID-19 is to ensure that the child drinks plenty of fluids (81.4%; nutrition-based). The mean total score of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale was 2.05±3.23 and the mean total score of the Coronavirus-19 Phobia Scale was 45.59±15.93. Parents who benefited from T&CM to protect their children had higher mean scores on the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale than parents who did not benefit from T&CM, and the difference between them was statistically significant (t=2.988; p<0.01). Conclusion: In this study, parents with high anxiety levels benefited more from T&CM practices to protect their children during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this direction, it is necessary to ensure and support parents to cope with anxiety in order to useT&CM practices consciously.
Keywords : Anksiyete, COVID-19, Ebeveynler, Geleneksel Tıp, Tamamlayıcı Tıp

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