Uncertainty Stress, and Its Impact on Disease Fear and Prevention Behavior during the COVID-19 Epidemic in China: A Panel Study

Objectives: We examined changing trends of uncertainty stress, and its impact on disease fear and prevention behaviors during the Chinese COVID-19 epidemic, using a prospective observational study Methods: We employed a longitudinal design We recruited participants for an online panel survey from chat groups on social media platforms There were 5 waves of interviews Information on uncertainty stress and related variables were collected via the online survey Descriptive statistics and the GIM program were used for data analysis Results: Participants numbered 150 for the linkable baseline survey and 102 (68%) for the final survey Uncertainty stress (beta = - 047, SE = 118, p > 05) did not show a statistically significant temporal change trend over the observation period Disease fear manifested a statistically significant downwards trend (beta = - 342, SE = 157, p < 05), and prevention behaviors indicated an upwards trend (beta = 048, SE = 021, p < 05) during the observation period Uncertainty stress was positively associated with disease fear (beta = 45046, SE = 05964, p < 001), and negatively associated with self-efficacy (beta = - 6698, SE = 01035, p < 001), and prevention behaviors (beta = - 02029, SE = 00876, p = 021) Conclusion: This study yielded new information about uncertainty stress among Chinese people during the COVID-19 epidemic Policy changes and public education are essential for minimizing the negative effects of uncertainty stress in disease prevention