Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38843040›Full record

ArticleJournal of global health2024

Fear in general populations: A cross-sectional study on perceived fear of common diseases, COVID-19, life events, and environmental threats in 30 countries.

Jiaying Li, Vinciya Pandian, Daniel Yee Tak Fong, Kris Yuet Wan Lok, Janet Yuen Ha Wong, Mandy Man Ho, Edmond Pui Hang Choi, Patricia M Davidson, Wenjie Duan, Marie Tarrant and 58 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of global health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Cultural adaptation and validation of the Arabic version of the Fear of Cancer Scale.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

68 authors.

Jiaying Li *School of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Vinciya Pandian *School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Daniel Yee Tak FongSchool of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Kris Yuet Wan LokSchool of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Janet Yuen Ha WongSchool of Nursing and Health Studies, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Mandy Man HoSchool of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Edmond Pui Hang ChoiSchool of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Patricia M DavidsonVice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
Wenjie DuanDepartment of Social Work, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China.
Marie TarrantSchool of Nursing, The University of British Columbia, Kelowna British Columbia, Canada.
Jung Jae LeeSchool of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Chia-Chin LinSchool of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Oluwadamilare AkingbadeThe Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Khalid M AlabdulwahhabCollege of Medicine, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah, Saudi Arabia.
Mohammad Shakil AhmadDepartment of Family & Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Majmaah University, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia.
Mohamed AlboraieDepartment of Internal Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
Meshari A AlzahraniDepartment of Urology, College of Medicine, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah, Saudi Arabia.
Anil S BilimaleSchool of Public Health, JSS Medical College, JSS AHER, Mysuru, India.
Sawitree BoonpatcharanonDepartment of Statistics, Chulalongkorn Business School, Bangkok, Thailand.
Samuel ByiringiroSchool of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Muhammad Kamil Che HasanKulliyyah of Nursing, International Islamic University, Kuantan, Malaysia.
Luisa Clausi SchettiniItalian Association against Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma, Rome Section, Italy.
Walter CorzoDiálogos Guatemala, Guatemala, Guatemala.
Josephine M De LeonSchool of Nursing, Centro Escolar University, Manila, Philippines.
Anjanette S De LeonSchool of Nursing, Centro Escolar University, Manila, Philippines.
Hiba DeekNursing Department, Faculty of Health Science, Beirut Arab University, Lebanon.
Fabio EfficaceItalian Group for Adult Hematologic Disease, Data Center and Health Outcomes Research Unit, Rome, Italy.
Mayssah A El NayalDepartment of Psychology, Beirut Arab University, Lebanon.
Fathiya El-RaeyDepartment of hepatogastroenterology and infectious diseases, Damietta faculty of medicine, Al-Azher University, Egypt.
Eduardo Ensaldo-CarrascoErgonomics Research Center, University of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
Pilar EscotorinLaboratory of Applied Prosocial Research, Department of Basic, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain.
Oluwadamilola Agnes FadodunFaculty of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
Israel Opeyemi FawoleFaculty of Nursing, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, Nigeria.
Yong-Shian Shawn GohAlice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Devi IrawanSchool of Nursing, Wijaya Husada Health Institute, Bogor, Indonesia.
Naimah Ebrahim KhanDepartment of Optometry, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Binu KoiralaSchool of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Ashish KrishnaEcove, Ghaziabad, India.
Cannas KwokSchool of Nursing, Paramedicine and Health Care Science, Charles Sturt University, New South Wales, Australia.
Tung Thanh LeNam Dinh University of Nursing, Nam Dinh, Vietnam.
Daniela Giambruno LealPontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, School of Social Work, Valparaíso, Chile.
Miguel Ángel Lezana-FernándezResearch Department, National Commission for Medical Arbitration, Mexico, Mexico.
Emery ManirambonaCollege of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
Leandro Cruz MantoaniDepartment of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Science and Technology, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Presidente Prudente, Brazil.
Fernando Meneses-GonzálezResearch Department, National Commission for Medical Arbitration, Mexico, Mexico.
Iman Elmahdi MohamedPharmacology and Toxicology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Benghazi University, Libya.
Madeleine MukeshimanaSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
Chinh Thi Minh NguyenNam Dinh University of Nursing, Nam Dinh, Vietnam.
Huong Thi Thanh NguyenNam Dinh University of Nursing, Nam Dinh, Vietnam.
Khanh Thi NguyenNam Dinh University of Nursing, Nam Dinh, Vietnam.
Son Truong NguyenNam Dinh University of Nursing, Nam Dinh, Vietnam.
Mohd Said NurumalKulliyyah of Nursing, International Islamic University, Kuantan, Malaysia.
Aimable NzabonimanaCenter for Language Enhancement, College of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Rwanda, Huye, Rwanda.
Nagla Abdelrahim Mohamed Ahmed OmerFaculty of Medicine, Alzaiem Alazhari University, Khartoum North, Sudan.
Oluwabunmi OgungbeSchool of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Angela Chiu Yin PoonFaculty of Health Sciences and Sports, Macao Polytechnic University, Macao.
Areli Reséndiz-RodriguezNational Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico.
Busayasachee Puang-NgernDepartment of Statistics, Chulalongkorn Business School, Bangkok, Thailand.
Ceryl G SagunSchool of Nursing, Centro Escolar University, Manila, Philippines.
Riyaz Ahmed ShaikDepartment of Family & Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Majmaah University, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia.
Nikhil Gauri ShankarMental Health and Learning division, Wrexham Maelor Hospital, Wrexham, UK.
Kathrin SommerItalian Group for Adult Hematologic Disease, Data Center and Health Outcomes Research Unit, Rome, Italy.
Edgardo ToroPontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, School of Social Work, Valparaíso, Chile.
Hanh Thi Hong TranNam Dinh University of Nursing, Nam Dinh, Vietnam.
Elvira L UrgelSchool of Nursing, Centro Escolar University, Manila, Philippines.
Emmanuel UwiringiyimanaCollege of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
Tita VanichbunchaDepartment of Statistics, Chulalongkorn Business School, Bangkok, Thailand.
Naglaa YoussefMedical-surgical Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, Egypt.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: In this study, we assessed the general population's fears towards various diseases and events, aiming to inform public health strategies that balance health-seeking behaviours. Methods: We surveyed adults from 30 countries across all World Health Organization (WHO) regions between July 2020 and August 2021. Participants rated their fear of 11 factors on an 11-point Likert scale. We stratified the data by age and gender and examined variations across countries and regions through multidimensional preference analysis. Results: Of the 16 512 adult participants, 62.7% (n = 10 351) were women. The most feared factor was the loss of family members, reported by 4232 participants (25.9%), followed by cancer (n = 2248, 13.7%) and stroke (n = 1416, 8.7%). The highest weighted fear scores were for loss of family members (mean (x̄) = 7.46, standard deviation (SD) = 3.04), cancer (x̄ = 7.00, SD = 3.09), and stroke (x̄ = 6.61, SD = 3.24). The least feared factors included animals/insects (x̄ = 3.72, SD = 2.96), loss of a mobile phone (x̄ = 4.27, SD = 2.98), and social isolation (x̄ = 4.83, SD = 3.13). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was the sixth most feared factor (x̄ = 6.23, SD = 2.92). Multidimensional preference analyses showed distinct fears of COVID-19 and job loss in Australia and Burundi. The other countries primarily feared loss of family members, cancer, stroke, and heart attacks; this ranking was consistent across WHO regions, economic levels, and COVID-19 severity levels. Conclusions: Fear of family loss can improve public health messaging, highlighting the need for bereavement support and the prevention of early death-causing diseases. Addressing cancer fears is crucial to encouraging the use of preventive services. Fear of non-communicable diseases remains high during health emergencies. Top fears require more resources and countries with similar concerns should collaborate internationally for effective fear management.

Indexed as

COVID-19FearAdolescentAdultAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGlobal HealthHumansLife Change EventsMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasmsSARS-CoV-2Surveys and QuestionnairesYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID38843040
PMCPMC11156250

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.