Hacettepe Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi, vol.10, no.1, pp.29-44, 2023 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare coronaphobia, barriers to physical activity, the levels of physical activity and quality of life in different occupational groups during the Covid-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: 1685 individuals were included in this study. Participants were grouped per their professions as students (n=498), healthcare workers (n=259), desk workers (n=419), private sector/self-employed (n=201), army/security personnel (n=88), and non-classified (n= 220). Coronaphobia levels (Covid-19 Phobia Scale, C19P-S), barriers to physical activity (Physical Activity Barriers Questionnaire, PABQ), quality of life levels (Nottingham Health Profile, NHP) were evaluated. Results: C19P-S total and "Psychological" and "Social" sub-dimension mean scores, PABQ total and "Personal" sub-dimension mean scores were higher in the student group compared to the other groups (p<0.001). The mean score of the C19P-S “Economic” sub-dimension was higher in the private sector/self-employed group (p<0.001). The PABQ “Social” sub-dimension score was found to be higher in healthcare workers (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study support that barrier to physical activity in health workers may be caused by social factors and the coronaphobia of individuals in the private sector/self-employed group may be mostly caused by economic reasons. This study suggests that the lifestyle of different occupational groups may be affected from different aspects of the pandemic. In future studies, an individual exercise tracking system can be created for all occupational groups.