Beyond the pandemic: shifts in healthcare workers’ nutritional habits and their relationship with COVID-19 fear, knowledge, misconception and preventive behaviors

ABSTRACT Objective This study aimed to determine the changing nutritional habits of healthcare workers after the pandemic and to evaluate the fears, knowledge, misconceptions, and preventive behaviors related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods This cross-sectional study conducted with Turkish healthcare workers was conducted between April and June 2021. A total of 354 volunteer adult healthcare workers (58 males and 296 females) aged between 20 and 70 years were included in the study. The study used several scales to measure knowledge, fear, preventive practices, and misconceptions: the Assessment of Knowledge of COVID-19, the Fear of COVID-19, the Self-Reported Assessment of Preventive Behaviors, and the Misconception of COVID-19, respectively. Results Women exhibited higher fear (p<0.001) and misconception scores than men (p=0.034). Weight gain was associated with an increase in misconceptions (p=0.017). Married women demonstrated better preventive behaviors compared to single women (p=0.006). Fear of COVID-19 was positively correlated with knowledge (r=0.0130; p=0.014), preventive behaviors (r=0.176; p=0.001), and misconceptions (r=0.206; p<0.001). Additionally, higher knowledge scores were linked to increased consumption of milk (p=0.009), green leafy vegetables (p=0.003), yellow-orange vegetables (p=0.013), and reduced consumption of bread (p=0.014) and chocolate, wafer, and biscuit (p=0.027). Conclusion This study reveals that healthcare workers’ nutritional habits are influenced by their COVID-19-related knowledge, fear, misconceptions, and preventive behaviors, with higher knowledge associated with healthier food choices.