Appendix 1: Group 1, Working parents of little children: Thematic Analysis of Narratives, Related to the Emotion of Fear
Main thematic area |
Specific thematic subtopic |
Content (Number of cases) |
Health
|
Health issues
|
Overcrowded hospitals (7); The hospital system will not withstand (4); Lack of places in hospitals` Covid-19 departments / lack of access to doctors / Closed hospitals (9); High morbidity (4); Other diseases / something "scarier" will come (7); Fear exposing symptoms in public (2); Unspecified fear related to health (4) |
COVID-19
|
I'm afraid of getting infected (36); Fear of infecting other people/ children / parents/relatives (27); Fear of infection with COVID-19 for second time (1); Fear of getting infected at work (13); Fear of getting infected in restaurants / cinema (3); Fear of getting infected by “too social people/ people who neglect measures (4); Fear of death in case of infection (3); Everyone is at risk (1); Lack of information about Covid-19 (5); Unpredictable course of the disease/ rapid changes (11); Other viruses / new variants of the virus (2); Panic attacks (2); Worrying others when I am sick (3) |
|
Vaccines
|
Vaccines are potentially dangerous (3); Fear of side effects (2); Created in a hurry (1): Innovation (1); Vaccines are obligatory (1); Lack of sufficient information (1); They create division between people (2); Limited access to vaccines (1); Doctors refuse vaccination for pregnant women (1); I cannot be vaccinated because of health reasons (1); Resistance of elderly relatives to be vaccinated (2) |
|
Pregnancy
|
Infection or risk of infection with COVID-19 during pregnancy (8); Cancelled visits to the doctor /because of measures/ (2); Lack of access to a doctor/hospital (2); Lack of medicines (4); Interruption of in vitro procedures (2); Delaying pregnancy (3); Fetal loss (5); Infection of newborns with COVID-19 (4); Women in labor with Covid-19 (1); Closed hospitals when the birth begins (1) |
|
Work |
|
Work from home/ lack of conditions and space (7); Travel to work /Logistics when working in the office (3); I will not be able to work /in a home office with children/ (2); Fear from home office regime /in managers/ (1); Fear of being sent back to the office (2); Lack of contact with colleagues (1); Burnout (1) |
Family/household life practices
|
Family issues |
Bed memories from the experience, related to COVID-19 (5); Changes in lifestyle (3)
|
Children
|
Lack of access to pediatrician (2); Feeling of being powerless when children are sick /you can't help/ (3); Depressive episode in a child (2); More troubles with children (2); I cannot take care of the children due to illness (2); Impossibility to see my children /due to the measures/ (1); Unspecified fears related to children (5) |
|
Education/qualification |
|
Online learning - lack of organization (10); Children lose contact with their classmates (8); Lack of desire to learn (after distance learning) (3); Deterioration of the quality of education (2); Depressed teacher (1); Teacher / parent in burnout (2) |
Sports and hobbies |
|
Immobilization of children / Children don't do sports (5)
|
Social life |
|
Isolation / limited social contacts (5); Children have no contact with friends (8); You cannot celebrate personal holidays (1); People will become more antisocial/introverted (2); People changed (2) |
Economy |
|
Inflation (1) |
Media |
|
Panic/fear caused by the television/news (6); Control through fear/Control over people (2); Death/ dead bodies (3); Conspiracy theories (3); You don't know what is true (1) |
Crisis management and measures |
|
Measures last too long (4); You can't go out (5); Children can't go out (5); Lockdown (2); Lack of adaptation to measures (3); Fines from the police (1); Measures change quickly (1); Worldwide problem (1) |
Others |
|
It is unknown/ Uncertainty of what is next/ how it will continue (5); Fear of the unknown (3) |
Appendix 2: Group 2, People, diagnosed with chronic disease prior the COVID-19 crisis: Thematic Analysis of Narratives, Related to the Emotion of Fear
Main thematic area |
Specific thematic subtopic |
Content (Number of cases) |
Health
|
Health issues
|
I do not visit hospitals/examinations due to fear of getting infected (5); Missed visits to the doctor (2); Other diseases (6); Neglecting health issues (1); Doctors are focused primarily on the fight against COVID-19 (1); Measures are not followed in hospitals (1); I had to travel to another city/ drive a long way down in order to find a doctor (3); The information from the hospitals was scary (1); Fear exposing symptoms in public /on public transport (1); Hypochondriac fears (1); Are there enough vitamins in my body (1); Increased use of alcohol (1); Roommate working in Covid-19 hospital department (1); Unspecified fear related to health (2) |
Covid-19
|
I'm afraid of getting infected (18); Fear of infecting other people/parents/relatives (17); I am in the risk / clinically vulnerable group (7); Other viruses / new variants of the virus (4); Fear of death in case of infection (8); High rates of infection (2); Fear of getting infected at work (3); Fear of getting infected in public transport (3); Fear of getting infected in airplanes (1); Risk of complications in case of infection (1); Lack of information about Covid-19 (2); Lost loved ones (1); Some form of a biological war is taking place (1); Contradictory information from doctors (1); Taking care for infected with Covid-19 without insurance and a personal doctor (1); Lack of information about how to isolate someone in the household in case of infection with Covid-19 (1); It will hit my lungs and I won't be able to breathe well (1); Depression[1] (2); Panic attacks (2); High blood pressure (2); Poor sleep (1); Physical weakness (1); Teeth grinding (1); Pneumonia (2); Smoking is not allowed (1); Infected relatives / acquaintances (2); Post Covid-19 effects (4); Hair loss (2); Deterioration of concentration/ memory (3); I can't breathe deeply (1) |
|
Vaccines
|
Vaccines are not reliable (2); No one knows what the long-term effects are (1); Rebellion that someone is forcing me to push something into my body (1); We will have to get vaccinated continuously (1); Vaccination is not voluntary (1); You can't leave the house /without a certificate/ (1); You can't go to work /without a certificate/ (1); Will the vaccine work /for me/ (1); Vaccines were not recommended for people with autoimmune diseases (1); Lack of access to vaccines (1); I cannot be vaccinated because of health reasons (1) |
|
Pregnancy |
(0) |
|
Work
|
|
You cannot perform your work activities (2); Change of technology (1); Customers are afraid (1); Being isolated from the team (1); Meaningless virtual meetings (1); Business trips (1); Disrupted plans (1); Increased amount of work (1); Burnout (1); Unspecified work-related fear (2) |
Family/household life practices |
Family issues |
Broken relationship (2); Families falling apart in this pandemic (1); Not enough tolerance (1) |
Children |
Fear of getting infected with Covid-19 (2); |
|
Education/ qualification |
|
(0) |
Sports and hobbies |
|
Fear of visiting pools (2); I can't stop playing sports (2): I can't walk (1) |
Social life
|
|
People are more stressed/worried (7); People are more nervous (2); Isolation / lack of social contacts (11); We are closed / I stay at home (6); I go out once a day (1); Many people are in panic (3); People become alienated (2); I am no longer seeing anyone/ meetings are needless and dangerous (3); I expect life to stop completely at any moment (1); Lack of communication (1); I became rude (1); Arguing with people (2); Fear that I was physically distant and had no friends or acquaintances in close proximity (1); More quantity but less quality in communication (1); Communication between people will change a lot (1) |
Economy (1) |
|
Financial losses (1) |
Media
|
|
Statistics /for morbidity and mortality/ (4); I stopped watching news (1); News from Italy (1); Information on how morbidity waves are going (1); News from hospital department for Covid-19 (1); Information about infected teachers (1); Disinformation (1); Inconsistent information (1); Sense of danger (2); Facebook screenshots that are spreading with very scary information (1); Anti vaccine posts that make you think and cause fear (1); Easy manipulation through fear (1); Distorting statistics and drawing wrong conclusions in the public space that misleads (1) |
Crisis management and measures
|
|
Continuous opening /closure (2); Uncertainty for tomorrow (1); Difficulties to get oriented in the measures (1); You can't travel / limited travel (4); Disinfection (1); Masks (1); Queues for shopping (3); Pensioner hours (1); You have no free will (1); Limited freedom (1); The authorities do not know how the virus is spreading (1); Unspecified fears related to measures (3) |
Others
|
|
Uncertainty (5); I can't imagine the distant future (2); Life really won't be the same from now on (1); No one has control over the situation (1); Greater tension (1); Overreacting to problems (1); It is difficult to be calm (1); The only scary thing is fear itself (1) |
Appendix 3: Group 3, People, who lost their jobs because of Covid-19 and the related measures: Thematic Analysis of Narratives, Related to the Emotion of Fear
Main thematic area |
Specific thematic subtopic |
Content (Number of cases) |
Health
|
Health issues
|
Lack of access to a doctor (1); Full hospitals / no one can examine you if you have Covid-19 (4); Hospital visits are forbidden (1); Fear exposing symptoms in public /on public transport (6); Lack of access to a veterinarian (1) |
Covid-19
|
I'm afraid of getting infected (10); Fear of infecting other people/parents/relatives (13); Other people's fear of infection (22); Fear of death in case of infection (11); Other viruses / new variants of the virus (3); Fear of getting infected in restaurants (2); Fear of getting infected at work (3); Lack of sense of smell (1); Panic attacks (2); Depression (2); Impaired mental health (2) |
|
Vaccines
|
Lack of trust /in vaccines/ (2); There are groups with higher risk (1); There will be compulsory vaccination for children (1); Still not being vaccinated (1); Phobia of needles (1); They impose Vaccines on us (1) |
|
Pregnancy
|
(0) |
|
Work |
|
Unemployment/ layoffs (10); Closed businesses/ bankruptcies/ inability to work (7); There is no security in sector (2); Job search/ need to look for a completely new career (5); Uncertain how things will happen/ instability in business (4); Fear of keeping my business (3); Work in an online / distant regime (4); Forced to stay at home non-stop (1); Inability to find staff (1); Forced to work whatever comes (1); Employers quickly lowered salaries (1); They don't take workers anywhere (1); Fear of whether we can afford to run a new business (1); Customers are worried about Covid-19 (2); Customers have financial concerns (1); Will there be business results (1); Amount of work increased (1); Burnout (2) |
Family/household life practices
|
Family issues |
Separation between spouses (1)
|
Children
|
Lack of access to a pediatrician (2); Fear of getting infected with Covid-19 (2); Going to work together with a sick child (1); The child does not fully know his grandparents because he sees them extremely rarely (1); Lack of communication with other children (1); Online learning totally made the kids stop thinking (1); Unspecified fear for the child (1) |
|
Education/qualification
|
|
Online education is ineffective (4); not knowing how the exams will take place (1) |
Sports and hobbies |
|
Immobilization (2) |
Social life
|
|
People became fearful / I don't think this fear will go away / this fear will remain (6); People changed (5); Lots of violence (1); Social contacts decrease / I don't see friends/ parents (3); Fear to go out on a date (2); Isolation (2); You cannot celebrate personal holidays (2) |
Economy
|
|
People are uncertain /about the future/ (5); People are striving to keep financial savings (1); Negative effects on Economy and finances (2); Prices will rise (1); Financial credits (3); Inability to take care of children with minimal wages (2); Concern about what will happen to the country (1) |
Media
|
|
Panic in the media (5); Panic/fear set in for the person (9); Dead bodies/ sacks (2); Reports on unemployment from the labor offices (1); First cases reported in Bulgaria (1); Inconsistent information (1); The crisis headquarter (1); Covid-19 is overexposed (1) |
Crisis management and measures |
|
Measures are not correct/adequate (6); They will lock us down again / they will lock down everything (7); Bad management (1); In case of dead relatives - inability to "send them off properly" (3); Limitation to visit restaurants (2); Limited travel (1) |
Others
|
|
New / Unknown (11); Unclear future / I don't think things can get back to normal any time soon / uncertainty about what's going to happen / I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel (6) |
[1] For one respondent, the crisis, caused by Covid-19 and the measures taken, coincided with a depressive episode and an onset of anxiety disorder.