- DAK long-term study: Only 18 percent fear contracting Covid-19 / people are becoming negligent in their own protection
- DAK boss Storm calls for uniform rules for mandatory isolation
- Cancer and dementia remain the most feared diseases
Germans' fear of Corona has halved compared to the first year of the pandemic.
Only 18 percent fear Covid-19 disease. In 2020 it was 37 percent.
This is the result of a representative long-term survey by the Forsa Institute on behalf of DAK-Gesundheit. At the same time, Germans are becoming more lax when it comes to adhering to the Corona protection rules: eight out of ten respondents say they are sticking to them - eleven percentage points less than in 2020. Overall, cancer remains the most feared disease among Germans, followed by dementia, accidental injuries and stroke. It is positive that since 2017 more and more people have been going for cancer screening and using the health check.
What is striking in the current DAK survey is:
There are clear differences in fears and protective measures across age groups. More than one in four people under 30 are afraid of the coronavirus. Among 30 to 44 year olds it is only about one in eight. In contrast, 77 percent of those under 30 adhere to protective rules, while 85 percent of those over 60 years of age adhere to protective measures. Overall, Germans are paying less attention to their protection compared to the first year of the pandemic: compliance with the Corona rules fell from 92 percent to currently 81 percent.
“The corona pandemic has apparently become so commonplace for many people that the fear of infection is decreasing,” said Andreas Storm, CEO of DAK-Gesundheit. “But this must not lead to Corona protective measures being neglected. We have to adhere to certain rules, especially in the coming winter months, in order to protect the vulnerable groups in our society and avoid overloading the health system." In this context, Storm criticizes the current debate about the isolation requirement and the different ways in which the federal states deal with it: "We need understandable and uniform rules that are coordinated between the countries and that people can understand.”
This year, Germans are most afraid of cancer (72 percent).
The second most frequently cited fear is Alzheimer's/dementia (55 percent). Around half of those surveyed each fear an accident with serious injuries (51 percent) and a stroke (50 percent). This is followed by the fear of a heart attack (42 percent), a serious eye disease including blindness (34 percent) and the fear of psychological suffering (32 percent). In general, women are more likely than men to say that they are afraid of illness.
When it comes to the most feared diseases, Germans' feelings of fear have tended to increase again over the past five years, after declining in previous years.
This is probably why the long-term DAK study shows that more and more people are continuously using the free preventive care offers during this period. Almost two thirds (63 percent) currently go for cancer screening, whereas less than half did so in 2017. One in two people currently uses the health check against cardiovascular diseases, whereas five years ago it was only 37 percent. What is striking here is that three out of four women (76 percent) attend cancer screening appointments, whereas only about every second man (49 percent) has themselves examined.
The vast majority of Germans (87 percent) rate their health as good (57 percent) or very good (30 percent).
To ensure that it stays that way, women generally pay more attention to their health than men. They eat healthily more often, drink less alcohol, smoke less and do relaxation exercises more often. On the other hand, there is equality when it comes to vaccination and sport: 86 percent of Germans get vaccinated and 83 percent exercise regularly to stay healthy.
The “Fear of Illnesses” survey is a regular and representative population survey conducted by Forsa on behalf of DAK-Gesundheit, which has been carried out since 2010. From October 31 to November 3, 2022, 1,005 women and men aged 14 and over were surveyed nationwide.
To the results report (PDF, 260 KB)
Sources
DAK
German health portal
Continue to the fact checks on Covid / Coronavirus
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