Investigating the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the fear of COVID-19 scale in nurses

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Student Research Committee, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran

2 Clinical Care Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran

3 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

4 Psychiatric Clinic, Clinical Centre of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant concerns among healthcare professionals, including nurses. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) in an emergency nurse population. The FCV-19S is a widely used tool for measuring fear of COVID-19. However, its validation in different populations remains limited.
Objectives: To assess the construct validity and reliability of the FCV-19S in an Iranian sample of emergency nurses.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 295 nurses working in emergency departments. The face and content validity of the FCV-19S were evaluated through qualitative feedback. Construct validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and the number of factors was determined based on parallel analysis. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's α and McDonald's Ω coefficients.
Results: The mean age of participants was 30.37 ± 5.46 years (range: 22–50 years). EFA revealed a single factor that accounted for 54.75% of the total variance in fear of COVID-19. CFA showed adequate model fit indicators: CMIN/df=1.515, GFI=0.916, AGFI=0.903, NFI=0.938, IFI=0.953, CFI=0.9, and RMSEA=0.064. Cronbach's α and McDonald's Ω coefficients were 0.920 and 0.787, respectively.
Conclusion: Findings suggest that the FCV-19S has good validity and reliability in the Iranian emergency nurse population. It can be used in future research to assess the fear of COVID-19 in similar populations.

Keywords


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