The effects of fear of COVID-19 among Spanish healthcare professionals in three years after the pandemic onset via validation of the FCV-19S: a prospective study
Résumé
Despite being validated in different populations to assess fear of COVID-19, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) has scatter validations in healthcare professionals, often with several limitations, especially in Spanish-speaking professionals. Our research aims to extend previous studies by: (i) using a large sample of Spanish nurses and physicians; (ii) incorporating longitudinal data; and (iii) using a covariance-based SEM methodology to test different factor structures. 686 Spanish healthcare professionals (M = 42.7 years; 80.5% women; 76.7% nurses) participated in 2021 (Time 1), of whom, 216 were reassessed one year later (Time 2). The results (S-Bχ2 = 69.134, df = 13, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.974, and SRMR ≤ 0.031) supported a two-factor structure with a factor of somatic reactions and another of emotional expressions of fear of COVID-19. The FCV-19S evidenced strong factorial measurement invariance regarding gender, professional category, age and professional experience and also showed significantly higher levels of fear of COVID-19 in women, nurses, and professionals under 40 years old. The internal consistency was high for the somatic factor (ω = 0.86; α = 0.85), the emotional factor (ω = 0.82; α = 0.82) and the overall scale (α = 0.89). The scale showed good convergent, divergent, and incremental validity with respect to psychological symptomatology, perceived health, burnout, and worry about contagion. Finally, the FCV-19S showed criterion validity regarding generalized anxiety disorder, burnout, and the risk of leaving the profession. The FCV-19S evidenced excellent psychometric properties in Spanish healthcare professionals and was predictive of different health outcomes one year after administration. Study implications and limitations are also discussed
Description
Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This research has been carried out without funding
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