Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
Date Submitted: Nov 3, 2021
Date Accepted: Jun 28, 2022
Date Submitted to PubMed: Jul 4, 2022
Psychometric properties of the COVID-19 Pandemic Fatigue Scale: results from the online COSMO-Spain survey
ABSTRACT
Background:
Pandemic fatigue is defined as feelings of demotivation to follow preventive measures against COVID-19, together with decrease of trust in government and frequency of information seeking behavior.
Objective:
To analyze the psychometric properties of the COVID-19-specific pandemic fatigue scale according to classical test theory (CTT) and Rasch model approaches, in Spanish general population.
Methods:
Cross-sectional study in a representative sample of 1018 adults that completed an online survey in the framework of the COVID-19 Snapshot MOnitoring (COSMO)-Spain project. The assessments included the 6-item COVID-19 Pandemic Fatigue Scale (CPFS) and other COVID-19 related variables: COVID-19 infection, adherence to preventive behaviors, information-seeking behavior, self-efficacy, worry and cognitive and affective risk perception. Data quality, acceptability, reliability and validity were analyzed according to CTT, and fit to the Rasch model, unidimensionality, appropriateness of the response scale, item local independency, reliability (person-separation index, PSI), and item-person distribution were also calculated.
Results:
The mean CPFS score was 17.06 (standard deviation, SD: 5.04, range: 6-30), with higher scores in women, younger participants, participants who never seek information on COVID-19, those who think they would contract a mild disease in case of infection and those with higher level of worry about coronavirus/COVID-19, who felt depressed or felt the coronavirus/COVID-19 is spreading slowly (P<0.01). CPFS Cronbach’s alpha was 0.74. In the confirmatory factor analysis, one factor was identified (RMSEA = 0.02; CFI = 0.99; χ2 (5) = 8.06, P = 0.153). The CPFS showed good fit to Rasch model χ 2(24)=42.025, P=0.0128, PSI = 0.642, unidimensionality (binomial 95% CI: -0.005-0.045), and item local independency.
Conclusions:
Our results suggests the CPFS has moderate reliability and internal consistency, and it is composed by a single dimension. It is a useful tool to ascertain the level of pandemic fatigue in general population and can help to guide the communication and information strategies for facing the COVID-19 pandemic.
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