ABSTRACT
The current pandemic of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has increased the anxiety and fear experienced by many. The main objective of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish-translated version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) using a sample of population in Peru. This is a cross-sectional instrumental study. Data were collected by a convenience sampling method, resulting in a total of 832 participants, and the collection took place over 1 week, April 17-23, 2020. The original version of the FCV-19S was translated from English into Spanish. The results support a bifactor model consisting of one general factor and two specific factors-one of emotional fear reactions and another of somatic expressions of fear of COVID-19 (CFI = 0.988, RMSEA = 0.075). Invariance between healthcare workers and age groups was reached (ΔCFI < 0.01), but the invariance between men and women was not met (ΔCFI = 0.02). Convergent validity was found with depressive, anxious, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. The general factor of the fear of COVID-19 and two specific factors had an optimal level of internal consistency (ω > 0.89 and α > 0.83). The study found the Spanish-translated version of the FCV-19S has good psychometric properties and presents evidence of validity and reliability.
ABSTRACT
The current coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic constitutes a significant public health problem worldwide, as well as mental health problems. This study aimed to evaluate the mental health of COVID-19 survivors, considering their sociodemographic, clinical, and immune variables. A cross-sectional and correlational study was conducted on 318 COVID-19 survivors from one hospital in Peru. Through telephone interviews, evaluation of the presence of depressive symptoms using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, anxiety symptoms through the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, somatic symptoms through Patient Health Questionnaire-15, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms through Impact of Event Scale-Revised was carried out. Poisson regression analyses were performed with their adjusted variances to calculate the prevalence ratio (PR) with their 95% confidence interval. All regression models were adjusted (PRa) for follow-up time. A significant proportion of patients have depressive (30.9%), anxious (31.1%), somatic (35.2%), and PTSD (29.5%) symptoms. The variables associated with a higher frequency of clinically relevant mental symptoms were female sex, self-perception of greater COVID-19 severity, presence of persistent COVID-19 symptoms, loss of a family member due to COVID-19, and prior psychiatric diagnosis or treatment. In addition, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio was significantly higher in patients with clinically relevant symptoms of depression. COVID-19 survivors showed a high prevalence of negative mental symptoms. Our findings help to identify patients who are vulnerable and require psychiatric care.
ABSTRACT
The current COVID-19 pandemic affects the mental health of medical staff. Our objective was to evaluate the factors that are associated with the distress of physicians in two general hospitals in Lima, Peru. A cross-sectional correlational survey study was carried out. Physicians completed The Impact of Event Scale-Revised-22 (IES-R), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). A total of 310 physicians completed the survey, 36.5% of whom reported distress symptoms. Higher levels of distress were reached by women, by those with a prior psychiatric diagnosis, by those who considered that the hospital does not provide adequate personal protective equipment, and by those who perceived stigma from family members. Multiple regression analysis showed that there is a correlation between distress symptoms and anxiety symptoms, (B = 0.509), depressive symptoms (B = 0.305), the total hours/week worked in the Emergency Department (B=-0.142), and the stigma perception (B = 0.096). Early intervention programs must be developed to support medical staff members exposed to severe distress situations such as the current viral pandemic.