ABSTRACT
Several viruses are neurotropic, resulting in a multitude of clinical presentations, including acute or chronic meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis, polyradiculitis, and peripheral neuropathy. All segments of the nervous system, central or peripheral, can be involved in viral infections. Viruses can directly affect the nervous system, such as in meningitis and encephalitis, or indirectly (parainfectious or postinfectious) from inflammatory or immunologic reactions, such as in Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) or acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for contemporary society, generating fear. We aimed to validate a fear scale to identify and assess the severity of fear related to SARS-CoV-2. METHOD(S): This was a cross-sectional study conducted through an online survey and applied to the general Brazilian population. Participants were randomly recruited via social networking platforms during the pandemic (N.=1332). A self-reported fear scale (SARS-CoV-2 Fear Scale [SCoV-2-FS]) comprising 11 questions addressing the fear of contracting SARS-CoV-2 infection during essential daily activities was validated. RESULT(S): The reliability and validity of the SCoV-2-FS were psychometrically evaluated using reliability measures and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Cronbach's alpha was 0.9, indicating excellent internal reliability. CONCLUSION(S): The results of the CFA showed that the unidimensional factor structure of the SCoV-2-FS fitted well with the data. The SCoV-2-FS is a valid and reliable tool with robust psychometric properties and is thus useful for assessing fear associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Copyright © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.