. 2020 Dec:139:110271.

doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2020.110271. Epub 2020 Oct 8.

Validation of the COVID-19 Fears Questionnaires for Chronic Medical Conditions: A Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network COVID-19 Cohort study

Yin Wu¹, Linda Kwakkenbos², Richard S Henry¹, Lydia Tao³, Sami Harb¹, Angelica Bourgeault³, Marie-Eve Carrier³, Brooke Levis⁴, Ying Sun³, Parash Mani Bhandari⁵, Andrea Carboni-Jiménez¹, Maria Gagarine⁵, Chen He³, Ankur Krishnan³, Zelalem F Negeri⁵, Dipika Neupane⁵, Luc Mouthon⁶, Susan J Bartlett⁷, Andrea Benedetti⁸, Brett D Thombs⁹; Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network (SPIN) COVID-19 Investigators; SPIN COVID-19 Patient Advisory Team

Collaborators, Affiliations

Collaborators

Nicole Culos-Reed¹⁰, Ghassan El-Baalbaki¹¹, Shannon Hebblethwaite¹², Scott Patten¹⁰, John Varga¹³, Laura Bustamante¹², Delaney Duchek¹⁰, Kelsey Ellis¹⁰, Danielle Rice¹⁴, Laura Dyas¹⁵, Catherine Fortuné¹⁶, Amy Gietzen¹⁷, Geneviève Guillot¹⁸, Nancy Lewis¹⁹, Karen Nielsen²⁰, Michelle Richard²¹, Maureen Sauvé²², Joep Welling²³

Affiliations

¹ Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
² Department of Clinical Psychology, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
³ Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
⁴ Centre for Prognosis Research, School of Primary, Community and Social Care, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.
⁵ Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
⁶ Université Paris Descartes, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 3 Avenue Victoria, 75004 Paris, France; Service de Médecine Interne, Centre de Reference Maladies Systémiques Autoimmunes Rares d'Ile de France, Hôpital Cochin, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, 27 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Jacques, 75014 Paris, France.
⁷ Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Research Institute, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
⁸ Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
⁹ Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Biomedical Ethics Unit, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: brett.thombs@mcgill.ca.
¹⁰ University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
¹¹ Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
¹² Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
¹³ Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
¹⁴ McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
¹⁵ Scleroderma Foundation Michigan Chapter, Southfield, MI, USA.
¹⁶ Ottawa Scleroderma Support Group, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁷ Scleroderma Foundation, Danvers, MA, USA.
¹⁸ Sclérodermie Québec, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada.
¹⁹ Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
²⁰ Scleroderma Society of Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
²¹ Past-president of Scleroderma Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
²² Scleroderma Society of Ontario and Scleroderma Canada, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
²³ NVLE Dutch Patient Organization for Systemic Autoimmune Diseases, Utrecht, the Netherlands.

PMID: 33096402
PMCID: PMC7543945
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2020.110271

Validation of the COVID-19 Fears Questionnaires for Chronic Medical Conditions: A Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network COVID-19 Cohort study

Yin Wu et al. J Psychosom Res. 2020 Dec.

. 2020 Dec:139:110271.

doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2020.110271. Epub 2020 Oct 8.

Authors

Collaborators

Nicole Culos-Reed¹⁰, Ghassan El-Baalbaki¹¹, Shannon Hebblethwaite¹², Scott Patten¹⁰, John Varga¹³, Laura Bustamante¹², Delaney Duchek¹⁰, Kelsey Ellis¹⁰, Danielle Rice¹⁴, Laura Dyas¹⁵, Catherine Fortuné¹⁶, Amy Gietzen¹⁷, Geneviève Guillot¹⁸, Nancy Lewis¹⁹, Karen Nielsen²⁰, Michelle Richard²¹, Maureen Sauvé²², Joep Welling²³

Affiliations

¹ Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
² Department of Clinical Psychology, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
³ Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
⁴ Centre for Prognosis Research, School of Primary, Community and Social Care, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.
⁵ Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
⁶ Université Paris Descartes, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 3 Avenue Victoria, 75004 Paris, France; Service de Médecine Interne, Centre de Reference Maladies Systémiques Autoimmunes Rares d'Ile de France, Hôpital Cochin, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, 27 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Jacques, 75014 Paris, France.
⁷ Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Research Institute, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
⁸ Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
⁹ Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Biomedical Ethics Unit, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: brett.thombs@mcgill.ca.
¹⁰ University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
¹¹ Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
¹² Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
¹³ Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
¹⁴ McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
¹⁵ Scleroderma Foundation Michigan Chapter, Southfield, MI, USA.
¹⁶ Ottawa Scleroderma Support Group, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁷ Scleroderma Foundation, Danvers, MA, USA.
¹⁸ Sclérodermie Québec, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada.
¹⁹ Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
²⁰ Scleroderma Society of Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
²¹ Past-president of Scleroderma Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
²² Scleroderma Society of Ontario and Scleroderma Canada, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
²³ NVLE Dutch Patient Organization for Systemic Autoimmune Diseases, Utrecht, the Netherlands.

PMID: 33096402
PMCID: PMC7543945
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2020.110271

Abstract

Objective: Fear associated with medical vulnerability should be considered when assessing mental health among individuals with chronic medical conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective was to develop and validate the COVID-19 Fears Questionnaire for Chronic Medical Conditions.

Methods: Fifteen initial items were generated based on suggestions from 121 people with the chronic autoimmune disease systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma). Patients in a COVID-19 SSc cohort completed items between April 9 and 27, 2020. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and item analysis were used to select items for inclusion. Cronbach's alpha and Pearson correlations were used to evaluate internal consistency reliability and convergent validity. Factor structure was confirmed with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in follow-up data collection two weeks later.

Results: 787 participants completed baseline measures; 563 of them completed the follow-up assessment. Ten of 15 initial items were included in the final questionnaire. EFA suggested that a single dimension explained the data reasonably well. There were no indications of floor or ceiling effects. Cronbach's alpha was 0.91. Correlations between the COVID-19 Fears Questionnaire and measures of anxiety (r = 0.53), depressive symptoms (r = 0.44), and perceived stress (r = 0.50) supported construct validity. CFA supported the single-factor structure (χ²(35) = 311.2, p < 0.001, Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.97, Comparative Fit Index = 0.96, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.12).

Conclusion: The COVID-19 Fears Questionnaire for Chronic Medical Conditions can be used to assess fear among people at risk due to pre-existing medical conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Chronic medical condition; Coronavirus; Fear; Mental health; Scleroderma; Systemic sclerosis; Validation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Final 10-item COVID-19 Fears Questionnaire for Chronic Medical Conditions.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. Callaway E., Cyranoski D., Mallapaty S., Stoye E., Tollefson J. The coronavirus pandemic in five powerful charts. Nature. 2020;579:482–483. - PubMed
1. Brooks S.K., Webster R.K., Smith L.E. The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. Lancet. 2020;395:912–920. - PMC - PubMed
1. Salisbury H. Helen Salisbury: fear in the time of covid. BMJ. 2020;368:m1286. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m1286. https://doi - DOI - PubMed
1. Thombs D.B., Tao L., Wu Y. Preliminary COVID-19 fears questionnaire: systemic sclerosis and chronic medical conditions versions. OSF Preprints. 2020, April 7 doi: 10.31219/osf.io/m2ybt. - DOI
1. Ahorsu D.K., Lin C.Y., Imani V. The fear of COVID-19 scale: development and initial validation. Int. J. Ment. Health Ad. 2020 doi: 10.1007/s11469-020-00270-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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Validation of the COVID-19 Fears Questionnaires for Chronic Medical Conditions: A Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network COVID-19 Cohort study

Collaborators

Affiliations

Validation of the COVID-19 Fears Questionnaires for Chronic Medical Conditions: A Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network COVID-19 Cohort study

Authors

Collaborators

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical

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