Development and psychometric properties of COVID-19 related Healthcare Student stress scale (CHSSS)

Abstract

Background: There is no valid and reliable tool to measure COVID-19 healthcare stress felt by healthcare students. A scale was developed to assess COVID-19 stress in healthcare students and its psychometrics was examined. Methods: This is a two phases mixed-method study including a qualitative stage consisting of student interview and literature review to develop content of the tool. In the quantitative stage, the psychometrics of the scale was examined in 2020–2021. Results: The COVID-19 related healthcare student stress scale (CHSSS) featured five factors including fear of catching coronavirus, social constraints, changes in education, non-compliance of health protocols and worrying news and overload information, which totally explained 51.75% of the total variance. Conclusion: Validity and reliability of CHSSS with 17 items were supported to measure COVID-19 stress in healthcare students as a self-assessment tool. Researchers can utilize this tool to assess COVID-19 stress in healthcare students and introduce policies and intervention especially designed for healthcare students.