Facing Fear and Embracing Safety: Validation of the COVID-19 Psychosocial Scales in Essential Frontline Workers During the Pandemic

Abstract

Background: The study has two main aims: (1) to analyze and validate the factor structure of the Fear of COVID-19, Workplace health and safety training, and Behavioral Safety Compliance scales (Study 1) in frontline Spanish COVID-19 workers from different sectors (food sector, hospitals, and death care services); and (2) to analyze and validate the factor structure of a reduced version of these scales (Study 2) in Spanish workers in the healthcare sector. Method: Analyses carried out using R 1.4.2. allowed us to validate the factor structure of the scales in the two studies. The sample consisted of 361 participants in study 1; and 708 participants in study 2. Results: The results indicate that the instruments offer adequate evidence of reliability and validity. Conclusions: The questionnaire (especially the short version) can be used by employees who were in frontline of COVID-19 in a reliable and valid way in the post-COVID-19 period, and even to prevent potential similar events that might threaten professionals’ physical and mental health in the future.