Results of a factor analysis of items regarding COVID-19 pandemic-specific workload among medical staff in Germany
Introduction Epidemics lead to an increase in occupational stress and psychological strain among medical staff (cf. Mulfinger et al. 2020). However, there are no validated questionnaires to measure stress caused by an epidemic such as Covid-19, instead self-constructed questions are used frequentl...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2021-04-01
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| Series: | European Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933821008130/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797617400792743936 |
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| author | L. Jerg-Bretzke M. Kempf M. Jarczok R. Kilian K. Weimer H. Gündel E. Morawa N. Hiebel S. Schmiedgen C. Albus P. Beschoner |
| author_facet | L. Jerg-Bretzke M. Kempf M. Jarczok R. Kilian K. Weimer H. Gündel E. Morawa N. Hiebel S. Schmiedgen C. Albus P. Beschoner |
| author_sort | L. Jerg-Bretzke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Introduction
Epidemics lead to an increase in occupational stress and psychological strain among medical staff (cf. Mulfinger et al. 2020). However, there are no validated questionnaires to measure stress caused by an epidemic such as Covid-19, instead self-constructed questions are used frequently.
Objectives
The aim was to develop items for the assessment of specific workload in epidemics which can be used to obtain longitudinal data.
Methods
A sample of N=8078 persons working in the health care sector in Germany participated in the VOICE, EviPan online survey addressing the burden of Covid-19 pandemic during the 2nd quarter of 2020. We used 15 self-constructed items to examine whether these items can represent Covid-19 specific topics. A total of N=7549 (24% males) had complete data to run a confirmatory factor analysis using SEM procedure in Stata 14.2.
Results
Five factors were identified a priory: Factor (F) 1: Workload due to Covid-19 pandemic (4 items; Cronbachs’ alpha (α))=0.740); F 2: Fear, uncertainty of SarsCoV-2infection (self and others) (3 items; α= 0.741); F 3: Patient safety (3 items; α=0.533; F 4: Perception of protection concepts (2 items; α=0.590); F 5: Dysfunctional coping strategies (3 items; α=0.447). Fit-Indices: χ²(73)= 1373.849, p<.001, CFI=.946, TLI=.923, RMSEA=.0049, SRMR=.037)
Conclusions
We identified 5 factors associated with problems occurring during the Covid-19 pandemic with acceptable to good internal consistency. Most of the constructed items could therefore be used in further surveys to monitor stress, as a basis for recommendations in the area of stress prevention and interventions for medical staff during epidemics.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:55:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3016234b083a47cbb4372909173ba943 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0924-9338 1778-3585 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:55:27Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-3016234b083a47cbb4372909173ba9432023-11-17T05:05:45ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Psychiatry0924-93381778-35852021-04-0164S303S30310.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.813Results of a factor analysis of items regarding COVID-19 pandemic-specific workload among medical staff in GermanyL. Jerg-Bretzke0M. Kempf1M. Jarczok2R. Kilian3K. Weimer4H. Gündel5E. Morawa6N. Hiebel7S. Schmiedgen8C. Albus9P. Beschoner10Klinik Für Psychosomatische Medizin Und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Ulm, Ulm, GermanyKlinik Für Psychosomatische Medizin Und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Ulm, Ulm, GermanyKlinik Für Psychosomatische Medizin Und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Ulm, Ulm, GermanyPsychiatrie Und Psychotherapie Ii, Universität Ulm, Günzburg, GermanyKlinik Für Psychosomatische Medizin Und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Ulm, Ulm, GermanyKlinik Für Psychosomatische Medizin Und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Ulm, Ulm, GermanyPsychosomatik, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, GermanyKlinik Für Psychosomatische Medizin Und Psychotherapie, Universität Bonn, Bonn, GermanyKlinik Und Poliklinik Für Psychotherapie Und Psychosomatik, Universitätsklinikum Dresden, Dresden, GermanyKlinik Und Poliklinik Für Psychosomatik Und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinik Köln, Köln, GermanyKlinik Für Psychosomatische Medizin Und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Ulm, Ulm, Germany Introduction Epidemics lead to an increase in occupational stress and psychological strain among medical staff (cf. Mulfinger et al. 2020). However, there are no validated questionnaires to measure stress caused by an epidemic such as Covid-19, instead self-constructed questions are used frequently. Objectives The aim was to develop items for the assessment of specific workload in epidemics which can be used to obtain longitudinal data. Methods A sample of N=8078 persons working in the health care sector in Germany participated in the VOICE, EviPan online survey addressing the burden of Covid-19 pandemic during the 2nd quarter of 2020. We used 15 self-constructed items to examine whether these items can represent Covid-19 specific topics. A total of N=7549 (24% males) had complete data to run a confirmatory factor analysis using SEM procedure in Stata 14.2. Results Five factors were identified a priory: Factor (F) 1: Workload due to Covid-19 pandemic (4 items; Cronbachs’ alpha (α))=0.740); F 2: Fear, uncertainty of SarsCoV-2infection (self and others) (3 items; α= 0.741); F 3: Patient safety (3 items; α=0.533; F 4: Perception of protection concepts (2 items; α=0.590); F 5: Dysfunctional coping strategies (3 items; α=0.447). Fit-Indices: χ²(73)= 1373.849, p<.001, CFI=.946, TLI=.923, RMSEA=.0049, SRMR=.037) Conclusions We identified 5 factors associated with problems occurring during the Covid-19 pandemic with acceptable to good internal consistency. Most of the constructed items could therefore be used in further surveys to monitor stress, as a basis for recommendations in the area of stress prevention and interventions for medical staff during epidemics. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933821008130/type/journal_articleMedical stafffactor analysisworkloadCOVID-19 |
| spellingShingle | L. Jerg-Bretzke M. Kempf M. Jarczok R. Kilian K. Weimer H. Gündel E. Morawa N. Hiebel S. Schmiedgen C. Albus P. Beschoner Results of a factor analysis of items regarding COVID-19 pandemic-specific workload among medical staff in Germany European Psychiatry Medical staff factor analysis workload COVID-19 |
| title | Results of a factor analysis of items regarding COVID-19 pandemic-specific workload among medical staff in Germany |
| title_full | Results of a factor analysis of items regarding COVID-19 pandemic-specific workload among medical staff in Germany |
| title_fullStr | Results of a factor analysis of items regarding COVID-19 pandemic-specific workload among medical staff in Germany |
| title_full_unstemmed | Results of a factor analysis of items regarding COVID-19 pandemic-specific workload among medical staff in Germany |
| title_short | Results of a factor analysis of items regarding COVID-19 pandemic-specific workload among medical staff in Germany |
| title_sort | results of a factor analysis of items regarding covid 19 pandemic specific workload among medical staff in germany |
| topic | Medical staff factor analysis workload COVID-19 |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933821008130/type/journal_article |
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