COVID-19 Burnout Subject to the Dynamic Zero-COVID Policy in Hong Kong: Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the COVID-19 Burnout Frequency Scale

Abstract

We sought to develop and validate a self-assessment burnout scale of the Chinese general population during the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of a dynamic zero-COVID policy. Factors relevant to individuals’ burnout during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic were identified in the literature and through the reviews of an expert panel. A convenience sample of 1087 was randomly divided into two subsamples and the scale’s psychometric properties were assessed. Findings suggested that the COVID-19 BFS has adequate reliability (α = 0.90) along with factorial, concurrent, and convergent validity. Results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the one-factor structure of the scale. Concurrent validity results indicate a significant positive correlation between COVID-19 BFS and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (r = 0.131, p < 0.001), suggesting that individuals with higher levels of burnout may also have higher levels of fear of COVID, or vice versa. The scale was also correlated positively with being against the dynamic zero-COVID strategy (r = 0.340, p < 0.001), indicating that a higher level of burnout may be associated with individuals who are against the dynamic zero-COVID strategy. The results suggest the five-item COVID-19 BFS is a valid and reliable scale for the measurement of burnout frequency of the Chinese general population in relation to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic in a dynamic zero-COVID policy context.

COVID-19 pandemic fatigue and its sociodemographic and psycho-behavioral correlates: a population-based cross-sectional study in Hong Kong

“…The present study also found that both personal and family fear of COVID-19 were most strongly associated with high pandemic fatigue, and seemed to be more so than depression and anxiety. This echoes with previous work on "pandemic burnout", which showed that this related construct was also positively correlated with fear of COVID-19 19 . As we have also shown in FamCov1 that fear of COVID-19 was associated positively with perceived harms and negatively with perceived benefits from the pandemic 25,26 , further studies on whether high pandemic fatigue show similar associations like fear of COVID-19 are warranted.…”

“…A concept closely related to pandemic fatigue is that of “pandemic burnout”, a state of feeling emotionally and physically drained from prolonged anti-pandemic measures 19 . It could be measured by a short, five-item instrument, and was positively correlated with fear of COVID-19 and intention to adopt a “living with COVID” policy, but negatively correlated with COVID-19 vaccination status and support for the “dynamic zero COVID-19 strategy” in a convenient Hong Kong sample 19 .…”

“…Pandemic fatigue was variously described in the literature as: (1) a subjective feeling associated with depression, anxiety, lower resilience, poorer sleep quality, and poorer mental health among healthcare workers and patients amid the prolonged pandemic [6][7][8][9][10][11] , (2) lower adherence to certain COVID-19 protective behaviors over time in the general population 9,[11][12][13][14][15][16] , or (3) an explanatory construct for the underlying phenomena 17,18 . A concept closely related to pandemic fatigue is that of "pandemic burnout", a state of feeling emotionally and physically drained from prolonged anti-pandemic measures 19 . It could be measured by a short, five-item instrument, and was positively correlated with fear of COVID-19 and intention to adopt a "living with COVID" policy, but negatively correlated with COVID-19 vaccination status and support for the "dynamic zero COVID-19 strategy" in a convenient Hong Kong sample 19 .…”

The COVID-19 burnout scale: Development and initial validation

“…There are only two scales that measure pandemic-related burnout in the general population (Lau et al, 2022; Yıldırım & Solmaz, 2022). However, Yıldırım & Solmaz (2022) did not develop a new scale but they adapted and validated the Burnout Measure-Short Version in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic (Malach-Pines, 2005).…”

“…However, Yıldırım & Solmaz (2022) did not develop a new scale but they adapted and validated the Burnout Measure-Short Version in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic (Malach-Pines, 2005). Also, Lau et al (2022) developed and validated a COVID-19 burnout frequency scale but this scale has been validated within the context of a dynamic zero-COVID-19 policy in Hong Kong. Therefore, these two scales have disadvantages and are not appropriate to measure the pandemic-related burnout of the general population in a global context.…”