How to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on quality of life: COV19-QoL – the development, reliability and validity of a new scale

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Objective</jats:title><jats:p>The primary objective of this paper is to present a short measure of perceptions on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on quality of life, along with analysis of its reliability and validity in non-clinical and clinical samples.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>The scale was named The COV19 – Impact on Quality of Life (COV19-QoL) and it consists of six items presented in the form of a 5-point Likert scale. The items (i.e. statements) cover main areas of quality of life with regard to mental health. The scale was administered to 1346 participants from the general population in Croatia (the non-clinical sample) and 201 patients with severe mental illness recruited from four European countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia), constituting the clinical sample. The clinical sample was part of the randomised controlled trial IMPULSE funded by the European Commission. Data on age and gender were collected for both samples, along with psychiatric diagnoses collected for the clinical sample.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>Main findings included a high internal consistency of the scale and a moderate to strong positive correlation among participants’ scores on different items. Principal component analysis yielded one latent component. The correlation between participants’ age and their results on COV19-QoL was negligible. Participants’ perceived quality of life was the most impacted domain, whereas mental health, personal safety and levels of depression were the least impacted domains by the pandemic.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion</jats:title><jats:p>The COV19-QoL is a reliable and valid scale which can be used to explore the impact of COVID-19 on quality of life. The scale can be successfully used by researchers and clinicians interested in the impact of the pandemic on people experiencing various pre-existing mental health issues (e.g. anxiety, mood and personality disorders) as well as those without such issues.</jats:p></jats:sec>

Repercussion of COVID-19 Pandemic on Brazilians’ Quality of Life: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

“…The relationship between the perception of vulnerability (i.e., unemployment, food, and job insecurity) and low quality of life (QoL) is widely accepted, however there are relatively few studies that link the current pandemic to reduced QoL in the general population of Brazil [ 4 , 5 ]. Taking into account the relevance of QoL, it is necessary to consider the consequences of the pandemic for the population [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Family Burden of Schizophrenia in Pasung During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review

“…The impact on mental health can be explained with the assumption that people are more focused on their physical health (now and future), because COVID-19 has obvious physical health impacts, from mild to death. However, greater mental health effects might be discovered after the pandemic (Repišti et al, 2020). We believe that this impact will have a greater impact on vulnerable groups than healthy people because it has heavier risk factors, with no exception in schizophrenia patients and their families.…”

The Coronavirus Health and Impact Survey (CRISIS) reveals reproducible correlates of pandemic-related mood states across the Atlantic

“…37,38 This speaks to the value of measuring COVID-related fears and worries, as in the CRISIS and other instruments developed for the COVID pandemic. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] It also implies that active steps that could be taken to offset the impact and lessen the burden of changes in lifestyle by social, governmental or other agencies could have a significant impact in ameliorating negative mental health outcomes. 39 Future studies including repeated longitudinal assessments could assess the potential long-term effects of such policies on mental health and enable comprehensive evaluation of costs and benefits.…”

“…However, the most robust risk factors for disaster-related mental ill health -prior psychopathology and exposure severity 2,6 -remain largely understudied to date. With some exceptions [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] few of the COVID-19 specific assessment tools developed to track mental health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have been psychometrically validated.…”