Validation of the healthcare workers’ version of the Pandemic Grief Scale among frontline nursing professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea

Abstract

IntroductionNurses have been repeatedly exposed to unexpected death and grief during COVID-19 pandemic, and it is necessary to provide grief support for the nurses who have experienced the loss of patients to COVID-19. We aimed to explore the reliability and validity of the Pandemic Grief Scale (PGS) for Healthcare Workers among frontline nursing professionals working in COVID-19 inpatient wards whose patients may have died.MethodsAn anonymous online survey was performed among frontline nursing professionals working in COVID-19 wards in three tertiary-level general hospitals in Korea between April 7 and 26, 2021. In total, 229 from participants who confirmed they had witnessed death of patients were employed for the statistical analysis. The survey included demographic characteristics and rating scales, including the Korean version of the PGS for Healthcare Workers, the Fear of COVID-19 scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 items, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items.ResultsThe single-factor structure of the Korean version of the PGS for Healthcare Workers showed good fits for the model. The scale had good internal consistency and convergent validity with other anxiety and depression scales.ConclusionThe Korean version of the PGS of Healthcare Workers was valid and reliable for measuring grief reactions among nursing professionals facing the pandemic. It will be helpful in evaluating the grief reaction of the healthcare workers and providing them with a psychological support system.

Validation of the Pandemic Grief Risk Factors and Its Relationship With Work-Related Stress and Grief Reaction Among Healthcare Workers Who Witnessed Patient Deaths

“… 31 Those with generalized anxiety were found to experience more severe pandemic grief than those without generalized anxiety. 21 In our study, depression and generalized anxiety seem to interfere with the normal grieving process. Given that acute grief response during the initial stages of mourning can elevate the risk of prolonged grief, 8 9 10 it is crucial to address depression and generalized anxiety, particularly among individuals facing higher levels of work-related stress.…”

“… 31 Similarly, another study revealed that pandemic grief is higher in the group of people with depression than those without depression. 21 Besides, generalized anxiety partially mediated the association of work-related stress with pandemic grief. The finding aligns with the previous study’s result, which showed that viral anxiety directly increased pandemic grief.…”

“…An overall PGS score of seven indicates probable dysfunctional grief associated with COVID-19. This study, applied the Korean version of the PGS for healthcare workers 21 ; The Cronbach’s alpha in this sample was 0.842.…”

Pandemic Grief Reaction and Intolerance of Uncertainty on the Cognitive-Behavioral Model of COVID-Related Hypochondriasis Among Firefighters

“…The PGS scale was also developed to assess healthcare workers’ grief reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we applied the Korean version of PGS validated among healthcare workers [ 31 ] after changing the terms “patient” into “people.” Cronbach’s α among this sample was 0.851.…”