The COVID-19 pandemic has determined a considerable increase in psychological distress worldwide. Compared with the general population, patients with chronic conditions experience higher stress levels due to the increased risk of worse health outcomes from COVID-19 infection. Worries and fear of contagion could cause them to avoid going to their health facilities for medical examinations, which results in higher risks of morbidity and mortality. The present study aimed to develop and validate the Psychological Consequences of a Pandemic Event (PCPE) self-report questionnaire, and to assess the psychological effects of exposure to a pandemic on mood and on treatment adherence appropriate for patients with chronic diseases. Data were analysed with Rasch analysis after an Exploratory Factor Analysis and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis. We identified a final set of 10 items, divided into two independent factors labelled “pandemic-related anxiety” and “confidence in care”. Finally, we transformed the raw scores of both factors into two interval scales (two rulers) that met the requirements of the fundamental measurement. The PCPE questionnaire has demonstrated to be a short and easy-to-administer measure, with valid and reliable psychometric properties, capable of assessing pandemic-related anxiety and confidence in care in patients with chronic clinical conditions.

中文翻译：

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使用流行病事件的心理后果 (PCPE) 问卷测量慢性病患者与流行病相关的焦虑和护理信心

COVID-19 大流行已导致全球心理困扰大幅增加。与普通人群相比，慢性病患者因感染 COVID-19 而导致健康状况恶化的风险增加，因此承受更高的压力。对传染的担忧和恐惧可能会导致他们避免前往医疗机构进行体检，从而导致发病和死亡的风险更高。本研究旨在开发和验证流行病事件的心理后果（PCPE）自我报告问卷，并评估接触流行病对慢性病患者情绪和治疗依从性的心理影响。在探索性因素分析和验证性因素分析之后，使用拉希分析对数据进行分析。我们确定了最后一组 10 个项目，分为两个独立因素，分别标记为“流行病相关焦虑”和“对护理的信心”。最后，我们将两个因素的原始分数转化为两个满足基本测量要求的区间量表（两个标尺）。PCPE 问卷已被证明是一种简短且易于实施的测量方法，具有有效和可靠的心理测量特性，能够评估慢性临床疾病患者与大流行相关的焦虑和护理信心。