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

Selman Repišti; Nikolina Jovanović; Martina Rojnić Kuzman; Sara Medved; Stefan Jerotić; Emina Ribić; Tihana Majstorović; Silvana Markovska Simoska; Ljubisha Novotni; Miloš Milutinović; Biljana Blazevska Stoilkovska; Tamara Radojičić; Ivan Ristić; Mirjana Zebić; Tamara Pemovska; Manuela Russo

doi:10.2478/gp-2020-0016

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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

Global Psychiatry

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By: Selman Repišti, Nikolina Jovanović, Martina Rojnić Kuzman, Sara Medved, Stefan Jerotić, Emina Ribić, Tihana Majstorović, Silvana Markovska Simoska, Ljubisha Novotni, Miloš Milutinović, Biljana Blazevska Stoilkovska, Tamara Radojičić, Ivan Ristić, Mirjana Zebić, Tamara Pemovska and Manuela Russo

Open Access

|Jun 2020

Abstract

Objective

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.

Methods

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.

Results

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.

Discussion

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.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gp-2020-0016 | Journal eISSN: 2451-4950

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Language: English

Submitted on: May 9, 2020

Accepted on: May 30, 2020

Published on: Jun 25, 2020

Published by: Sciendo

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 2 issues per year

Keywords:

The COVID-19 pandemic,

severe mental illness,

Related subjects:

Psychiatry, psychotherapy,

Psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy,

Paediatric and juvenile psychatry and psychotherapy,

Social sciences,

Psychology,

Psychology, other

© 2020 Selman Repišti, Nikolina Jovanović, Martina Rojnić Kuzman, Sara Medved, Stefan Jerotić, Emina Ribić, Tihana Majstorović, Silvana Markovska Simoska, Ljubisha Novotni, Miloš Milutinović, Biljana Blazevska Stoilkovska, Tamara Radojičić, Ivan Ristić, Mirjana Zebić, Tamara Pemovska, Manuela Russo, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

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