THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT SCALE DURING EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASE OUTBREAKS (THAI VERSION) FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS: A CASE STUDY OF THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK

Abstract

               Objective: To develop a mental health assessment scale (Thai version) for healthcare workers and to examine its psychometric properties.

               Methods: The research methodology consisted of three steps: 1) generating questions according to a review and synthesis of research on mental health assessment in the aspects of stress, anxiety, depression, and fatigue during the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand; 2) testing the psychometric properties of the developed scale using item objective congruence (IOC), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using the criteria for fit indices of the empirical data, known-group validity analysis using t-test analysis, and reliability using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The participants were 659 healthcare workers that performed their duties during the COVID-19 pandemic.

               Results: The IOC was between 0.60 and 1.00. The CFA results showed that the model developed from related theories was consistent with the empirical data (χ²(273) = 714.78; p < .01; RMSEA = .05; CFI = 1.00; TLI = .99; Gamma Hat = .95; NCI = 1.00). The internal consistency was good to excellent, with Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.88 to 0.97.

               Conclusion: The Thai version of the mental health assessment scale for healthcare workers is appropriate and can be used for screening, following up, and monitoring mental health status during future outbreaks of emerging diseases.