Data Collection Tools
In the study, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and the Health
Information Sources Survey were used as data collection tools. The
FCV-19S was developed by Ahorsu
et al.25 and the Turkish validity and reliability
study was carried out by Ladikli
et al.26 The Cronbach’s alpha value of the scale was
0.86; therefore, the scale was seen to have good fit values as a result
of confirmatory factor analysis. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was
0.90 for this study. The FCV-19S consists of seven items and a single
dimension and is a five-point Likert-type (1=strongly disagree,
5=strongly agree). Subjects with high scores are assumed to experience
high fear.
The list of health information sources used in the study was taken from
the Turkey Health Literacy research.27 In addition to
these sources, “Scientific article” and “Other
……….….. (please specify)” options were
added by the researcher. Participants were asked how much they trusted
and used these information sources during the pandemic. The
participants’ trust in and use of health information sources were
evaluated separately and rated between 0 and 10. Here, “0 points”
indicates the least trusted or used and “10 points” the most trusted
or used health information source.