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.