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Background: Phubbing, a phenomenon of ignoring others in face-to-face conversations due to mobile phone use, can be assessed using a Phubbing Scale (PS). Recently, the PS has been shortened into an eight-item version, the PS-8. However, psychometric properties of the PS-8 among Iranian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani individuals remain understudied, especially using advanced psychometric testing, such as Rasch and network analyses. Methods: Participants residing in Iran, Bangladesh, and Pakistan (n = 1902; 50.4% females; mean age = 26.3 years) completed the PS-8 and the Internet Disorder Scale-Short Form (IDS9-SF) via an online survey. Network analysis was used to examine if PS-8 items were differentiated from IDS9-SF items; confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the factor structure and measurement invariance of the PS-8; Rasch modeling was used to examine the dimensionality of the PS-8 and differential item functioning (DIF). Results: Network analysis showed that PS-8 items were clustered together with a distance to the IDS9-SF items. The CFA results supported a two-factor structure of the PS-8, and the two-factor structure was found to be invariant across countries and women and men. Rasch model results indicated that the two PS-8 subscales were both unidimensional and did not display DIF across countries and gender/sex. Conclusion: The PS-8 is a feasible and robust instrument for healthcare providers, especially mental health professionals, to quickly assess and evaluate individuals' phubbing behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet Disorder Scale–Short Form (IDS9-SF) is a validated instrument assessing internet disorder which modified the internet gaming disorder criteria proposed in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). However, the relationships between the nine items in the IDS9-SF are rarely investigated. The present study used network analysis to investigate the features of the IDS9-SF among three populations in Bangladesh, Iran, and Pakistan. Data were collected (N = 1901; 957 [50.3%] females; 666 [35.0%] Pakistani, 533 [28.1%] Bangladesh, and 702 [36.9%] Iranians) using an online survey platform (e.g., Google Forms). All the participants completed the IDS9-SF. The central-stability-coefficients of the nine IDS9-SF items were 0.71, 0.89, 0.96, 0.98, 0.98, 1.00, 0.67, 0.79, and 0.91, respectively. The node centrality was stable and interpretable in the network. The Network Comparison Test (NCT) showed that the network structure had no significant differences among Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Iranian participants (p-values = 0.172 to 0.371). Researchers may also use the IDS9-SF to estimate underlying internet addiction for their target participants and further explore and investigate the phenomenon related to internet addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Aside from personal beliefs, young adults' intention to uptake the COVID‐19 vaccine can be influenced by their fear of COVID‐19 and perceived infectability of COVID‐19. The present study incorporated fear of COVID‐19 and perceived infectability with the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to form an expanded TPB to analyze factors affecting Pakistani young adults' intentions to uptake the COVID‐vaccine in Pakistan. Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted and recruited participants from Pakistani social media users. The proposed extended TPB model was examined by using structural equation modeling. Results: A total of 1034 individuals replied to the survey. The three factors of the original theory of planned behavior and the fear of COVID‐19 were positively related to their intention to uptake COVID‐19 vaccination (r = 0.25‐0.66). Moreover, the perceived infectability positively influenced the three theories of planned behavioral factors and the fear of COVID‐19 (r = 0.27‐0.60), also affecting the participants' intentions to uptake COVID‐19 vaccination. Conclusions: Perceived infectability was positively related to the participants' intentions to uptake COVID‐19 vaccination, and perceived behavioral control was the strongest mediator. More evidence‐based information concerning treatments and COVID‐19 vaccination are needed to encourage individuals to uptake the vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has seriously affected the lives of millions of people across the world. It has also heavily burdened healthcare professionals and the virus poses serious risks for their personal and professional lives. Therefore, the present study examined the associations between fear of COVID-19 and workplace phobia among doctors in Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: An online survey was conducted among 421 doctors in Pakistan between April 10 and May 25, 2020. The Workplace Phobia Scale (WPS) and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) were the main psychometric instruments used in this study.Results: There was a significant positive relationship between fear of COVID-19 and workplace panic anxiety and workplace avoidance behavior. Significantly higher fear of COVID-19 was found among (i) females compared to males, (ii) doctors with 5 years or less of work experience compared to those with more than 5 years, and (iii) postgraduate trainees compared with other ranks. Two groups (doctors who were above 30 years old and postgraduate trainees) were found to have higher levels of workplace phobia compared to their counterparts. Doctors with severe levels of fear of COVID-19 had significantly higher levels of workplace panic anxiety and workplace avoidance behavior.Conclusions: Fear of COVID-19 was significantly associated with workplace phobia which may negatively affect doctors' performance. Therefore, important steps are needed to protect doctors' health by providing sufficient resources to allay their fears and anxieties which consequently help them in carrying out their frontline duties in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Poor quality sleep and emotional disturbances are expected in times of crisis. COVID‐19 has severely impacted healthcare worldwide and with that comes the concern about its effects on healthcare workers. The purpose of the present study was to assess sleep quality and psychological distress in healthcare workers during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods: The present work is a multi‐centric cross‐sectional study targeting healthcare workers from India, Pakistan, and Nepal. It used an online version of the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index and the General Health Questionnaire, and data were analyzed using SPSS V.24. Results: A total of 1790 participants completed the questionnaire. Of the 1790 participants, 57% reported poor sleep quality, and 10% reported a high level of psychological distress. A cross‐cultural comparison found some differences between the different groups of participants. The details of the differences were further explored in the article. Conclusion: The present study highlights that a significant proportion of healthcare workers are affected by poor sleep quality and psychological distress during the COVID‐19 pandemic. It also emphasizes the imperative to provide them with psychosocial support to avoid potential short‐ and long‐term psychological consequences of these troubling times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The threats of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have caused fears worldwide. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) was recently developed to assess the fear of COVID-19. Although many studies found that the FCV-19S is psychometrically sound, it is unclear whether the FCV-19S is invariant across countries. The present study aimed to examine the measurement invariance of the FCV-19S across eleven countries., Design: Cross-sectional study., Methods: Using data collected from prior research on Bangladesh (N = 8,550), United Kingdom (N = 344), Brazil (N = 1,843), Taiwan (N = 539), Italy (N = 249), New Zealand (N = 317), Iran (N = 717), Cuba (N = 772), Pakistan (N = 937), Japan (N = 1,079) and France (N = 316), comprising a total 15,663 participants, the present study used the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Rasch differential item functioning (DIF) to examine the measurement invariance of the FCV-19S across country, gender and age (children aged below 18 years, young to middle-aged adults aged between 18 and 60 years, and older people aged above 60 years)., Results: The unidimensional structure of the FCV-19S was confirmed. Multigroup CFA showed that FCV-19S was partially invariant across country and fully invariant across gender and age. DIF findings were consistent with the findings from multigroup CFA. Many DIF items were displayed for country, few DIF items were displayed for age, and no DIF items were displayed for gender., Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, the FCV-19S is a good psychometric instrument to assess fear of COVID-19 during the pandemic period. Moreover, the use of FCV-19S is supported in at least ten countries with satisfactory psychometric properties., (© 2021 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)