Assessing psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Fear of COVID‐19 Scale for Nurses.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Fear of COVID‐19 Scale (FCV‐19S). Methods: The study used a descriptive design and was conducted between April and May 2020. The participants were 213 nurses who were working in 12 hospitals in eight cities in Turkey. Content validity index, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to evaluate validity. Cronbach's alpha, item‐scale correlation and test–retest reliability were used to evaluate reliability. Results: The CVI was 0.92 (0.81–1.00). A one‐factor solution was identified and the factor loading of items in scale varied from 0.377 to 0.909. The Cronbach's alpha value was 0.889 in the current study. Item‐scale correlations ranged between 0.570 and 0.815. Intraclass correlation coefficient ranged from 0.71 to 0.93. Conclusion: The Turkish version of the FCV‐19S for nurses was found to be valid and reliable measure of the fear of nurses towards COVID‐19. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? With the high infection rate, relatively high mortality and limited treatment options, people worry about the COVID‐19 pandemic.Nurses, as a responsibility of their profession, have to be in contact with infected or possibly infected individuals in health care institutions.To protect the overall well‐being of nurses, it is essential to evaluate their physical, psychological and social status regularly, so it is necessary to evaluate the fear experienced by nurses due to COVID‐19. What this paper adds? The Turkish version of the Fear of COVID‐19 Scale for Nurses was found to be valid and reliable for assessing the nurse's fears towards COVID‐19. The implications of this paper: Inclusion of this instrument in nursing practices for Turkey may help to evaluate the fear experienced by nurses due to COVID‐19 and to take initiatives to alleviate this fear, for nurses to provide more effective care [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]