Extending the Common Sense Model to Explore the Impact of the Fear of COVID-19 on Quality of Life in an International Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort

Hayes, Bree; Apputhurai, Pragalathan; Mikocka-Walus, Antonina; Barreiro-de Acosta, Manuel; Bernstein, Charles N.; Burgell, Rebecca; Burisch, Johan; Bennebroek Evertsz, Floor; Ferreira, Nuno; Graff, Lesley A.; Trindade, Inês A.; Gearry, Richard; Lo, Bobby; Mokrowiecka, Anna; Moser, Gabriele; Petrik, Megan; Stengel, Andreas; Knowles, Simon R.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to use an extended common sense model (CSM) to evaluate the impact of fear of COVID-19 on quality of life (QoL) in an international inflammatory bowel disease cohort. An online study involving 319 adults (75% female, mean (SD) 14.06 (15.57) years of symptoms) completed the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale, Brief Illness Perceptions Questionnaire, Fear of Contracting COVID-19 Scale, Brief-COPE, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, and the EUROHIS-QOL. The extended CSM had an excellent fit (χ(2) (9) = 17.06, p = .05, χ(2)/N = 1.90, RMSEA = 0.05, SRMR = 0.04, CFI = .99, TLI = .97, GFI = 0.99), indicating the influence of gastrointestinal symptoms on QoL was mediated by illness perceptions, fear of COVID-19, adaptive and maladaptive coping, and psychological distress. Interventions targeting the fear of COVID-19 in the context of an individual’s perceptions will likely enhance QoL during the pandemic.