The influence of information sources on intention changes to receive COVID-19 vaccination: A prospective cohort study in Japan

BACKGROUND@#Before the COVID-19 vaccine became available, many Japanese people were undecided about whether or not to receive them. Their decisions were keys to achieving herd immunity. The impact of the type of information source on the COVID-19 vaccine uptake decision-making process remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between information source usage on COVID-19 and subsequent vaccine uptake status among those who have yet to decide whether to receive vaccines from non-prioritized people for vaccination.@*METHODS@#Prospective cohort online self-administered surveys were conducted in February 2021 (T1), before the start of the mass vaccination program, and September-October 2021 (T2), when the vaccines were available to all citizens. The survey's target population was registered monitors of an Internet research company. Participants who answered "I want to get vaccinated after waiting to see how it goes." at T1 were eligible for analysis. The outcome variable was the COVID-19 vaccine uptake status in T2, and the predictors were 20 types of information sources, categorized based on people (family members, etc.), institutions (governments, etc.), or media (TV news, etc.). Adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using logistic regression adjusted for possible confounders.@*RESULTS@#The 5,139 respondents, mean age and standard deviation was 42.8 ± 12.5, 55.7% female, were eligible for analysis. 85.7% completed vaccination (including reserved/intended people) in T2. In the multivariate logistic analysis, odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for vaccine uptake were 1.49 (1.18-1.89) for workplaces/schools, 1.81 (1.33-2.47) for LINE, 0.69 (0.55-0.86) for Internet news and 0.62 (0.48-0.82) for video sharing sites.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The type of information source usage played an important role in the decision to vaccinate against COVID-19. Although caution is needed in interpreting the results, obtaining information from workplaces/schools and LINE was influential in promoting immunization.

Ibaraki's Amabie-chan usage and its association with infection prevention behavior and fear of COVID-19: a cross-sectional preliminary survey of the Tsukuba Salutogenic Occupational Cohort Study

BACKGROUND@#Ibaraki's Amabie-chan is a COVID-19 infection control system unique to Ibaraki prefecture, Japan. It requires residents to register each time they visit events, commercial facilities, and restaurants. The number of registrations has been limited, and its function alerting about people positive for COVID-19 infection seems not to be working. Nevertheless, registration with the system might have some impact on the user's behavior. In the current preliminary survey, the possible impact of Ibaraki's Amabie-chan on infection prevention behavior and fear of COVID-19 was investigated.@*METHODS@#A cross-sectional, web-based, anonymous, and self-administered survey was conducted at two workplaces in Tsukuba Science City, Ibaraki, Japan. The first survey was conducted at one of the workplaces in November 2020, and the second survey, at the other workplace in February 2021. Variables of interest were sex, age group, marital status, employment status, Ibaraki's Amabie-chan use, COVID-19 Contact-Confirming Application use, ten items of infection prevention behaviors, and fear of COVID-19. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was performed.@*RESULTS@#In both surveys, use of Ibaraki's Amabie-chan was significantly associated with COCOA use and with "physical condition management such as body temperature measurement." No association was found with other infection prevention behaviors or with fear of COVID-19.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Our findings did not provide sufficient evidence for the effectiveness of Ibaraki's Amabie-chan in regard to users' infection control behavior. Further detailed study is needed to investigate the effectiveness in terms of infection prevention and the cost-effectiveness of Ibaraki's Amabie-chan.

Association between flourishing mental health and occupational stress among workers of Tsukuba Science City, Japan: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND@#Flourishing, defined as the coexistence of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, is the most favorable end of the mental health spectrum. A growing body of evidence has demonstrated the association between flourishing mental health and favorable work-related outcomes. However, epidemiology of flourishing mental health is scarce in Japan. Moreover, the relationship between flourishing mental health and occupational stress has not been elaborated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate (1) the prevalence of flourishing mental health and (2) the association between flourishing mental health and occupational stress among Japanese workers.@*METHODS@#The present survey was conducted in from February to March 2017 via an anonymous, self-administered, and web-based questionnaire among workers in Tsukuba Science City, Japan. Mental Health Continuum Short Form was used to assess flourishing mental health. We performed binomial logistic regression analyses to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of occupational stress for flourishing mental health, controlling for sociodemographic factors.@*RESULTS@#A total of 7012 respondents (4402 men, 2610 women) were analyzed. The overall prevalence of flourishing mental health among the respondents was 12.4%. Full-time (permanent) workers were less likely to be flourishing. Reward from work (AOR = 2.34, 95% CI = 2.04-2.68), support from colleagues and superiors (AOR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.44-1.94), and workload (AOR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.05-1.36) were positively associated with flourishing mental health, whereas mental workload (AOR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.57-0.75) was inversely associated with flourishing mental health.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The findings of the present study shed light on the association between flourishing mental health and occupational stress.