Students' attitude and sleep pattern during school closure following COVID-19 pandemic quarantine: a web-based survey in south of Iran

BACKGROUND@#School closure is one of the main policies of global health care strategies performed worldwide. Despite all benefits, there might be some threats for younger groups spending their time in quarantine. This study aims to determine the impacts of lockdown and school closure on children's major lifestyle aspects, especially their leisure and sleep pattern during the COVID-19 pandemic.@*METHODS@#For the purpose of this study, an online questionnaire was distributed from 14th to 31st of March 2020 among the schools and students from the first grade to the 12th grade (before university) in Fars province, southern Iran. The questionnaire consisted of five sections which included data regarding the students' general information, activity priorities, adherence to quarantine, attitude toward school closure, and sleep patterns.@*RESULTS@#In our study, 20,697 filled questionnaires were received from the participants with an average age of 13.76 years; 29.7% of them were male, 80.6% were from urban areas, and 83.3% were from public schools. The overall first preference of students during school closure was mobile and computer games (30.1%), followed by studying (26.6%) and watching television (13.8%). Our results demonstrated that the majority of students adhered to social distancing and there was also a significant correlation among education levels and desire for schools to be closed till the end of the semester (P = 0.015). Also, regarding sleep patterns, the majority (53.5%) had above 12 h of sleep throughout the day.@*CONCLUSION@#It seems that lockdown following COVID-19 pandemic has changed various aspects of the students' lifestyle remarkably, especially by increasing screen time and even sleep duration and pattern. We believe that certain strategies should be implemented by the Health and Educational Ministry to control not only the visible side effects of the quarantine period, but also the collateral consequences on their psychological and mental health.

Translating transmissibility measures into recommendations for coronavirus prevention

ABSTRACT The rapid increase in clinical cases of the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, suggests high transmissibility. However, the estimates of the basic reproductive number reported in the literature vary widely. Considering this, we drew the function of contact-rate reduction required to control the transmission from both detectable and undetectable sources. Based on this, we offer a set of recommendations for symptomatic and asymptomatic populations during the current pandemic. Understanding the dynamics of transmission is essential to support government decisions and improve the community's adherence to preventive measures.

School feeding in Covid-19 times: mapping of public policy execution strategies by state administration / Alimentação escolar em tempos de Covid-19: mapeamento das estratégias de execução da política pública pelos gestores estaduais

Abstract Objective Identify and discuss strategies for execution the National School Feeding Program by state administrations during the coronavirus disease pandemic 2019. Methods This is a descriptive cross-sectional investigation. An exploratory review of the official publication of state governments and the Federal District to find out the strategies for the execution of the National School Feeding Program, after school closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Information on the form of execution and the public served by the action were reviewed in a descriptive manner. Results Out of the 27 federative units, 55% distributed food kits, 26% supplied food cards/vouchers and 19% provided food kits and food cards/vouchers. As to the scope, 37% maintained general service, 30% attended schoolchildren from families registered in the Brazilian cash transfer program (Bolsa Família) and 26% attended schoolchildren from families registered in the Underprivileged Families Registry. Conclusion The National School Feeding Program was weak in terms of assuring the Human Right to Adequate Food and Food and Nutrition Security. The slowness of the federal administration and the gaps in the regulations issued may explain the changes in the reported strategies, which, in their majority, violate the principle of universality.

RESUMO Objetivo Identificar e discutir estratégias de execução do Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar adotadas pelas gestões estaduais durante a pandemia de coronavírus 2019. Métodos Trata-se de pesquisa transversal descritiva. Foram realizadas visitas exploratórias nas páginas oficiais dos governos estaduais e do Distrito Federal para obtenção de informações a respeito das estratégias de execução do Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar após a suspensão das aulas pela pandemia por de COVID-19. As informações sobre a forma de execução e o público atendido pela ação foram analisadas de modo descritivo. Resultados Das 27 unidades federativas, 55% distribuíram kits de alimentos, 26% entregaram cartão/vale alimentação e 19% forneceram kits de alimentos e cartão/vale alimentação. Com relação à abrangência, 37% mantiveram atendimento universal, 30% atenderam escolares de famílias cadastradas no Programa Bolsa Família e 26% atenderam escolares de famílias registradas no Cadastro Único. Conclusão Verificou-se a fragilidade do Programa Nacional de Alimentação Escolar quanto à garantia do Direito Humano à Alimentação Adequada e da Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional. A morosidade do gestor federal e lacunas das normativas expedidas podem explicar as modificações nas estratégias relatadas e que, em sua maioria, ferem o princípio da universalidade.

Adesão às medidas de restrição de contato físico e disseminação da COVID-19 no Brasil / Adhesión a medidas de restricción de contacto físico y diseminación del COVID-19 en Brasil / Adherence to physical contact restriction measures and the spread of COVID-19 in Brazil

Objetivo: Analisar a adesão da população às medidas de restrição de contato físico e disseminação da COVID-19 no Brasil. Métodos: Inquérito de saúde, realizado pela internet, com amostragem em cadeia, no período de 24 de abril a 24 de maio de 2020. A intensidade da adesão à restrição de contato físico foi analisada segundo características sociodemográficas, utilizando-se modelos de regressão logística para investigar associações com 'Nenhuma/pouca adesão'. Resultados: Dos 45.161 participantes, 74,2% (73,8-74,6%) relataram intensa adesão às medidas. O grupo que não aderiu às medidas foi composto homens (31,7%), com idade de 30 a 49 anos (36,4%), baixa escolaridade (33,0%), trabalhando durante a pandemia (81,3%), residentes nas regiões Norte (28,1%) e Centro-Oeste (28,5%) do país. Houve importante redução das taxas de crescimento diário, de 45,4 para 5,0%. Conclusão: Grande parte da população brasileira aderiu às medidas de restrição de contato físico, o que, possivelmente, contribuiu para reduzir a disseminação da COVID-19.

Objetivo: Analizar la adhesión de los brasileños a las medidas de restricción de contacto físico y diseminación del COVID-19. Métodos: Encuesta de salud realizada por internet con muesteo em cadena entre 24 de abril y 24 de mayo de 2020. La intensidad de la adhesión a la restricción de contacto físico se analizó de acuerdo con características sociodemográficas, utilizando modelos de regresión logística para investigar asociaciones con 'Ninguna/poca adhesión'. Resultados: Participaron 45.161, de los cuales un 74,2% (73,8;74,6%) informó intensa adhesión. El grupo con poca adhesión se caracterizó por hombres (31,7%), 30-49 años (36,4%), baja educación (33,0%), que trabajaron durante la pandemia (81,3%), residiendo em las regiones Norte (28,1%) y Centro-Oeste (28,5%) del país. En Brasil hubo una reducción relevante em las tasas de crecimiento diario, del 45,4% al 5,0%. Conclusión: Gran parte de la población adhirió a las medidas de restricción de contacto físico, lo que posiblemente contribuyó a la disminución de la diseminación del COVID-19.

Objective: To analyze the adherence of the population to physical contact restriction measures and the spread of COVID-19 in Brazil. Methods: This was a web-based health survey carried out from April 24 to May 24 2020 using a chain sampling procedure. Intensity of adherence to physical contact restriction measures was analyzed according to sociodemographic characteristics, using logistic regression models to investigate associations with 'No/little adherence'. Results: Of the 45,161 participants, 74.2% (73.8;74.6%) reported intense adherence to the measures. The group that did not adhere to the measures was characterized by men (31.7%), those aged 30 to 49 (36.4%), those with low education levels (33.0%), those who worked during the pandemic (81.3%), those resident in the North (28.1%) and Midwest (28.5%) regions of the country. In Brazil as a whole, there was a decrease in COVID-19 daily growth rates, from 45.4% to 5.0%. Conclusion: A large part of the Brazilian population adhered to physical contact restriction measures, which possibly contributed to decreasing the spread of COVID-19.