Impact of the fear of Covid-19 infection on intent to breastfeed; a cross sectional survey of a perinatal population in Qatar.

OBJECTIVES: Infection control measures during the Covid-19 pandemic have focused on limiting physical contact and decontamination by observing cleaning and hygiene rituals. Breastfeeding requires close physical contact and observance of hygienic measures like handwashing. Worries around contamination increase during the perinatal period and can be expressed as increase in obsessive compulsive symptoms. These symptoms have shown to impact breastfeeding rates. This study attempts to explore any relationship between the Covid-19 pandemic and perinatal obsessive-compulsive symptomatology and whether the Covid-19 pandemic has any impact on intent to breastfeed. METHODS: A cross sectional survey of perinatal women attending largest maternity centre in Qatar was carried out during the months of October to December 2020. Socio-demographic information, intent to breastfeed and information around obsessive compulsive thoughts around Covid-19 pandemic were collected using validated tools. RESULTS: 15.7% respondents report intent to not breastfeed. 21.4% respondents reported obsessive-compulsive symptoms. 77.3% respondents believed the biggest source of infection was from others while as only 12% of the respondents believed that the source of infection was through breastfeeding and 15.7% believed the vertical transmission as the main source of risk of transmission. CONCLUSIONS: The rates of Obsessive-compulsive symptoms were increased and the rates of intent to breastfeed were decreased when compared with pre pandemic rates. The obsessive-compulsive symptoms and the intent to not breastfeed were significantly associated with fear of infection to the new-born. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms were not significantly correlated with intent to breastfeed and can be seen as adaptive strategies utilized by women to continue breastfeeding in the context of fear of infection.

Qatar Healthcare Workers' COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Attitudes: A National Cross-Sectional Survey.

Introduction: Healthcare workers are the critical frontline workforce of the COVD-19 pandemic and are considered a target group for vaccination. Hesitancy to vaccinate is a major concern that can jeopardize the vaccination programme. The hesitancy rates in the general population and healthcare workers (HCWs) vary globally, and more importantly, hesitancy in HCWs is of particular concern, as it can influence the wider population. Materials and Methods: The present study evaluated the vaccine hesitancy rate and its sociodemographic and attitudinal factors among the HCWs in the state of Qatar. We conducted a national cross-sectional survey using a validated hesitancy measurement tool between October 15 and November 15, 2020. A total of 7,821 adults above the age of 18 years out of the 2.3 million adult Qatari residents completed the survey. While majority of the participants were from the general public, 1,546 participants were HCWs. Sociodemographic data, along with attitudes and beliefs around COVID-19 vaccination, were collected from the respondents. Results: We found that 12.9% of the study participants showed vaccine hesitancy, defined as definitely or probably will not take the vaccine if offered, and 25.31% reported that they were unsure about the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine. Female respondents were more hesitant toward the vaccine. Safety and efficacy concerns of vaccine were the significant predictors of vaccine hesitancy. The primary predictor for vaccine acceptance was a better understanding of the disease and vaccine. Discussion: Overall, 1 in 8 HCWs were reluctant to get vaccinated against COVID-19, mainly due to concerns about the vaccine's efficacy and safety. Education about the vaccine's safety and efficacy can potentially improve acceptance among healthcare workers.