COVID-19 Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Vaccine-Related Decision Making among Immigrants: A Cross-Sectional Exploratory Study

Immigrants are disproportionally impacted by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and of the reported positive cases and fatalities, many are from historically disadvantaged groups that face severe health inequities and suffer from health disparities. Therefore, in the current research, using cross-sectional survey of immigrants, we conduct an exploratory investigation to examine their Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) regarding COVID-19 and the vaccine. In addition, we explore the role of subjective norms and response efficacy on vaccine-related decision making. The findings reveal that most participants were knowledgeable regarding the COVID-19 infection and the vaccine and practiced important safety behaviors to contain the spread. In addition, a significant effect of social norms and response efficacy on vaccine intentions were found suggesting the importance of integrating normative, culturally informed messaging while designing health campaigns for this hard-to-reach population. Given the small sample size, due to it being a hard-to-reach population, the findings should not be generalized, and future research should extend the study to draw broader conclusions. Implications of the findings are discussed. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of American Behavioral Scientist is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

PTSD Coverage in the New York Times: Implications for the State of Mental Health in the U.S.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been portrayed in media in a skewed way such that the coverage overrepresents combat-precipitated trauma and neglects to communicate treatment options, which has direct implications for people with PTSD. Given the traumatic nature of contemporary events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of social movements concerning traumatic violence such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, this study examines if media coverage of PTSD has evolved to account for these changes. We specifically examined sourcing and framing in PTSD news coverage published by The New York Times from 1999 to 2020 using quantitative content analysis. The findings indicate that the coverage overrepresents combat trauma and neglects to communicate treatment options; favors men over women in sourcing of the news stories; and uses more thematic, compared to episodic framing. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

A Comparative Analysis of Health News in Indigenous and Mainstream Media.

It is important to evaluate the media's health coverage of Indigenous communities both because these communities have been hit very hard by health inequities, and because misinformation can negatively affect the future health of Indian Country. This study takes the unique angle of examining both Indigenous and non-Indigenous ("mainstream") news publications to evaluate information gaps in health, health policy, and health efficacy coverage. The Indigenous media examined, which covered 14 times more health stories than mainstream media, highlighted health issues in Indian Country through the lens of resilience by using framing to emphasize unequal power, while at the same time providing depth and specificity. Instead of putting Indigenous health stories into historical and cultural context, mainstream media focused on the lack of resources and the chronic struggle of Indigenous communities. Mainstream media often only covered the topic once per outlet; however, those outlets with connections to Indigenous communities did provide more balanced coverage. Instead of promoting change, most mainstream media stories blamed Indigenous people for their situation and offered a doom trajectory for tribes hit hardest by health disparities. This study reveals how embedded framing and mediatization direct non-Native readers' attention away from the systemic deprivation of support to U.S. Indigenous tribes that was guaranteed to them by the U.S. government in tribal agreements. The implications for journalism and policy are discussed.

From Industry 4.0 to Education 4.0: acceptance and use of videoconferencing applications in higher education of Oman

Purpose>The present paper is an attempt to study Education 4.0 supported by Industry 4.0 tools and techniques. The main purpose of the study is to examine the acceptance and use of one of the internet of things (IoT)-based learning management systems, i.e. videoconferencing application (Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, GoToMeeting, WebEx), by academicians of higher education using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model.Design/methodology/approach>The study comprises 218 responses of academicians associated with higher education in the Sultanate of Oman. Descriptive and factor analysis of the collected data are employed using SPSS-26. Further, using Amos-21, the fit and validity indices of the measurement model are computed. Various relationships of the UTAUT structural model along with moderation effects of gender and nationality are tested.Findings>The results suggest that performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence significantly predict behavioral intention. In turn, behavioral intention and facilitating conditions also significantly predict the use behavior of academicians for videoconferencing in higher education. Finally, gender moderates two out of four UTAUT relations, but nationality does not moderate any of these relations.Originality/value>A lot of prior studies investigate several models to use technology-enabled pedagogy from educators' or students' perspectives. There are very limited studies that examine IoT-based learning tools within the UTAUT environment. Additionally, no study is available that considers UTAUT relations for the use of videoconferencing in higher education. Also, in the present study, one more moderator, i.e. nationality, is tested.

Bilateral sequential non-arteritic optic neuropathy post-COVID-19.

Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been documented to have a spectrum of neuro-ophthalmic manifestations. However, bilateral non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) post-COVID-19 has not been reported in the literature. We studied the case of a 45-year-old male who presented to our outpatient department (OPD) with bilateral blurring of vision following an episode of COVID-19, 1 month back. Examination and investigations were conclusive of a bilateral NAION. The patient was given a trial of oral steroids. However, the vision loss could not be recovered. Thus, through this case report, we would like to highlight the importance of a close follow-up of patients following COVID-19 infection to detect any sequelae.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Positive Psychology: The Role of News and Trust in News on Mental Health and Well-Being.

As of writing of this paper, over 94 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with COVID-19 infection and over 2 million people have died. During crisis situations, people seek news to gain information and reduce uncertainty. Although news could provide some means of control, the constant access may also cause emotional distress. Research suggests that consumption of crisis news leads to high psychological distress and fear that may impact intentions to engage in healthy behavior. Fake news and widespread misinformation during this pandemic have obliterated public trust in news which can also affect mental health. Therefore, in this research we explore the impact of news exposure on mental well-being and test for plausible explanations. Utilizing survey methodology, we examine the role of news exposure on perceived stress, happiness, satisfaction, gratitude and the moderating impact of interest in COVID-19 news on the same. In addition, we propose trust in news as a mediator of the relationship between news exposure and abovementioned variables. The findings suggest that high levels of news exposure, combined with low levels of interest in COVID-19 news, led people to experience more stress and low satisfaction, gratitude, and happiness. However, when interest in COVID-19 news was high, people experienced more gratitude and happiness with increasing exposure. High levels of news exposure led to lower levels of trust that led to low satisfaction and happiness. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.

Role of Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction in Cornea Donors During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to report the analysis of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of nasopharyngeal (NP) samples of cornea donors dying because of causes unrelated to severe acute respiratory coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). METHODS: A retrospective analysis of all cornea donors dying from causes other than SARS-CoV-2 between August 2020 and December 2020 was performed. Informed consent was obtained from the next of kin of the deceased for RT-PCR testing from NP swabs. Rapid antigen testing from all the deceased was performed before in situ cornea excision. In addition, NP samples in viral transport media for RT-PCR were also collected for SARS-CoV-2 analysis. Corneas were released from the eye bank only after a negative RT-PCR report. RESULT: One hundred eighteen corneas from 59 donors were obtained by the eye bank. Eleven donors (18.64%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR testing. Six of these 11 donors had a Ct value of E gene less than 25. CONCLUSIONS: NP samples of cornea donors dying due to causes other than coronavirus disease-19 were positive for SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR. This implicates that donors could be having asymptomatic/undetected coronavirus disease infection. We recommend adding the routine testing of NP samples of all cornea donors in the eye banking protocol in this ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Laboratory preparedness for SARS-CoV-2 testing in India: Harnessing a network of Virus Research & Diagnostic Laboratories.

Background & objectives: An outbreak of respiratory illness of unknown aetiology was reported from Hubei province of Wuhan, People's Republic of China, in December 2019. The outbreak was attributed to a novel coronavirus (CoV), named as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 and the disease as COVID-19. Within one month, cases were reported from 25 countries. In view of the novel viral strain with reported high morbidity, establishing early countrywide diagnosis to detect imported cases became critical. Here we describe the role of a countrywide network of VRDLs in early diagnosis of COVID-19. Methods: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, established screening as well as confirmatory assays for SARS-CoV-2. A total of 13 VRDLs were provided with the E gene screening real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assay. VRDLs were selected on the basis of their presence near an international airport/seaport and their past performance. The case definition for testing included all individuals with travel history to Wuhan and symptomatic individuals with travel history to other parts of China. This was later expanded to include symptomatic individuals returning from Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and South Korea. Results: Within a week of standardization of the test at NIV, all VRDLs could initiate testing for SARS-CoV-2. Till February 29, 2020, a total of 2,913 samples were tested. This included both 654 individuals quarantined in the two camps and others fitting within the case definition. The quarantined individuals were tested twice - at days 0 and 14. All tested negative on both occasions. Only three individuals belonging to different districts in Kerala were found to be positive. Interpretation & conclusions: Sudden emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and its potential to cause a pandemic posed an unsurmountable challenge to the public health system of India. However, concerted efforts of various arms of the Government of India resulted in a well-coordinated action at each level. India has successfully demonstrated its ability to establish quick diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 at NIV, Pune, and the testing VRDLs.