Moderating Effects of Self-Esteem on the Relationship between Communication Anxiety and Academic Performance among Female Health College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Unprecedented quarantine due to COVID-19 exposes individuals to withdraw from face-to-face interactions, which may influence communication and self-esteem (SE). Therefore, the overarching aims of this study are to examine the communication apprehension levels among female college students, and thus to investigate the moderating role of self-esteem on the relationship between communication apprehension and academic achievement. In this cross-sectional study, 287 female college students completed the survey, which was circulated through email. The survey included the following questionnaires: General Health Characteristics, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and Personal Report of Communication Apprehension Scale. The results showed that 28.2% of participants were categorized as having a high level of communication apprehension, and only 9.8% had a low level of communication apprehension. The SE reported an overall score of 24.3 ± 2.14, indicating a high self-esteem level among students. The students' grade point average (GPA) was positively correlated with SE. However, self-esteem as a moderator variable had no significant effect on the relationships between all predictors and GPA. The finding of the study highlights the need to implement different strategies to enhance students' group discussions, meetings, and interpersonal communication to ensure the best learning outcomes. Future studies are required to investigate gender-based disparities in the relationship between communication apprehension and SE.

Assessment of perceived risk and precautionary behavior toward COVID-19 pandemic using the health belief model, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: The global threat of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve forming the most impactful health crises in modern history, necessities of individuals adhering to mandatory behavior change that limits the spread of the pandemic. The purpose of the current study is to identify behavioral responses of the health sciences university students during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic and determine risk perceptions using the health belief model (HBM). METHODS: A cross-sectional study using an online survey distributed among health sciences female university students in Riyadh, KSA. The questionnaire was used to assess sociodemographic characteristics; knowledge about COVID-19 and its preventive measures, risk perceptions, and beliefs using the HBM; and their actual adoption of precautionary measures. RESULTS: The mean age of 286 respondents was 21.6 years (SD 2.5). They had good knowledge, positive risk perception, and good practice. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents adhere satisfactorily to COVID-19 precautionary behavior. Respondents with positive overall risk perception had around 6 times significantly higher adherence compared to those with negative risk perception. Perceived benefits have higher odds of adherence to COVID-19 precautionary behavior. Similarly, cues to action were a significant determinant of adherence to COVID-19 precautionary behavior. CONCLUSIONS: The constructs of the HBM provided good measurement of risk perception and the respondent students had good knowledge. Yet, significant gaps were shown between COVID-19 perceived risks and the students' actual practice of personal hygienic measures, particularly hand hygiene. To put an end to the present COVID-19 and its upcoming waves, it is highly recommended to direct COVID-19 training programs specifically tailored towards university students.

Assessment of caregivers' perspectives regarding speech-language services in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19

Background: As a consequence of stay-at-home and other lockdown measures, such as social distancing, all health care service provisions during the COVID-19 pandemic have been affected, including the provision of speech therapy. Telehealth services can play a major role in maintaining access to health care, help speech and language pathologists (SLPs) overcome physical barriers by providing patients and caregivers with access to health care, and limit the discontinuity of patient care. To have a better understanding of the changes that have occurred in these services during COVID-19, this research was conducted to explore the nature and current situation of speech-language services in Saudi Arabia based on caregivers' perspectives. It also investigated whether changes have occurred in these services during the COVID-19 lockdown. The study also determined the perception of caregivers in delivering SLS sessions remotely. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 385 caregivers in Saudi Arabia. An online survey asked whether children were experiencing any SLS problems and if they had received any intervention. The survey also assessed the perception of changes in service during the COVID-19 lockdown and the perceptions, acceptance, and willingness of the caregivers to deliver telehealth speech services in Saudi Arabia. Results: About 50% of the respondents had or were suspected to have a child with SLS problems, and just over half of them had accessed SLS services. Most of the respondents reported suspension of therapy sessions as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the respondents had little experience using telehealth prior to the pandemic, they generally showed a willingness to use telehealth in therapy sessions, expressing a preference for video calls over other options. Conclusion: The study revealed that SLS services in Saudi Arabia are limited and that accessing these services is challenging. Alternative service delivery using remote services could help caregivers overcome such challenges. When telehealth was introduced as an option for service delivery, the caregivers showed welcoming responses, particularly with video calls. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Changes in speech, language and swallowing services during the Covid-19 pandemic: The perspective of speech-language pathologists in Saudi Arabia.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to investigate changes in the role of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. It also assessed the SLPs' perceptions of delivering services using telehealth as a part of their everyday clinical practice before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: SLPs in Saudi Arabia were invited to complete a web-based survey covering questions related to changes to the role of SLPs during the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in the ways speech services are delivered; and the benefits and barriers of using telehealth in clinical practice as identified by SLPs. RESULTS: Ninety-one SLPs completed the survey. About 94% of the respondents experienced changes in their role as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The nature of changes they had experienced including decreased work time, providing support and counseling to patients or caregivers using the telephone, providing assessment and therapy using telehealth, and working with a limited number of cases. Ninety-three percent of the respondents who have used telehealth started to use it only during the pandemic. Mostly seen caseloads were pediatric speech and language disorders. Further, 96% of respondents used telehealth for counseling, 69% for rehabilitation or treatment, 63% for screening, 56% for evaluation or assessment, 48% for a referral to other professional services, and 46% for differential diagnosis. About 70% of the SLPs showed interest to continue using telehealth in the future. Several benefits were identified to using telehealth, including accessibility, cost efficiency, and the ability to engage patients with their families in therapy sessions. On the other hand, barriers to using telehealth included internet and technical issues, lack of direct communication, and difficulty controlling the therapy setting. CONCLUSIONS: The study has shown that SLPs in Saudi Arabia have experienced changes during the COVID-19 outbreak. The survey responses also indicate that the SLPs are adopting telehealth applications at an accelerated pace as a result of the pandemic.

Predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Egyptian healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination has raised concerns about vaccine hesitancy in general and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in particular. Understanding the factors driving the uncertainty regarding vaccination against COVID-19 is crucial. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was designed to identify the perceptions and attitudes of healthcare workers (HCWs) towards COVID-19 vaccines and determine the predictive factors that affect their willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. An online survey was distributed among HCWs to collect data assessing demographic and general characteristics of the participants and vaccine-related characteristics, including source of information about the vaccine. In addition to items assessing the perception of COVID-19, there were items on COVID-19 vaccines and attitude towards vaccination in general and towards COVID-19 vaccines in particular. RESULTS: The participants were classified according to their willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine as follows: hesitant (41.9%), refusing (32.1%), and willing (26%). Statistically significant differences were observed among the three groups for the perception of COVID-19 vaccines, attitude towards vaccination in general, and COVID-19 vaccines in particular (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Although the participants adequately perceived COVID-19 severity, prevention, and COVID-19 vaccine safety, they were widely hesitant or refused to be vaccinated. A multidimensional approach is required to increase the vaccine acceptability rate. Higher income and increased years of work experience are positive predictors of willingness to receive a vaccine. Thus, further studies addressing the scope of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy are warranted as an initial step to build trust in COVID-19 vaccination efforts with continuous monitoring of attitudes and practices of HCWs towards COVID-19 vaccines in the future.

Assessment of caregivers' perspectives regarding speech-language services in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: As a consequence of stay-at-home and other lockdown measures, such as social distancing, all health care service provisions during the COVID-19 pandemic have been affected, including the provision of speech therapy. Telehealth services can play a major role in maintaining access to health care, help speech and language pathologists (SLPs) overcome physical barriers by providing patients and caregivers with access to health care, and limit the discontinuity of patient care. To have a better understanding of the changes that have occurred in these services during COVID-19, this research was conducted to explore the nature and current situation of speech-language services in Saudi Arabia based on caregivers' perspectives. It also investigated whether changes have occurred in these services during the COVID-19 lockdown. The study also determined the perception of caregivers in delivering SLS sessions remotely. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 385 caregivers in Saudi Arabia. An online survey asked whether children were experiencing any SLS problems and if they had received any intervention. The survey also assessed the perception of changes in service during the COVID-19 lockdown and the perceptions, acceptance, and willingness of the caregivers to deliver telehealth speech services in Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: About 50% of the respondents had or were suspected to have a child with SLS problems, and just over half of them had accessed SLS services. Most of the respondents reported suspension of therapy sessions as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the respondents had little experience using telehealth prior to the pandemic, they generally showed a willingness to use telehealth in therapy sessions, expressing a preference for video calls over other options. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that SLS services in Saudi Arabia are limited and that accessing these services is challenging. Alternative service delivery using remote services could help caregivers overcome such challenges. When telehealth was introduced as an option for service delivery, the caregivers showed welcoming responses, particularly with video calls.

Characteristics and predicting factors of Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) among healthcare providers in a developing country.

A limited number of publications have identified risk factors for Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) among Healthcare Providers (HCPs). We aimed to assess the clinical and epidemiological characteristics and the predicting factors related to COVID-19 among HCPs in Egypt. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among HCPs via an online questionnaire. Out of 440 responses, a total of 385 complete responses were analyzed. The responders' mean age was 37.5±9.4 years, 215 (55.8%) of the participants were males. They included 77 (20%) confirmed COVID-19 cases; most of them had mild (58.6%) or moderate symptoms (30%), and (9.1%) were asymptomatic. Almost all sustained infection while on duty (97.4%). The sources of infection were either infected patients (39%), colleagues (22.1%), household contacts (5.2%) or uncertain (33.8%). The sources were symptomatic in only 62.3% of cases. Asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic sources accounted for 37.7% of the cases. Exposure occurred during healthcare provision in 66.3% of the cases. The presence of co-morbidities (OR = 2.53, CI 1.47-4.38, P = 0.001), working more than 8 hours per day in isolation hospital (OR = 3.09, CI 1.02-9.35, P = 0.046), training on hand hygiene (OR = 2.31, CI 1.05-5.08, P = 0.038) and adherence to IPC measures (OR = 2.11, CI 1.16-3.81, P = 0.014) were the significant predictors of COVID-19. In conclusion, COVID-19 occurred in 20% of responders. Silent spread from asymptomatic or presymptomatic patients, and infected colleagues in hospital settings is an alarming sign. Proactive infection prevention and control measures are highly encouraged on both strategic and operational levels. Reconsideration of surveillance strategy and work-related regulations in healthcare settings are warranted.