Factors influencing loneliness among older people using homecare services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Elderly homecare service users may reduce their level of social participation and interpersonal interactions due to physiological loss, which may lead to loneliness and depression over the years. However, there is a lack of research on loneliness among older people who use homecare services. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors influencing loneliness among older people using homecare services. METHODS: This is a longitudinal study conducted in communities in Central Taiwan, and data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was first administered as a pre-test to obtain baseline information about the participants, and the same questionnaire was administered as a post-test after 6 months to follow-up. The pre- and post-test questionnaires included five sections, that is, participant demographics, Brief Symptom Rating Scale, Interpersonal Interaction Scale (IIS), Frenchay Activities Index, and UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA). RESULTS: A total of 178 participants were recruited in this study. Results indicated that gender, whether participants eat alone or with others at dinner, social media use, perceived economic status, and IIS score were significantly correlated with the loneliness score on the UCLA. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the loneliness score among male participants in the low loneliness group from baseline to 6 months follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Gender, presence of others at dinner, social media use, perceived economic status, and interpersonal interaction skills are significant factors that influence loneliness among older people using homecare services. Men tend to experience higher levels of loneliness over time.

Effects of the Government Response and Community Mobility on the COVID-19 Pandemic in Southeast Asia.

Preventive policies and mobility restrictions are believed to work for inhibiting the growth rate of COVID-19 cases; however, their effects have rarely been assessed and quantified in Southeast Asia. We aimed to examine the effects of the government responses and community mobility on the COVID-19 pandemic in Southeast Asian countries. The study extracted data from Coronavirus Government Response Tracker, COVID-19 Community Mobility Report, and Our World in Data between 1 March and 31 December 2020. The government responses were measured by containment, health, and economic support index. The community mobility took data on movement trends at six locations. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used for bi-monthly analyses in each country. Results show that the community mobility generally followed government responses, especially the containment index. The path coefficients of government responses to community mobility ranged from -0.785 to -0.976 in March to April and -0.670 to -0.932 in May to June. The path coefficients of community mobility to the COVID-19 cases ranged from -0.058 to -0.937 in March to April and from -0.059 to -0.640 in September to October. It suggests that the first few months since the mobility restriction implemented is the optimal time to control the pandemic.

Effectiveness of Multimedia-Based Learning on the Improvement of Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavioral Intention toward COVID-19 Prevention among Nurse Aides in Taiwan: A Parallel-Interventional Study.

Because nurse aides are one of the first-line care providers in hospitals, they should possess better knowledge, attitude, and behavioral intention toward COVID-19 during the pandemic. This study aimed to compare the improvements of COVID-19-related education on learning outcomes between multimedia-based and traditional face-to-face learning models for nurse aides. The parallel-group randomized controlled trial recruited 74 participants in both the experimental and control groups. Two 90 min interventions with the same contents, but in different ways, were delivered. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data of demographic information, knowledge, attitude, and behavioral intention toward COVID-19 before and after the interventions. Results from generalized estimation equations analysis indicated that the nurse aides in the multimedia-based learning group had greater improvement in the scores of knowledge (difference in change: 3.2, standard error: 0.97, p < 0.001), attitude (difference in change: 10.2, standard error: 2.97, p < 0.001), and behavioral intention (difference in change: 0.5, standard error: 0.04, p < 0.001) than those in the face-to-face learning group. During the outbreak of COVID-19, multimedia-based learning as an effective learning method could improve the learning outcomes related to COVID-19 and achieve learning goals without close contact.

Community Curiosity on COVID-19 Based on Google Trends in Indonesia: An Infodemic Study

This study estimated real-time responsiveness in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak in Indonesia using Google Trends. Twenty-eight keywords were checked between January 1 and May 4, 2020, and categorized into basic information, prevention, government role, conspiracy, and other issues related to COVID-19. Before the first case, the popular search topics were basic information and conspiracy. In the first month, basic information, prevention, and government role topics experienced the maximum value. In the subsequent phase, government roles and other issues got more attention. Most correlation coefficients between the keywords in basic information or prevention and the new case numbers were ≥0.7.