Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Behavioral and Emotional Aspects and Daily Routines of Arab Israeli Children.

Negative psychological effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have been identified in adults and children, such as anxiety and sleep disorders. However, research about the impact of this pandemic on children from ethnical minorities is scarce. We tested the effects of COVID-19 outbreak on psychological aspects and daily routines among Arab Israeli Children. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among Arab Israeli parents, including behavioral and emotional aspects questionnaire and questions addressing using of screens, sleep, and physical activities. The results showed that, during the COVID-19 outbreak, 55.8% of the children asked to sleep in their parents' bed and 45% expressed fears they did not have before. Most of the children showed increased irritability, constant mood swings and nervousness about limits and messages, and 41.4% showed sleep difficulties. Concerning adaptive behaviors, more than 50% of the parents reported that their child became wiser, lazier, and was able to adapt the limits and restriction of the COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, the children tended to increase their use of screens, used to sleep more time, and were less active physically. The results suggest that children are vulnerable to the COVID-19 outbreak psychological effects and highlight the need to reduce the psychological burden of this pandemic and the necessity of immediate intervention.

Factors Associated with Decisions of Arab Minority Parents in Israel to Vaccinate Their Children against COVID-19.

The Arab ethnic community in Israel is characterized by low social economic status and is at risk due to the typically crowded households. Understanding parents' level of awareness is important to avoid new outbreaks. OBJECTIVES: This study seeks to identify predicting factors associated with perceived susceptibility to COVID-19, and barriers to COVID-19 vaccination. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey was conducted through social media, using snowball sampling via social networks. Additionally, t-tests, Chi-square tests, and Z tests were used to evaluate differences between independent proportions. Pearson correlations were calculated for the study variables. Multiple logistic regression examined the extent to which the background variables were related to the intention to vaccinate the child. RESULTS: A total of 2843 Arab parents participated in the study. Older parents, higher socioeconomic status, higher trust in the authorities, vaccinated parents, and low psychological and physical barriers were positively correlated with willingness to vaccinate children. Pandemic fatigue was associated with less positive attitudes and reduced perceived effectiveness toward vaccination. CONCLUSION: Addressing minorities' poor standards of living and physical and psychological barriers posed by the authorities to minorities' access to vaccination may increase compliance with COVID-19 vaccination and protect the health of the entire population.