ABSTRACT
Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced higher education institutions to implement the virtual teaching-learning modality in order not to interrupt the educational service, comply with the provisions of social distancing and thus avoid increasing the rate of infections. However, this disruption brought with it some unforeseen problems and limitations during its implementation. Therefore, the objective of this research was to analyze the perception of university students in the Madre de Dios region about virtual education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The approach was quantitative, the design was non-experimental, and the type was cross-sectional descriptive. The sample was made up of 302 students to whom the PAVDO-C Questionnaire was applied, an instrument with adequate levels of validity based on content and reliability. According to the results, the perception of 41.4% of the students about the virtual education that was being implemented was partially favorable, 33.4% was favorable and 25.2% was unfavorable. Likewise, it was determined that some sociodemographic and academic variables such as gender, university of origin, employment status, and area of residence were significantly associated with said perception. Finally, it was concluded that the students were characterized by having a partially favorable perception of virtual education, for which universities needed to continue developing the digital and didactic skills of teachers so that they can improve their virtual pedagogical practice and thus teaching. be more suitable. © 2023, University of Cienfuegos, Carlos Rafael Rodriguez. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to determine the effect of fear the pandemic on excessive food cravings, the strength of food and adherence to the Mediterranean diet in adults during the quarantine period. Data were collected on a total of 1117 adults, 870 women and 247 men, aged between 19 and 65 years, using a document to obtain general information, as well as employing anthropometric measurements and questions about health information. The Food Craving Scale (FCQ), the Power of Food Scale (PFS), the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Scale (MEDAS), the COVID-19 Fear Scale, and the Perception and Attitude About COVID-19 Scale were also adopted in the survey. Fear of COVID-19 score (F = 20.17 ± 5.52, M = 17.46 ± 5.79) and Perception and Attitude about COVID-19 scores were higher in females (169.55 ± 15.86) than in males (165.02 ± 16.51) (p < 0.001). A significant positive relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) with Food Craving (r = 0.182, p < 0.001), Power of Food (r = 0.083, p = 0.005), and COVID-19 Perception of Control (r = 0.074, p = 0.013) was detected. Mediterranean Diet Adherence showed a considerable positive correlation with age (r = 0.070, p = 0.020). Whilst BMI (β = 0.315) value affects excessive food cravings most, this value is identified by fear of COVID-19 (β = 0.174), an education level (β = 0.063), gender (β = −0.145) and age (β = −0.171) respectively. The quarantine period, which has various consequences vis-à-vis both social and economic aspects, also has a great impact on human health. That said, social isolation and distance cause sudden changes in the lives of individuals during the pandemic. In order to keep public health at the highest level in such cases, prospective studies are called for not only in the field of medicine and biological sciences but also on social and behavioral issues such as nutritional habits and lifestyle. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.
ABSTRACT
The beginning of the pandemic was characterized by a lack of information and knowledge, so the need for ontological security was fulfilled via information provided by the media, scientific content and other expert systems. A pandemic should not only be viewed as a health or economic crisis, but also as a social crisis that requires an analysis of the social context, factors and actors as predictors for understanding its effects and consequences. During the pandemic, the media emerged as an important predictor of risk perception and trust between institutions and the public. We owe our perception to the media that select, omit, shape or interpret certain social phenomena in a specific way. According to the theory of mediatization, the media are viewed through the prism of their relationship with the wider social and institutional environment, so they are also key factors in the perception of individual situations and encouraging a certain type of behavior. Health Belief Model (HBM) claims that socially responsible behavior (promoted by the media) depends on the perception of risk to one's own health and how that certain "promoted" behavior would be effective in combating the risk. Following risk theory, the interpretation of risk depends on the social context, values, interests and activities of social actors, including the media that affect the perception of risk as an objective fact, but also as a social construction (Bagić and Šuljok, 2020: 121). According to the aforementioned theories, the aim of this research was to determine the perception of media coverage and its effect on socially responsible behavior during the first wave of the pandemic, which was marked by a complete cessation of economic and social activities. The data were collected using the online survey questionnaire encompassing the period from March to July 2020. A total of 620 respondents participated in the study. The results suggest that positive perception of media coverage were primarily directed towards traditional media, such as television. Also, the results of the regression analysis suggest that a positive perception of media coverage depends on different socio-demographic characteristics and that it can be an incentive for socially responsible behavior. © 2022 Doron Fakultet Politickih Znanosti. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic was a major shock to tourism around the world and in Slo-venia. The number of tourist trips and overnight stays dropped sharply, and tourist flows were diverted. The paper presents the results of a survey, the aim of which was to deepen the knowledge about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the tourist behavior of the Slovenian population. The results show that the pandemic influenced less frequent and shorter tourist trips and the choice of different tourist destinations. Travel decisions were influenced by both the role of epidemiological restrictions and perceptions of the safety of various forms of tourist travel, as well as the usual factors of tourist decision making. © 2022, University of Ljubljana Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Covid-19 is an infectious disease that has caused significant rates of morbidity and mortality in the world population, such as measures to contain SARS-CoV-2 infection, the use of a mask, hand hygiene, vaccination, in addition, the States imposed mandatory quarantine;measures that have caused impacts on the attitude of individuals to assume the aforementioned health policies. With the objective of evaluating attitudes towards Covid-19, an observational psychometric study was carried out with a sample of 296 people, an instrument of 28 items arranged in three dimensions was proposed. For the validation process, a review was carried out by expert judges, who evaluated the clarity, sufficiency and relevance of each item with respect to the variable and its dimension. Confirmatory factor analysis was then performed and internal consistency was estimated with Cronbach's alpha index (α). As a result, the instrument has adequate psychometric properties to assess the attitude towards Covid-19 (α=0.880), with three dimensions: emotional-affective (α=0.738);cognitive-beliefs (α=0.788) and volitional-behavioral (α=0.638), the latter is preserved since as a whole they do not affect the general reliability of the instrument. It is concluded that the CAPC-19 is a valid and reliable tool to assess attitudes towards the current pandemic, which can be adapted in different population groups and contexts. Its use is recommended in national studies, to estimate the predisposition of individuals and identify vulnerability and thus design strategies that reduce uncertainty for the benefit of population health. © 2022 Instituto de Altos Estudios de Salud Publica. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Although community screening and testing have been recommended by the World Health Organization, the extent of readiness and the associated factors among rural populations remain unknown. We investigated the factors associated with perception of the COVID-19 transmission risk and readiness for testing in rural areas of Southwest Nigeria. Using a multistage cluster sampling technique, cross-sectional data was collected from 922 adults aged 18 years and above who were resident in rural communities selected across three States in the Southwest region between June and August 2020. Descriptive statistics and binary logit models with robust standard errors were utilized for analysis. Mean age of respondents was 37.0 (SD = 15.8) years; 58.6% female; 46.5% had secondary education; and most were traders (33.2%) and artisans (29.9%). Only 149 respondents (16.2%) had a accurate perception of COVID-19 transmission risk. Adjusted logit models showed that independent factors associated with accurate perception of COVID-19 transmission risk include: age 18&19 years (OR = 0.50, CI: 0.34-0.73); exposure to electronic media (OR = 1.84, CI: 1.07-3.18); and being an in-migrant (OR = 3.38, CI: 2.44-4.68). Less than one-third (28.8%) were willing to test for COVID-19. Severe fear of COVID-19 (OR = 3.99, CI: 1.36-11.74) was associated with willingness to undergo COVID-19 testing. Socio-demographic predictors of testing readiness included: male sex (OR = 1.51, CI: 1.36-1.68); traditional religion (OR = 2.81, CI: 1.05-7.53); and exposure to electronic media (OR = 1.31, CI: 1.06-1.62). Awareness campaigns need to be scaled up to improve perception and preparedness to test for COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
Background: Media channels increased COVID-19 pandemic uncertainty and disputes, hindering dissemination and acceptance of evidence-based health information. Socioeconomic, cultural, and developmental factors affect a community's access to credible health information. This community-based study aims to assess semi-urban residents' understanding of COVID-19. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 384 multistage-sampled residents of the study site. Sociodemographic, psychographic, and COVID-19 and treatment knowledge were obtained using a semistructured questionnaire. Six questions were used to measure knowledge, which was deemed adequate (three or more correct answers) or inadequate (fewer than three correct responses). Results: 54 out of 364 responders (14.8%) knew COVID-19. 68.9% of respondents stated citrus fruits or spices, 46.1% mentioned infection safety, and 13.3% mentioned chloroquine for prevention. Regarding treatment, 55.5% of responders reported chloroquine and 20.9% hydroxychloroquine. 17% chose "none of the above." Class I workers were four times more likely to have adequate knowledge than class V workers (p=0.019), while class III workers were 79% less likely (p=0.046). Males had 68%less knowledge than females (p=0.008). Conclusions: In this study, adequate knowledge of COVID-19 was low and associated with higher socioeconomic class.
ABSTRACT
Background: COVID-19 has revealed the diversity of cultural characteristics and mentalities of different countries: every people living through the pandemic interprets the means of overcoming the crisis in their own way, in accordance with their historical experience and cultural traditions. Objective: The purpose of this study (April 2 - May 2, 2020) was to identify the influence of cultural factors and the context of residence (living in their own country or in another culture as a migrant) on how people perceive and experience a pandemic. Design: The study involved 605 people: 402 Russian-speaking respondents (221 migrants living outside their countries) and 203 representatives of other cultures (165 Spaniards and 38 migrants from different countries). The main research method was a survey using a specially prepared questionnaire (in four languages - Spanish, English, German, and Russian). Results: Cultural factors had a strong influence on how a people experienced a pandemic. Respondents from European and other cultures (non Russian speakers) were very intolerant of dissent in the fight against the pandemic;showed an increase in patriotism;and demonstrated increased readiness for an operational response to the situation through a change of activity. Russian-speaking respondents showed great loyalty to different positions and different behaviors during pandemic situation;expressed the desire to wait out the pandemic and quickly return to their usual way of life;their main preventive measure was self-isolation, which was considered an opportunity for the development of something new. The perception of a pandemic by migrants differed from its perception by the native population. Conclusion: Common to all representatives of the international sample were the ideas of necessary international cooperation and universal responsibility to overcome the pandemic. But the cultural factors and having a migrant's status had a strong influence on the perception and experience of the pandemic, which depends on the mentality and historical experience in different countries. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This paper is an empirical investigation that examines a path model linking COVID-19 perceptions to organisational citizenship behaviour (OCBs) via three mediators: job insecurity, burnout, and job satisfaction. The research examines the path model invariance spanning Generations X, Y, and Z. Three countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) were the focus of the study. METHODS: The data was collected from a sample of employees in service companies (n = 578). We used a Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse the data. RESULTS: Our findings reveal that COVID-19 perceptions positively predict job insecurity, which positively impacts burnout levels. Burnout negatively predicts job satisfaction. The findings established that job satisfaction positively predicts OCBs. The mediation analysis determined that job insecurity, burnout and job satisfaction convey the indirect effects of COVID-19 perceptions onto OCBs. Finally, our hypothesised model is non-equivalent across Generations X, Y and Z. In that regard, our multi-group analysis revealed that the indirect effects of COVID-19 perceptions on OCBs were only valid amongst younger generations, i.e., Generation Y and Generation Z. Specifically, younger generations are substantially more vulnerable to the indirect effects of COVID-19 perceptions on their engagement in OCBs than Generation X whose job satisfaction blocks the effects of COVID-19 perceptions on OCBs. CONCLUSIONS: The present study extends our knowledge of workplace generational differences in responding to the perceptions of crises or pandemics. It offers evidence that suggests that burnout, job attitudes and organisational outcomes change differently across generations in pandemic times.
Subject(s)
Burnout, Professional , COVID-19 , Burnout, Professional/epidemiology , Humans , Job Satisfaction , Perception , SARS-CoV-2 , Surveys and Questionnaires , WorkplaceABSTRACT
This observational study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on orthopaedic patients' psychology and clinical management, focusing on gender differences in the following items: (1) pain perception and therapeutic compliance during the pandemic, compared with the pre-pandemic period; (2) relationship doctorpatient (considering both general practitioners and orthopaedic surgeons); (3) patient referral to Orthopaedic emergency room. An Ad Hoc online questionnaire was developed and administered to patients referring to Orthopaedic emergency departments and Orthopaedic outpatient departments throughout Italy, between March and April 2020. The patients' psychological status during the pandemic was evaluated, mainly focusing on the following aspects, i.e., the fear of contracting the COVID-19 infection, the perceived risk of COVID-19 contagion and the compliance with the COVID-19 restrictions. Differences between genders were also assessed. 782 patients finally took part in the present study. A significant decrease of general practitioner and Orthopaedic surgeon clinical referral was recorded during the lockdown period, compared with pre-COVID period (p<0.001; p=0.031). Nonetheless, the number of phone calls to the general practitioner did not undergo substantial differences (p=0.093), compared to patients' the phone consult with orthopaedic surgeons (p=0.042). A significant correlation was found between the fear of COVID-19 contagion the perceived risk of contracting the infection (p<0.001). The COVID pandemic significantly impacted on orthopaedic patients' psychology and perception of the disease. During the lockdown, patients gave a higher priority to the pandemic event and significantly reduced the treatment of their orthopaedic disease.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine necessitates the assessment of individual perception regarding the vaccine. This study aimed to assess the perception of community members and willingness to pay for the prospective COVID-19 vaccine in Ibadan, Nigeria. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire in September 2020. We studied community members aged 15 years and above using a multi-stage sampling technique. The perceptions of respondents about the COVID-19 vaccine were assessed on eight questions using the five-point Likert scale with a score point of "1" assigned for "Strongly Agree", "2" for "Agree", "3" for "Not decided", "4" for "Disagree", and "5" for "Strongly disagree". During analysis, we reverse-coded the options by assigning a point of "1" for "Strongly disagree", "2" for "Disagree", "3" for "Not decided", "4" for "Agree", and "5" for "Strongly disagree". However, questions asked in the negative directions were not reverse-coded during analysis. Eight questions were used to assess the perception of community members regarding the prospective COVID-19 vaccine, and overall, the maximum point was 40. Points greater than or equal to 32 points (80%) implied positive perception. Descriptive statistics were done. Chi-square tests were used for the assessment of associations between sociodemographic characteristics and willingness to pay for the prospective COVID-19 vaccine. We conducted logistic regression tests on statistically significant variables at p-values <0.05. RESULTS: The mean age of the 440 respondents studied was 37.22 ± 15.36 years, 193 (49.00%) were males, and 292 (67.30%) of the respondents had heard of the prospective COVID-19 vaccine. Among them, 232 (79.50%) respondents had positive perception regarding COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals in the fifth wealth quintile were ten times more likely to be willing to pay for the prospective COVID-19 vaccine compared to those in the first wealth quintile (Adjusted Odds Ratio = 9.57, 95% CI [2.88-31.82], p = <0.01). CONCLUSION: The prospective COVID-19 vaccine should be subsidized or made freely available to everyone.