Spatial factors for COVID-19 associated community deaths in an urban area of Lusaka, Zambia: an observational study

We retrospectively analyzed spatial factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated community deaths i.e., brought-in-dead (BID) in Lusaka, Zambia, between March and July 2020. A total of 127 cases of BID with geocoordinate data of their houses were identified during the study period. Median interquartile range (IQR) of the age of these cases was 49 (34-70) years old, and 47 cases (37.0%) were elderly individuals over 60 years old. Seventy-five cases (75%) of BID were identified in July 2020, when the total number of cases and deaths was largest in Zambia. Among those whose information regarding their underlying medical condition was available, hypertension was most common (22.9%, 8/35). Among Lusaka's 94 townships, the numbers (median, IQR) of cases were significantly larger in those characterized as unplanned residential areas compared to planned areas (1.0, 0.0-4.0 vs 0.0, 0.0-1.0;p=0.030). The proportion of individuals who require more than 30 minutes to obtain water was correlated with a larger number of BID cases per 105 population in each township (rho=0.28, p=0.006). The number of BID cases was larger in unplanned residential areas, which highlighted the importance of targeted public health interventions specifically to those areas to reduce the total number of COVID-19 associated community deaths in Lusaka. Brought-in-dead surveillance might be beneficial in monitoring epidemic conditions of COVID-19 in such high-risk areas. Furthermore, inadequate access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) might be associated with such distinct geographical distributions of COVID-19 associated community deaths in Lusaka, Zambia.Copyright © Amos Hamukale et al.

Maternal mortality in Grobogan during COVID-19 pandemic 2020-2021

Background: Maternal mortality is one of the health statuses that is considered global. Central Java Province has the highest maternal mortality rate in Indonesia, and one of the regencies with a high MMR (Maternal Mortality Rate) is Grobogan. Purpose: This research wants to describe maternal mortality in Grobogan in 2020-2021. In further research, we can determine the relationship between risk factors that cause maternal death and use them to develop program decisions to reduce maternal mortality in Grobogan. Methods: This study used a descriptive-quantitative study using Maternal and Infant Mortality data from the Health Office of Grobogan in 2020-2021 and analyzed averages and proportions. Results: This study showed that 103 mothers died, 69% mothers at the age of 20-35 years, 46.60% mothers had Junior High School, 8% were in the Purwodadi 2 area, 73% with gestational age >28 weeks, 52% had 2-3 parity, 87.38% of mothers never abortion, 57% of mothers died during the puerperium, and 39% caused by being infected of COVID-19. Conclusion: Maternal mortality in Grobogan Regency during the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic, most of the causes of death were due to COVID-19 infection, which mainly occurred in mothers aged 20-35 years, last educated at junior high school, at gestational age >28 weeks, parity 2-3, more common in mothers who have never had a history of abortion, and is currently experiencing the puerperium. This maternal death occurred in 28 of the 30 Puskesmas in Grobogan.

Impact of Covid-19 on the Psychology of Coaches

The development of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), raises concerns about heightened stress and anxiety in people's lives. The purpose of this research was to investigate the emotional influence of COVID-19 that professional coaches faced and how they managed to deal with social seclusion during the second wave of COVID-19. More precisely, it was investigated whether the age and educational level of coaches had an impact on their psychological condition during this period. The sample consisted of 605 Greek National coaches, 398 men, 206 women, and one coach who did not indicate sex preference, between the ages of 18-67 (M=38.18, SD=11.19). The results indicated the age differences between the youngest and oldest groups, and between high school and Ph.D. graduates. Overall, it was found that the Greek version of ERQ constitutes a reliable instrument for measuring emotion regulation situations in a professional sports environment.

A study of rural domestic helpers knowledge, attitude, and practice of COVID-19 in Mizoram, India

Background: In times of an epidemic such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the public's knowledge and attitude toward the disease affects the ability to abide to different preventive measures. Aims and Objectives: (1) to assess the knowledge and awareness of the domestic helpers in a tribal population, (2) whether the domestic helpers practice appropriate preventative measures that are recommended by WHO. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was designed and carried out using questionnaire among rural domestic workers in Mizoram, above 14 years of age belonging to both Mizo and Non-Mizo ethnicity. Data were collected from 105 participants and analyzed through t-test, one-way analysis of variance and Pearson correlation analysis. Results: Majority of the respondents had higher secondary level of education (78.1%) and 95.2% could identify COVID-19 as a communicable disease. Almost all the participants (97.1%) were afraid of infection and the majority (92.4%) had fear of dying with the disease. Three-fourth of the participants were working during the pandemic of which 44.8% had volunteered. Media (68.6%) was the most common source of information about the disease. The education level was significantly associated with knowledge and attitude scores whereas there were no significant differences with respect to the practice (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Our findings indicate an overall good KAP of the rural domestic workers. Since these workers move from house to house and also take care of the vulnerable, and that they themselves and the families, they work for may be at an increased risk of infection with COVID-19, these findings are important from a health campaign perspective.

Fake news mediate the relationship between sociopolitical factors and vaccination intent in Brazil

Vaccination hesitancy has become a central concern and is a barrier to overcoming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis. Studies have indicated that mis/disinformation plays a role on the attitudes and behaviours towards vaccination. However, further formal statistical models are required to investigate how fake news relates to vaccination intent and how they mediate the relationship between socioeconomic/political factors and vaccination intent. We studied a sample of 500 Brazilians and found that people were mostly not susceptible to vaccine mis/disinformation. In addition, we found that their vaccination intent was high. However, suspicions that fake news could be true raised doubts over the vaccination intention. Although age and political orientation directly influenced vaccination intent, we found that the relationship between socioeconomic/political factors and vaccination intent was strongly mediated by belief in fake news. Our results raise the need to create multiple strategies to combat the dissemination and acceptance of such content. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Public perception of citrus fruit consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil

Adequate nutrition has become a priority for the psychologically and emotionally affected population, especially those under stress due to quarantine and people affected by Coronavirus Disease in 2019 (COVID-19). However, records on eating behavior variations due to Brazil's pandemic are still incipient, and it is crucial to know and identify frequent incentives that arouse interest in a class of products. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the final consumer behaviors and the consumption influence of citrus fruits and their products, as a vitamin C source, in the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. By applying an online questionnaire prepared on the Google.. Forms platform, a survey was conducted with the voluntary participation of 546 unidentified respondents. The answers obtained made it possible to trace the participants' sociodemographic characteristics and consumption habits. According to the interviewees, there was a predominance of adults between 25 and 34 years old, female, single, living in the Southeast macro-region, and people with a master's and doctorate. level education. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the population interviewed did not change their consumption of citrus fruits and their products, but the place of purchase changed, possibly due to social isolation. Marketing is of fundamental importance in the Brazilian citrus industry, which is facing the challenge of encouraging a healthier diet and searching for expansion of the fresh fruit market.

Does the COVID-19 Vaccination Rate Change According to the Education and Income: A Study on Vaccination Rates in Cities of Turkey between 2021-September and 2022-February.

BACKGROUND: The increase in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rates in Turkey and in the world plays a key role in reducing the number of deaths and cases from COVID-19. Investigating the underlying causes of COVID-19 vaccine hesitations seems to be a guide in reducing the negative effects of the pandemic. METHODS: We analyzed the correlations between double COVID-19 vaccination rates of all cities in Turkey between 1 September 2021 and 1 February 2022 and their per capita income values and their education level percentages. RESULTS: Overall, there was a negative correlation between the vaccination rates of cities and the percentages of illiterate, literate without a diploma, and secondary school graduates for both genders. However, there was a positive correlation between city vaccination rates and the percentages of primary school and college graduates. City income values per capita values were positively correlated with double vaccination rates of cities. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that not only low levels of education, but also interruption of education at some point make a significant contribution to vaccination hesitancy and ultimately to vaccination levels. In order to end the pandemic and reach a sufficient percentage of vaccines, it may be necessary to address some special groups and raise awareness of these groups about vaccination.

Factors that Influence The Application of Health Protocols in The Pratama Serasi Clinic Medan Helvetia Subdistrict

Covid-19 has become a disease spread pandemic around the world and treatment and prevention is carried out in compliance with government-issued health protocols. However, it doesn’t run optimally because many people don’t comply with health protocols, especially when going to health facilities. The purpose of this study is to find out the factors that affect the application of health protocols in Klinik Pratama Serasi Kec. Medan Helvetia. This type of research is quantitative descriptive design. The population was patients who visited Klinik Pratama Serasi Kec. Medan Helvetia with a sample of 186 selected with slovin formula. Data collection using health protocol behavior questionnaires that have been tested for validity and reliability and analyzed with univariate and bivariate analysis. The result is three factors that have a meaningful relationship with the application of health protocols in Klinik Pratama Serasi Kec. Medan Helvetia namely knowledge (p = 0.022), education level (p = 0.047), and compliance (p = 0.001). It is expected that patients who visit Klinik Pratama Serasi Kec. Medan Helvetia adhere more to health protocols, not only when going to the clinic, but to other public places in order to prevent the transmission of the Covid-19 virus.

Public perception of socio-scientific issues: Do you decide based on your education, your experience or reading the news?

One of the challenges humans face is making collective decisions with regards to controversial issues related to science, namely socio-scientific issues (SSIs). Genetic modification, nuclear energy, experimental drugs, 5G technology are a few examples of SSIs. Some of the concerns posed by such issues are compromise to privacy and identity, threat to the workforce due to automation, and potential changes to the human genome. To better understand SSI-related decision making, it is important to understand the public perception of SSIs, while also including opinions of rural areas.This research investigated the perception of SSIs for the U.S. public both in a small U.S. rural area, and in the whole country. Study 1 (N=162) focused on a rural area and was conducted through an online survey posted to social media, while Study 2 (N=2002) used a national sample as part of a secondary data analysis from the Pew Research Center. Both studies looked at the relationship between levels of general education, science knowledge, and perception of SSI-related innovations.One of the main findings from Study 1 (which relied on correlation analysis) is that higher levels of education relate to increased support for use of animals for research and increased agreement on the safety of GMO foods. However, Study 2 (which used binary logistic regression analysis) found that as education level increased, the odds of supporting fracking or agreeing that GMO food is safe decreased. Study 1, also showed that as science knowledge increased support for fracking decreased, while agreement on the safety of GMO food increased. Study2, on the other hand indicated that the odds of support for SSIs decreased for use of plant fuel, animals for research, experimental drugs, and artificial organs.Additionally Study 1 looked at holding a science degree and Study 2 looked at keeping up with science news as potential variables related to perceptions of SSIs. T test analysis in Study 1 showed that science degree holders favored virus modification, nuclear energy, use of animals for research and viewed GMO foods as safe, while non-science degree holders did not. In Study 2, as familiarity with science news increased support for offshore oil and gas drilling switched from support to opposition, while view of modification of baby genes for smarter babies switched from taking science too far to appropriate. Lastly, multiple regression analysis in Study 1 showed that mean perception of health-related innovations is a significant predictor of use of the Covid-19 vaccine even though its clinical trials have not been completed.To conclude, an interesting overall finding was that rural area participants indicated more opposition to SSIs than the national sample. And, science news and holding a science degree seemed to behave differently than education level and science knowledge with a leaning towards more support of SSIs. These findings may help shape policies and practices related to media in how science news are produced and shared, increase our awareness of opinions of rural areas, and broaden our conception of science to include human experience and its connection to nature. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

OVERCOMING SOCIAL ISOLATION WITH DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AMONG AGEING POPULATIONS DURING COVID-19

During Covid-19 social isolation has become more common worldwide, however, some groups, especially elderly people, might have experienced dramatically limited communication due to the lack of skills and access to digital technologies. In this paper, we examined if education was associated with the use of digital technologies to maintain contacts with a family, friends, other social networks and services. The survey was conducted in JuneAugust 2020 by doing 1089 computer-assisted telephone interviews. The questions examined how people aged 50 years and older coped with socioeconomic and health-related impact of COVID-19. We used logistic regression analysis to study the association between the use of digital technologies and the level of education by gender and age. The higher the education was, the more it strongly associated with the use of digital technologies (OR 5.85;95% CI 3.78-9.03). As expected, age was a strong explanatory factor, however, we did not find consistent age and gender differences. Among those who used digital technologies, analyses showed that overcoming social isolation was related to the education level. The conclusion of the study is that education has inevitable impact on the use of digital technologies and social contacts, however high education level is not crucial for the acquisition of information. It seems that digital technologies are important tools to prevent social isolation and are related to education that includes digital access and competencies.

COVID-19 vaccination in pregnant women in Sweden and Norway.

Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are highly effective in preventing severe disease and mortality. Although pregnant women are at increased risk of severe COVID-19, vaccination uptake among pregnant women varies. We used the Swedish and Norwegian population-based health registries to identify pregnant women and to investigate background characteristics associated with not being vaccinated. In this study of 164 560 women giving birth between May 2021 and May 2022, 78% in Sweden and 87% in Norway have been vaccinated with at least one dose at delivery. Not being vaccinated while being pregnant was associated with age below 30 years, low education and income level, birth region other than Scandinavia, smoking during pregnancy, not living with a partner, and gestational diabetes. These results can assist health authorities develop targeted vaccination information to diminish vaccination inequality and prevent severe disease in vulnerable groups.

The causal effect of education and cognitive performance on risk for suicide attempt: A combined instrumental variable and co-relative approach in a Swedish national cohort.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to clarify the possible causal associations between education phenotypes and non-fatal suicide attempts. In particular, we evaluated the roles of academic achievement (school grades), cognitive performance (IQ), and educational attainment (education level). METHODS: Based on longitudinal Swedish registry data, we included 2,335,763 individuals (48.7% female) with available school grades, 1,448,438 men with IQ measures, and 4,352,989 individuals (48.4% female) with available data on education level. We combined two different approaches to aid in causal inference: 1) instrumental variables analysis, using month of birth as an instrument related to education but not suicide attempt, to control for measured and unmeasured confounders, and 2) co-relative analysis, comparing pairs of different genetic relatedness (cousins, half, and full siblings) to control for genetic and environmental influences. RESULTS: High education was associated with reduced risk of suicide attempt. Instrumental variable analysis indicated evidence of a likely causal association between higher school grades and lower risk of suicide attempts (HR = 0.71). Co-relative analyses supported the causality between the three predictors and suicide attempt risk (school grades, HR = 0.80, IQ, HR = 0.83, education level, HR = 0.76). Finally, we examined the specificity of education phenotypes and found that both cognitive (IQ) and non-cognitive (school grades, education level) processes were involved in suicide attempt risk. LIMITATIONS: IQ was only available in men, limiting the generalizability of this analysis in women. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to support causal associations in psychiatric research are needed to offer better intervention. Programs improving education during adolescence would decrease suicide attempt risk.

Explaining education-based difference in systematic processing of COVID-19 information: Insights into global recovery from infodemic.

Systematic processing helps individuals identify misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and serves as an individual-level measure to fight the infodemic. Highly educated people tend to engage in systematic processing more than their less educated counterparts. We follow a major part of the risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model to explicate this gap. An online survey (N = 1,568) conducted during the early stage of the pandemic in China showed that current knowledge and perceived information gathering capacity both positively mediated the association between education level and systematic processing. Although informational subjective norms were positively associated with systematic processing, we did not observe a significant difference in these norms between highly and less educated individuals. The results clarify the psychological mechanism underlying the education-based difference in systematic processing of the COVID-19 information and corroborate a relevant part of the RISP model. Moreover, our findings offer practical implications for facilitating individuals with less educational attainment to engage in systematic processing, thereby alleviating the negative impact of exposure to misinformation on them. These insights not only apply to managing the infodemic in China, but also inform the global recovery from the infodemic.

Parental socioeconomic and psychological determinants of the 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) vaccine uptake in children.

BACKGROUND: Before COVID-19, the previous pandemic was caused by influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus in 2009. Identification of factors behind parental decisions to have their child vaccinated against pandemic influenza could be helpful in planning of other pandemic vaccination programmes. We investigated the association of parental socioeconomic and psychosocial factors with uptake of the pandemic influenza vaccine in children in 2009-2010. METHODS: This study was conducted within a prospective birth-cohort study (STEPS Study), where children born in 2008-2010 are followed from pregnancy to adulthood. Demographic and socioeconomic factors of parents were collected through questionnaires and vaccination data from electronic registers. Before and after the birth of the child, the mother's and father's individual and relational psychosocial well-being, i.e. depressive symptoms, dissatisfaction with the relationship, experienced social and emotional loneliness, and maternal anxiety during pregnancy, were measured by validated questionnaires (BDI-II, RDAS, PRAQ, and UCLA). RESULTS: Of 1020 children aged 6-20 months at the beginning of pandemic influenza vaccinations, 820 (80%) received and 200 (20%) did not receive the vaccine against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09. All measures of parents' psychosocial well-being were similar between vaccinated and non-vaccinated children. Children of younger mothers had a higher risk of not receiving the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine than children of older mothers (OR 2.59, 95% CI 1.52-4.43, for mothers < 27.7 years compared to ≥ 33.6 years of age). Children of mothers with lower educational level had an increased risk of not receiving the vaccine (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.00-2.14). CONCLUSIONS: Mother's younger age and lower education level were associated with an increased risk for the child not to receive the 2009 pandemic influenza vaccine, but individual or relational psychosocial well-being of parents was not associated with children's vaccination. Our findings suggest that young and poorly educated mothers should receive targeted support in order to promote children's vaccinations during a pandemic.

Telework in Canada: Who Is Working from Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic?

This study focuses on the demographic and human capital characteristics of Canadians that are associated with working from home (WFH), before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, or being absent from work, versus those Canadians who continue to work outside the home (i.e., who do not WFH). The results show significant differences in the incidence of WFH during the pandemic: 1) there are no significant differences between females and mates;2) immigrants are less likely to WFH;3) younger workers are more likely to WFH;4) education is positively associated with WFH;and 5) self-reported health is unrelated to WFH. The results from this natural experiment suggest potential policy and organizational implications if the pandemic WFH environment continues for an extended period of time.

Exploring Digital Literacy Skills in Social Sciences and Humanities Students

Digital literacy is among the mandatory abilities to any higher education level and represents a fundamental ingredient in successful professionalization. Considering the deep penetration of digital technologies in everyday life, digital literacy offers a set of transversal skills that could improve a whole area of activities, from banking operations to civic participation. However, these skills are diverse and vary according to the development of technologies and society. This study fills an important academic gap on digital literacy by placing it in a specific and well-defined context, analyzing different perspectives that involve such learning, such as predictors of digital literacy in different types of students. In addition, research increases its importance as it is being developed during the pandemic, a period characterized by accelerated technological use and sudden changes. This research used a quantitative design based on the answers to a questionnaire conducted from March 2021 to May 2021. From a methodological perspective, we tested several hypotheses using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) within the structural equation model (SEM). The results show that communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and technical digital skills are more present in the case of students enrolled in social sciences, while other digital skills (i.e., creativity and information) are more prevalent in the case of humanities students. Moreover, the results showed that, except for creativity and problem-solving-related digital skills, all of the digital skills were significantly influenced by students’ different levels of education.

Exploring Digital Literacy Skills in Economics and Social Sciences and Humanities Students

Digital literacy is among the mandatory abilities to any higher education level and represents a fundamental ingredient in successful professionalization. Considering the deep penetration of digital technologies in everyday life, digital literacy offers a set of transversal skills that could improve a whole area of activities, from banking operations to civic participation. However, these skills are diverse and vary according to the development of technologies and society. This study fills an important academic gap on digital literacy by placing it in a specific and well-defined context, analyzing different perspectives that involve such learning, such as predictors of digital literacy in different types of students. In addition, research increases its importance as it is being developed during the pandemic, a period characterized by accelerated technological use and sudden changes. This research used a quantitative design based on the answers to a questionnaire conducted from March 2021 to May 2021. From a methodological perspective, we tested several hypotheses using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) within the structural equation model (SEM). The results show that communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and technical digital skills are more present in the case of students enrolled in economics and social sciences, while other digital skills (i.e., creativity and information) are more prevalent in the case of humanities students. Moreover, the results showed that, except for creativity and problem-solving-related digital skills, all of the digital skills were significantly influenced by students’ different levels of education. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

The effect of sak emkm-based accounting implementation, accounting knowledge, education level, and revenue on msme taxpayer compliance in reporting its tax obligations during the covid-19 pandemic

This study aimed to analyze the effect of SAK EMKM-based accounting implementation, accounting knowledge, education level, and revenue on MSME Taxpayer Compliance in reporting its tax obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The population of this study was the MSMEs registered in the Department of Cooperatives and SMEs of Semarang City. The sample was taken by using simple random sampling with survey technique. A set of questionnaires were distributed to 100 respondents which mainly focused on SMEs around Tembalang. The data was then analyzed by using multiple linear regression with the assistant of SPSS software. This study showed that SAK EMKM-based accounting implementation, education level, and revenue variable positively affect MSME Taxpayer's Compliance in reporting its tax obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the education level variable did not significantly affect MSME Taxpayer's Compliance in reporting its tax obligations. © 2021 by authors.

Spread mechanism and control strategy of social network rumors under the influence of COVID-19.

Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19), the disease has rapidly spread to the world, and the cumulative number of cases is now more than 2.3 million. We aim to study the spread mechanism of rumors on social network platform during the spread of COVID-19 and consider education as a control measure of the spread of rumors. Firstly, a novel epidemic-like model is established to characterize the spread of rumor, which depends on the nonautonomous partial differential equation. Furthermore, the registration time of network users is abstracted as 'age,' and the spreading principle of rumors is described from two dimensions of age and time. Specifically, the susceptible users are divided into higher-educators class and lower-educators class, in which the higher-educators class will be immune to rumors with a higher probability and the lower-educators class is more likely to accept and spread the rumors. Secondly, the existence and uniqueness of the solution is discussed and the stability of steady-state solution of the model is obtained. Additionally, an interesting conclusion is that the education level of the crowd is an essential factor affecting the final scale of the spread of rumors. Finally, some control strategies are presented to effectively restrain the rumor propagation, and numerical simulations are carried out to verify the main theoretical results.