The association between fear of Covid-19 and smartphone addiction among individuals: the mediating and moderating role of cyberchondria severity.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has quickly spread all over the world and has contributed to psychological consequences including fear of the virus. Depending upon the severity of their problems, individuals often search the internet via their mobile devices to understand whether the symptoms they perceive are symptoms of the disease. This condition has been termed 'cyberchondria'. In this context, the aim of this study is examine the mediating and moderating role of cyberchondria severity in the association between smartphone addiction and the fear of COVID-19. The sample comprised 520 participants (335 females [64.4%], 185 males [35.6%] aged 17 to 65 years [Mean = 28.61 years, SD = 10.60]). A survey included the Cyberchondria Severity Scale Short-Form, The Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version, and The Fear of COVID-19 Scale. Structural equation modeling and SPSS Process Macro moderator variable analysis were used to test the research model. The study found a positive association between smartphone addiction, fear of COVID-19, and cyberchondria severity. Cyberchondria severity had both moderating and mediating role in the association between smartphone addiction and the fear of COVID-19. In conclusion, it has been determined that during the COVID-19 pandemic, cyberchondria severity has negative effects on individuals' fear of COVID-19.

The spread of the omicron variant: Identification of knowledge gaps, virus diffusion modelling, and future research needs.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognised variant B.1.1.529 of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as a variant of concern, termed "Omicron", on November 26, 2021. Its diffusion was attributed to its several mutations, which allow promoting its ability to diffuse worldwide and its capability in immune evasion. As a consequence, some additional serious threats to public health posed the risk to undermine the global efforts made in the last two years to control the pandemic. In the past, several works were devoted to discussing a possible contribution of air pollution to the SARS-CoV-2 spread. However, to the best of the authors' knowledge, there are still no works dealing with the Omicron variant diffusion mechanisms. This work represents a snapshot of what we know right now, in the frame of an analysis of the Omicron variant spread. The paper proposes the use of a single indicator, commercial trade data, to model the virus spread. It is proposed as a surrogate of the interactions occurring between humans (the virus transmission mechanism due to human-to-human contacts) and could be considered for other diseases. It allows also to explain the unexpected increase in infection cases in China, detected at beginning of 2023. The air quality data are also analyzed to evaluate for the first time the role of air particulate matter (PM) as a carrier of the Omicron variant diffusion. Due to emerging concerns associated with other viruses (such as smallpox-like virus diffusion in Europe and America), the proposed approach seems to be promising to model the virus spreading.

The Covid-19 pandemic in context of climate change perception and resource-saving behavior in the European Union countries.

The resource-saving behavior in the recent period is escalating particularly due to the energy and prices crises in all of the European Union (EU). The COVID-19 pandemic not only caused changes in health concerns but also in environmental awareness and behavior. Thus, this paper aims to reveal whether the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the resource-saving behavior, and how this pandemic changed the climate change perception and personal responsibility in the EU countries. Referring to two surveys conducted in all EU countries in 2019 and 2021, the results revealed that the level of climate change perception during this period significantly decreased in all EU. Meanwhile, the level of responsibility placed on the government to solve the climate change problem increased the most. A level of the personal responsibility increased negligibly. Considering resource-saving behaviors, only the lesser usage of disposable items from 2019 to 2021 increased statistically significantly. The results of an analysis of the main determinants of resource-saving behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic period revealed that personal responsibility and the climate change solution's benefit for health positively and significantly determined all the analyzed actions. The climate change perception and climate change solution's benefit for the economy statistically significantly influenced waste reduction, the purchase of efficient appliances, and the usage of pro-environmental transportation mode instead of personal cars. Health benefits instead of the economic benefits statistically significantly contributed to the resource-saving behaviors, except for actions that require more monetary investments. The satisfaction with the COVID-19 pandemic management had an insignificant negative impact on all resource-saving actions. Thus, the tools assigned to manage this pandemic did not motivate people to save natural resources.

Experiences of A Population of Recovered Iranian Pregnant Women from COVID-19: A Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: It seems pandemics may have a notable potential adverse effect on the pregnant women. The important biological COVID-19 aspect of the pregnancy has been led to the neglect of its psychological aspect of the pregnant women, especially COVID-19 affected. The present qualitative study aims to explore the experiences of Iranian pregnant women who were recovered from the COVID-19 pandemics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This qualitative study designed based on a semi-structured interview with 9 pregnant women who had developed COVID-19 during pregnancy and had recovered. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed five themes including: anxiety and helplessness, stigma, confront disease, apprehension in the heart of desire, and seeking calmness. Rrecovered pregnant women from COVID-19 spoke of their mixed feelings; being happy with their survival and that of their fetus, despite getting the disease, along with anxiety and fear of the future, which had resulted in the continuation of pregnancy in the limbo of ambiguity and expectation. Recovered pregnant women during unknown pandemics, despite being saved from disease, continue to tolerate concerns about their unborn child. CONCLUSION: Recovered pregnant women during unknown pandemics, despite being saved from disease, continue to tolerate concerns about their fetus. Therefore, they require comprehensive and complete management approaches that require familiarity with the psychological challenges of this group of patients.

The Moderating Role of COVID-19 Perceived Risk between Health Concern and Psychological Well-Being of Active Senior Campers Using PROCESS Macro Model.

This study attempts to contribute to improving the life of the elderly by empirically analyzing the factors affecting the psychological well-being of active seniors in the 'With COVID-19' era. To this end, the relationship between psychological well-being, health concern, and perceived risk of COVID-19 was verified for active seniors in Korea who enjoy camping. Two hundred and sixty-four valid questionnaires collected from active senior participants of "The Korea Camping Fair 2022" held in EXCO, Daegu, Korea, from 29 April to 1 May 2022, were analyzed. The main results were as follows. The health and psychological well-being of active seniors were higher than the normal level, and the perceived risk of COVID-19 was lower than the normal level. It was found that the health of active seniors had a positive effect on their psychological well-being. The perceived risk of COVID-19 was found to moderate the effect of health concern on psychological well-being. In conclusion, in order to improve the psychological well-being of active seniors, active leisure activities of the elderly are essential even in the COVID-19 situation, and various measures are needed to increase health. Not only this, but also, importantly, accurate information sharing on COVID-19 should be premised.

Self-focused and other-focused health concerns as predictors of the uptake of Corona contact tracing apps: Empirical study

Background: Corona contact tracing apps are a novel and promising measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19. They can help to balance the need to maintain normal life and economic activities as much as possible while still avoiding exponentially growing case numbers. However, a majority of citizens need to be willing to install such an app for it to be effective. Hence, knowledge about drivers for app uptake is crucial. Objective: This study aimed to add to our understanding of underlying psychological factors motivating app uptake. More specifically, we investigated the role of concern for one's own health and concern to unknowingly infect others. Methods: A two-wave survey with 346 German-speaking participants from Switzerland and Germany was conducted. We measured the uptake of two decentralized contact tracing apps officially launched by governments (Corona-Warn-App, Germany;SwissCovid, Switzerland), as well as concerns regarding COVID-19 and control variables. Results: Controlling for demographic variables and general attitudes toward the government and the pandemic, logistic regression analysis showed a significant effect of self-focused concerns (odds ratio [OR] 1.64, P = .002). Meanwhile, concern of unknowingly infecting others did not contribute significantly to the prediction of app uptake over and above concern for one's own health (OR 1.01, P = .92). Longitudinal analyses replicated this pattern and showed no support for the possibility that app uptake provokes changes in levels of concern. Testing for a curvilinear relationship, there was no evidence that "too much" concern leads to defensive reactions and reduces app uptake. Conclusions: As one of the first studies to assess the installation of already launched corona tracing apps, this study extends our knowledge of the motivational landscape of app uptake. Based on this, practical implications for communication strategies and app design are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Factors Influencing Consumers' Purchase Intention on Cold Chain Aquatic Products under COVID-19: An Investigation in China.

Following the detection of COVID-19 in cold chain aquatic products (CCAP) at Xinfadi Produce Wholesale Market in Beijing, China, in June 2020, novel coronavirus positive tests of CCAP have been reported in such markets of Dalian, Xi'an, Qingdao, Taiyuan, and other places, which has aroused the concern of Chinese consumers. The CCAP outbreak puts tremendous pressure on public health management and threatens customer well-being. This article uses the theoretical model of planned behavior (TPB) to investigate Chinese consumers' purchasing intentions of CCAP under this circumstance. A total of 783 questionnaires were administered in China with empirical analysis through a structural equation model. The results show that attitudes (ATT) towards the safety of CCAP and subjective norms (SN) have significant positive effects on customers' purchasing behavior intention (BI); the emotional response to the health concern (EM) of CCAP has a significant positive impact on SN, ATT, and BI; and BI of CCAP is significantly affected by individual characteristics. The BI of CCAP for those married consumers living in cities and towns with a low monthly consumption frequency is more likely to be affected by the new coronavirus epidemic events. This paper is one of the first studies that contribute to the literature by exploring the influencing factors of the consumption behavior intention over the COVID-19 pandemic in China from a public health perspective. The findings provide significant implications for cold chain operators, market managers, and policymakers to develop guidelines and offer a framework to initiate and support the produce market and boost consumer health confidence in CCAP at the practitioner level.

Delta variant and black fungal invasion: A bidirectional assault might worsen the massive second/third stream of COVID-19 outbreak in South-Asia.

BACKGROUND: Here, we have shortly reported the recent updates on the disastrous progressions of the deadly delta variant and a virulent coinfection or post-COVID-19 infection of black fungus in India and its neighbouring countries. METHODOLOGY: We searched by utilizing appropriate keywords in Google Scholar, PubMed and other scholarly databases alongside several national and international newspapers to collect the latest data regarding the targeted topic. RESULTS: Recently, the delta variant is wreaking havoc in India, UK, and other countries around the globe and has also exhibited successful infections in around 20 to 55% of the people who have already recovered from COVID-19 originating from the different strains. Besides, a significant catch is the prevalence of 85.5% and 64.11% of Mucormycosis infections being co-morbid with COVID-19 and diabetes, respectively in South-Asian regions. CONCLUSIONS: To avert the emergence of an epidemic amid the pandemic, prompt actions from concerned authorities are warranted. Proper education on black fungus infection and associated risks from the COVID-19 and diabetes, adequate public awareness, and sufficient healthcare assistance to battle such fungal infections effectively should be ensured as quickly as possible.

Self-Focused and Other-Focused Health Concerns as Predictors of the Uptake of Corona Contact Tracing Apps: Empirical Study.

BACKGROUND: Corona contact tracing apps are a novel and promising measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19. They can help to balance the need to maintain normal life and economic activities as much as possible while still avoiding exponentially growing case numbers. However, a majority of citizens need to be willing to install such an app for it to be effective. Hence, knowledge about drivers for app uptake is crucial. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to add to our understanding of underlying psychological factors motivating app uptake. More specifically, we investigated the role of concern for one's own health and concern to unknowingly infect others. METHODS: A two-wave survey with 346 German-speaking participants from Switzerland and Germany was conducted. We measured the uptake of two decentralized contact tracing apps officially launched by governments (Corona-Warn-App, Germany; SwissCovid, Switzerland), as well as concerns regarding COVID-19 and control variables. RESULTS: Controlling for demographic variables and general attitudes toward the government and the pandemic, logistic regression analysis showed a significant effect of self-focused concerns (odds ratio [OR] 1.64, P=.002). Meanwhile, concern of unknowingly infecting others did not contribute significantly to the prediction of app uptake over and above concern for one's own health (OR 1.01, P=.92). Longitudinal analyses replicated this pattern and showed no support for the possibility that app uptake provokes changes in levels of concern. Testing for a curvilinear relationship, there was no evidence that "too much" concern leads to defensive reactions and reduces app uptake. CONCLUSIONS: As one of the first studies to assess the installation of already launched corona tracing apps, this study extends our knowledge of the motivational landscape of app uptake. Based on this, practical implications for communication strategies and app design are discussed.