ABSTRACT
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its consequences may impact individuals' mental health. Objective(s): The present study aimed to investigate the psychological status of individuals during the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran following the government's social distancing plan. Method(s): Data from 1,524 people were collected using a cross-sectional web-based survey via social media. Demographic variables and psychological status were evaluated using the General Health Questionnaire, Stress Response Inventory, and Brunel Mood Scale. Result(s): Individuals reported that their mental health decreased during the pandemic. Four factors were associated with increased stress: (1) Fear of getting sick;(2) indefinite quarantine duration;(3) impaired daily activities;and (4) reduced social communication. One-third of the participants reported physical symptoms (32.7%), 47% anxiety, 72% social dysfunction, and 28.3% depression. Approximately half of the participants (52.2%) reported mental health disorder symptoms. Detrimental mental health characteristics were higher among females, younger people, and singles. Conclusion(s): Health policies should be implemented to help reduce the psychological burden during and after the Iranian government's SDP, especially among females, singles, and younger people.Copyright © 2023, Author(s).
ABSTRACT
Background: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused stress and anxiety for various parts of society all over the world. This concern and stress are not limited to being affected by COVID-19 because this condition has also caused changes in people's lifestyles. Objective(s): The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate the validity and reliability of the COVID-19-related stressors questionnaire and determine the contribution of each of the stressors to the prediction of mental health in the Iranian population. Method(s): This descriptive-analytical and correlational study was performed on 301 volunteers living in Tehran, Iran. Due to the prevalence of COVID-19, questionnaires were distributed by convenience sampling method and online conduction. The instruments used in the present study were the researcher-made questionnaire on Iranians' COVID-19-related stressors (ICRS) and the mental health questionnaire general health questionnaire (GHQ-12). Content validity (qualitative and quantitative), face validity, structural validity (exploratory factor analysis), Cronbach's alpha, and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS version 24 and AMOS24 software. Result(s): In exploratory factor analysis, the final 25 items were obtained in seven factors with an explanation of 66.25% variance. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that worrying about changing economic status, getting COVID-19 and change in lifestyle increased the chance of developing mental health disorder up to 1.29 (OR = 1.29), 1.28 (OR = 1.28), and 1.18 times (OR = 1.18), respectively. The variable of changing family interactions reduces the chance of developing a mental health disorder by 0.85 times (OR = 0.85). Conclusion(s): The COVID-19-related stressors questionnaire is valid and can be used in future research. Identifying the most im-portant stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and determining each contribution to mental health prediction will help health policymakers to make better decisions.Copyright © 2023, Author(s).
ABSTRACT
The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of meaning therapy with a spiritual approach on self-care behaviors and anxiety of corona disease in people with type 2 diabetes. The research design was a semi-experimental pre-test-post-test with a control group and random selection. The statistical population of this research included all people with type 2 diabetes who are members of the Iranian Diabetes Association in Tehran. Sampling in this research was done in the form of purposeful sampling. For this purpose, 30 people with type 2 diabetes were selected and completed the questionnaire of self-care behavior and corona anxiety, and then they were randomly divided into two groups (15 people in the experimental group and 10 people in the control group). In this research, Tobert and Glasgow's (2000) diabetes self-care behavior questionnaire and Alipour's corona anxiety questionnaire (2018) were used to collect data. The intervention was conducted in the form of 10 sessions and two sessions of 45 minutes per week on the experimental group. The control group did not receive any intervention during this period. After collecting the data, it was analyzed using spss-24 software and covariance analysis methods. The findings showed that meaning therapy with a spiritual approach had a significant effect on improving self-care behaviors and reducing the anxiety of corona disease in people with type 2 diabetes.
ABSTRACT
Background: The first COVID-19 case was reported in December 2019 in China. The number of infected cases increased rapidly, and COVID-19 became a public health issue worldwide. The high transmission rate and global spreading of COVID-19 caused public anxiety and may lead to unfavorable effects on psychological health. Objectives: This study evaluated the COVID-19 impact on the public anxiety, knowledge, and behavior of Iranians. Methods: We used a web-based cross-sectional survey and collected data from 1627 volunteers. Demographic information, anxiety self-reporting, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7), and COVID-19–related knowledge were evaluated. Results: Among the participants, the dominant GAD-7 score was mild, and the self-reporting level of anxiety was 5.28/10. Women and younger people reported higher anxiety than men and older groups. Further, 69.76% of participants had good knowledge, and among them, the level of education had a positive effect on knowledge, while sex and age did not have any effect. Social media and applications were the most common source of information. Conclusions: Our study showed that Iranians’ anxiety was at the medium level, and their high knowledge level about COVID-19 could affect this reduction;however, we should not ignore that less anxiety makes the matter less essential.
ABSTRACT
Background: During the past two years, a new health crisis that affected the world was the emergence of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Currently, most health challenges and problems are mainly due to behavioral factors, so identifying these factors can play an important role in promoting public health. Therefore, this study was designed and conducted to investigate Iranians’ attitude, practice, and perceived self-efficacy towards COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Method: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted online among 387 Iranian cyberspace users selected by convenience sampling method and invited through social media messaging apps (Telegram, WhatsApp). The data gathering tool was a researcher-made questionnaire divided into 4 parts (demographic information, items related to attitude, practice, and perceived self-efficacy). The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by the content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) and its reliability by Cronbach's alpha. Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney, analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation, and linear regression tests were used to analyze the collected data. Results: The results of the Pearson’s test showed that there was a direct and significant correlation between the participants’ attitude with practice (r = 0.23, p <0.001) and perceived self-efficacy (r = 0.21, p <0.001) regarding coronavirus preventive behaviors. There was also a direct and significant relationship between self-efficacy and practice (r = 0.46, p <0.001). The results of univariate regression test also showed that occupation (p=0.002, β=-0.16), marital status (p = 0.003, β=-0.15), attitude (p <0.001, β=0.23), and self-efficacy (p <0.001, β = 0.45) are predictive and influential variables of the participants’ practice towards coronavirus preventive behaviors. Conclusion: Various factors affect people's practice in relation to preventive behaviors. Paying attention to people's attitudes and self-efficacy can be considered in policies related to improving people's performance as well as planning future interventions to promote coronavirus preventive behaviors.