Fighting Covid-19 in rural communities: coordinated mobilization and reconstruction of community order in a village in Northern China

Taking a remote village in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as a case study, this paper discusses how coordinated mobilization constructed a temporary grassroots-level emergency order in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The study reveals that the temporary emergency order was established through a combination of state power, villagers' understanding of the infection risks of the coronavirus, and village self-management traditions. It finds that party members, elites, and villagers made a coordinated effort to mobilize and fight Covid-19. The paper concludes the state can effectively mobilize loosely-knit rural communities to face major risks such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Service center location problems with decision dependent utilities and a pandemic case study

We study a service center location problem with ambiguous utility gains upon receiving service. The model is motivated by the problem of deciding medical clinic/service centers, possibly in rural communities, where residents need to visit the clinics to receive health services. A resident gains his utility based on travel distance, waiting time, and service features of the facility that depend on the clinic location. The elicited location-dependent utilities are assumed to be ambiguously described by an expected value and variance constraint. We show that despite a non-convex nonlinearity, given by a constraint specified by a maximum of two second-order conic functions, the model admits a mixed 0-1 second-order cone (MISOCP) formulation. We study the non-convex substructure of the problem, and present methods for developing its strengthened formulations by using valid tangent inequalities. Computational study shows the effectiveness of solving the strengthened formulations. Examples are used to illustrate the importance of including decision dependent ambiguity. An illustrative example to identify locations for Covid-19 testing and vaccination is used to further illustrate the model and its properties. © 2023 The Authors. Naval Research Logistics published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Patient Experiences With Virtual Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Phenomenological Focus Group Study.

BACKGROUND: Virtual care has expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic and enabled greater access and continuity of care for many patients. From a patient-oriented research perspective, understanding the patient experience with virtual care appointments is an important first step in identifying ways to better support patient use and satisfaction. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this qualitative study was (1) to explore patients' experiences and perspectives with the adoption and use of virtual care during COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and (2) identify the education and informational needs of patients to inform future strategies for supporting patient use of virtual care. METHODS: Using a phenomenological approach, we conducted a focus group interview with a purposive sample of patient representatives representing a cross-section of the population of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Five patient representatives were recruited from the Newfoundland and Labrador Support Patient Advisory Council and participated in the focus group. The focus group was conducted in February 2022 via videoconferencing technology. Using thematic analysis, we identified several recurrent themes that described respondents' experiences with the use of virtual care during COVID-19, as well as their perceptions of education and informational needs to support more effective patient use of virtual care. RESULTS: Respondents felt that virtual care is a beneficial addition to the health care system, enabling greater convenience and access to health care services. Key barriers and challenges in adopting and using virtual care appear to primarily arise from patients' lack of knowledge, understanding, and familiarity with respect to virtual care. Cost, technological access, connectivity, and low digital literacy were challenges for some patients, particularly in rural communities and among older patient population. Patient education and support were critical and needed to be inclusive, easy to understand, and include information regarding privacy, security, consent, and the technology itself. The types of patient education experiences regarded as most helpful included peer support and knowledge sharing among patients themselves. CONCLUSIONS: Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual care will have a continuing role in enhancing the continuity of care for patients through more convenient access. The education and informational needs of patients are important considerations in promoting the adoption and use of virtual care. Key education and informational needs and strategies were identified to enable and empower patients with the knowledge, digital literacy skills, and support to effectively use virtual care.

Care coordination between rural primary care and telemedicine to expand medication treatment for opioid use disorder: Results from a single-arm, multisite feasibility study.

PURPOSE: The use of telemedicine (TM) has accelerated in recent years, yet research on the implementation and effectiveness of TM-delivered medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD) has been limited. This study investigated the feasibility of implementing a care coordination model involving MOUD delivered via an external TM provider for the purpose of expanding access to MOUD for patients in rural settings. METHODS: The study tested a care coordination model in 6 rural primary care sites by establishing referral and coordination between the clinic and a TM company for MOUD. The intervention spanned approximately 6 months from July/August 2020 to January 2021, coinciding with the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each clinic tracked patients with OUD in a registry during the intervention period. A pre-/post-intervention design (N = 6) was used to assess the clinic-level outcome as patient-days on MOUD based on patient electronic health records. FINDINGS: All clinics implemented critical components of the intervention, with an overall TM referral rate of 11.7% among patients in the registry. Five of the 6 sites showed an increase in patient-days on MOUD during the intervention period compared to the 6-month period before the intervention (mean increase per 1,000 patients: 132 days, P = .08, Cohen's d = 0.55). The largest increases occurred in clinics that lacked MOUD capacity or had a greater number of patients initiating MOUD during the intervention period. CONCLUSIONS: To expand access to MOUD in rural settings, the care coordination model is most effective when implemented in clinics that have negligible or limited MOUD capacity.

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND IMPACTS OF LOCAL LIVELIHOOD TRANSITION ON THE HIGHLANDS OF MOUNT NONA, AMBON ISLAND

Purpose: Tourism development in rural areas is considered as a strategic step to lower the poverty level through new potentials in household livelihoods.This study aims to investigate the tourism development and the impacts of livelihood transition in the highlands of Mount Nona, Ambon Island.As a result, both the government and the land owner are not able to manage this local asset Theoretical Framework: Due to huge contributions in tourism to the regional income, it is need more focused and coordination between the governmnet and community. However mostly the area which had a plethora natural resources is the poorest area. It indicated that there are lack of the government contributions in developing tourism area and land owner issue. . To solve this issues, it is important to give an attention and explanation related to the natural resources management theory beside human resources. If the government can manage all with their policy and bureaucracy, it will be convenient to realize the development goals in tourism sector. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study was done using a qualitative method with a case study approach, studying a touristy attraction focusing on a selfie tourism called Siwang Paradise located in the highlands of Mount Nona, Ambon Island. The data was collected through in-depth interviews and observations done in two phases in November 2021 to February 2022. A total of 24 key informants participated in this study was selected using a purposive sampling technique based on the following criteria: first, the key informant must be part of the management of of Siwang Paradise;second, the key informant must be the member of rural community benefitted from the opening of Siwang Paradise. After the data collection process, the data was analyzed following the stages proposed by Creswell. Findings: The results show that the development of Siwang Paradise did have a significant contribution to the creation of new livelihoods through increased income. However, on the other hand, this livelihood transition had a potential threat to the household economy of the rural community itself. This condition could be caused by the community's lack of knowledge and experience regarding the management of touristy objects the uncertain tourist season and the Covid-19 pandemic. These various threats left the community with no other alternative to maintain their livelihood. Future Implications: There are a limitations in this study which is need to be completed by future research. For instance tourism development arisen from the community level, the role of the government and the private sector was highly needed. It should also be followed by the rural community as targets for the tourism development to be given knowledge transfer, promotion, and the access to information and infrastructure. This phenomenon need to be discussed by further research more deeply by using another methods and approach such as mix method to suggest several recommendations and policy to solve the tourism issues in rural area. Originality/Value: The findings of the study indicated that natural resources manajement and ownership theory are important to develop tourism business in rural area so that people will lived in poverty through wise management and economically.Otomatically, the regional income will be increase. © 2022 AOS-Estratagia and Inovacao. All rights reserved.

Enrollment management strategies as a result of COVID-19 at rural community colleges

Higher education institutions world-wide were impacted by the unprecedented novel coronavirus (COVID-19) beginning in early 2020. COVID-19 caused a disruption in services to students and resulted in pivots of teaching, learning, and student support. Community colleges differ from four-year counterparts through varying student demographics, funding sources, mission and foci, and student intentions. Community college enrollment is affected by economic, employment, and social trends. Enrollment management practices changes as campus operations for student support changed to remote support. COVID-19 forced administrators at colleges to make quick decisions. This study examined the perceptions of academic administrators at rural community colleges regarding how COVID-19 impacted enrollment management practices. This study aimed to determine the perceptions of changes occurring to enrollment management practices and the subsequent financial challenges resulting from COVID-19 within rural Virginia community colleges. Each rural community college in Virginia is included within the Rural Virginia Horseshoe, totaling 14 colleges. This study was a sequential explanatory study that was conducted in two phases. Phase One was a quantitative inquiry using a non-experimental survey to gather mid to senior-level administrators' perceptions of how COVID-19 was impacting enrollment management practices at their college. A total of 45 respondents completed the survey. The distribution included 102 mid to senior-level administrators. For the qualitative inquiry, the multiple case study research tradition was utilized. A total of 10 interviews were conducted with mid to senior-level administrators. Five themes emerged from the findings: (a) COVID-19 led to crisis management and operations in phases, (b) managing student onboarding during COVID-19, (c) COVID-19 created unique challenges for community college students, (d) COVID-19 affected decision-making procedures, and (e) COVID-19 resulted in work/life balance issues and COVID fatigue. Major implications in the current study suggest that colleges should be ready to pivot to remote instruction or back from it, review the onboarding processes and supports to ensure that they are adequately serving students, and advocate to reduce the digital divide. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Examining the Relationship Between Existing Community Resources and Community Leaders' Perceptions of Resilience and Rural Health During COVID-19.

This study explored the relationship between existing community resources and community leaders' perceptions of resilience and rural health during COVID-19. Observational data of material capitals (e.g., grocery stores and physical activity resources) present in five rural communities involved in a health promotion project were collected and compared with key informant interviews of perceived community health and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis compares the differences in community leaders' perceptions of resilience during the pandemic to the actual material capitals of the community. While these rural counties were average in terms of available physical activity and nutritional resources, the onset of the pandemic led to varying degrees of disruption in access due to structural closures of mainstay resources, as well as residents perceiving that they cannot or should not access available resources. In addition, county coalition progress was stalled as individuals and groups could not gather together to complete projects, such as building playground equipment. This study demonstrates that existing quantitative instruments, such as NEMS and PARA, fail to take into account perceived access and utility of resources. Therefore, practitioners should consider multiple ways to evaluate resources, capacity, and progress on a health intervention or program and consider community voice to ensure feasibility, relevance, and sustainability-especially when faced with a public health emergency like COVID-19.

Factors influencing COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy among rural community in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional survey based study.

Although more than one hundred million beneficiaries were administered COVID-19 vaccine until 20th February, 2022 in Bangladesh; however, proportionally a low turnout has been recorded in rural places and a substantial gap exist among the people living in rural and urban areas concerning the ratio of receiving vaccine. This study aims to investigate COVID-19 vaccine acceptance intention and to identify the potential factors influencing vaccine acceptance and hesitancy among the rural community in Bangladesh. A bilingual, self-administered anonymous questionnaire was developed, and data were collected between 10th June 2021 and 14th August 2021 through face-to-face interview. 655 rural people participated in this cross-sectional study, and sampling was done randomly. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regressions were used to explore and rationalize study objectives. Out of 655 rural participants, 552 (84.3%, 95% CI 81.2─86.8) responded to accept COVID-19 vaccine; however, minor fractions (n = 5, n% = 0.8, 95% CI 0.12-1.4) of rural community had willingness to pay (WTP) for a COVID-19 vaccine. The result of binary regression showed that "safety," "side effects," "effectiveness," and "trust" had highly significant (p <.01) and positive correlation with vaccine acceptance intention. "Rumor" had moderately significant (p <.05) and negative association while "gender" had insignificant correlation with vaccine acceptance intention. Easy and constant access to evidence-based and trustworthy information on vaccination consequences is imperative for resource-less remote people. Health communication regarding safety, side effect, and effectiveness of vaccines were identified as the most important predictor to convert vaccines to vaccinations and for ensuring mass immunization against COVID-19 in Bangladesh.

Assessing the Utilisation of TELedentistry from Perspectives of Early Career Dental Practitioners - Development of the UTEL Questionnaire

Introduction: Teledentistry has allowed for the provision of dental care remotely. It has benefitted people living in regional, rural and remote communities. The use of teledentistry rapidly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic to minimise transmission risk while still allowing for the provision of care, especially during mandated lockdowns. Aim: This study aims to pilot and assess the validity of a questionnaire developed to understand early career dental practitioners’ opinions regarding teledentistry in Australia. Method: Registered early career dental practitioners currently working in Australia were invited to participate. Participants were asked to respond to a series of questions regarding teledentistry on themes containing diagnosis, accessibility, patient care, technology and finances. In addition, participants were asked for feedback upon the conclusion of the questionnaire. Results: A total of 23 dental practitioners (60% female, age range 20–34) participated in this study. Work experiences ranged from 0–10 years. A total of 18 participants worked in metropolitan areas, while five worked in regional areas. All participants used teledentistry for approximately 1–9 hours per week. Over 82% of participants believed that telehealth was effective for consultations, and over 90% believed it was more convenient than face-to-face consultations. However, over 78% believed teledentistry was ineffective for diagnosing complex dental cases. Over 95% of participants believed that teledentistry improved patient healthcare access and was beneficial during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. All participants believed that teledentistry was a useful tool for post-operative care, and over 86% of participants felt that patients accepted teledentistry. Conclusion: This questionnaire effectively determines the utilisation of teledentistry during a global pandemic from the perspective of early career dental practitioners. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

A conservation organisation's approach to COVID-19: Lessons learned from Madagascar.

Blue Ventures (BV) works holistically with communities in Madagascar, developing transformative approaches to catalyse and sustain locally led marine conservation. In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, BV's priority was to safeguard the immediate wellbeing and livelihoods of as many communities as possible, recognising that livelihoods are integral to broader well-being. This article describes in detail BV's health response and the perceptions of BV's Madagascar team regarding the successes and challenges of this effort. As a result of the combined efforts of BV teams across Madagascar and in the United Kingdom, the existing healthcare services at BV's sites were maintained, and messages about recognising and dealing with COVID-19 and the importance of vaccination were conveyed to communities that might otherwise not have received comprehensive information. Data were also collected on suspected cases in areas where testing was not available, and outbreaks of suspected COVID-19 cases were managed. Because BV's teams are embedded within the communities where they work, they maintain strong relationships with communities and conveyed important messages around reducing the spread of COVID-19, not only via activities in response to the pandemic but also through activities for other programmes such as fisheries and livelihoods. Blue Ventures' holistic approach ensured that the organisation had a multidimensional understanding of the impacts of the pandemic on communities, facilitating the development of more relevant messaging that considered both safety and the need for continued income-generating activities. Staff felt that an effective public health response was facilitated by strong in-country partnerships and BV's long-standing presence in communities. Contribution: The challenges in responding to the pandemic and in implementing and maintaining effective behaviour change are discussed. Although not an objective study of the effectiveness of the response or a comparison with other approaches, the lessons learned from this process are shared in the hope that they may inform responses to future shocks in low-income countries.

Associations between Perception of Help-Seeking Behaviors and Quality of Life among Older People in Rural Communities: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Older people's help-seeking behaviors (HSBs) may be limited because of various factors and are essential in improving healthcare in aging societies. This cross-sectional study investigated the association between perception of HSBs, concrete HSBs, quality of life (QOL), and other variables among people over 65 in rural Japan using standardized questionnaires. Participants were divided into high or low health status index score groups based on a median split. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between perception of HSBs and high QOL while controlling for age, sex, living conditions, annual health checks, having chronic diseases, regular clinic visits, smoking, habitual alcohol consumption, education, living conditions, social support, social capital, socioeconomic status (SES), and health literacy. Participants in the high QOL group were younger (p < 0.001), and had fewer chronic diseases and regular clinic visits than those in the low QOL group (p < 0.001). The multivariate logistic regression model revealed that age, chronic diseases, tobacco usage, family consultation, and consulting primary care physicians negatively predicted QOL. High SES, social capital and support, and HSB intention positively predicted QOL. Self-efficacy and intention regarding HSBs should be investigated to improve health among older rural people.

Do Telecommuters Make Fewer Trips? An Analysis of Telecommuting Travel Behavior in Urban and Rural Communities in the USA

Many believe that telecommuting could be a solution for some of the significant adverse impacts of our transportation systems, e.g., traffic congestion, greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions, and energy consumption. Observations may have further strengthened this belief during the first year of the COVID-19 Pandemic, where streets were deserted and clean air and wildlife returned to urban areas. Accordingly, this study investigates the legitimacy of this belief. The NHTS 2017 data set was used to examine the travel activity of commuting workers against telecommuters. Workers were classified into one of five telecommute classes based on primary work location, telecommute engagement, logged trips, and option to telecommute: home-based workers (those who work predominantly from home), primary and ancillary telecommuters (those who telecommute), passive telecommuters (those who have the option to telecommute), and non-Telecommuters. The various forms of telecommuting were found to significantly impact average daily trip counts and average daily trip miles produced in both urban and rural contexts. Contrary to the possibly traditional belief, telecommuters made more trips per day and traveled longer distances per day compared to non-Telecommuters. Additionally, the study investigated the differences in trip rates by trip purpose for each of the five telecommuting classes. The analysis revealed that while home-based work (HBW) trips for primary telecommuters decreased significantly, all other trip purposes increased (in number and distance) and in a higher manner than the decrease of the HBW trips. These findings indicate that telecommuting is likely to increase total VMT and associated negative impacts and should inform relevant transportation policies. © ASCE. All rights reserved.

Assessing Educational Pathways for Manufacturing in Rural Communities: Research Findings and Implications from an Investigation of New and Existing Programs in Northwest Florida

In northwest Florida, advanced manufacturing (AM) jobs far outpace the middle-skilled technician workforce, though AM constitutes almost a quarter of the region's total employment. From 2018-2028, of the available 4.6 million manufacturing jobs, less than half are likely to be filled due to talent shortages. This widening “skills gap” is attributed to many factors that range from new technologies in the AM industry (e.g., artificial intelligence, robotics), a need for newer recruiting methods, branding, and incentives in AM educational programs. Some professionals have even indicated that manufacturing industries and AM educational programs should be aligned more to reflect the needs of the industry. Even in the wake of Covid-19, when there have been over 658,000 manufacturing jobs lost due to market conditions, many states still have jobs that go unfilled further suggesting that there are challenges in filling AM technician positions. In a time when technicians in AM are in high demand and the number of graduates are in low supply, it is critical to identify whether AM education is meeting the needs of new professionals in the workforce and what they believe can be improved in these programs. This is especially true in rural locales, where economies with manufacturing industries are much more reliant on them. In the context of a NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE), through a multi-method approach, we sought to understand: 1) Which AM competencies skills did participants report as benefiting them in gaining employment? 2) Which competencies are needed on the job to be a successful AM technician? 3) What are the ways in which AM preparation can be improved to enhance employment outcomes? This study's results will expand the research base and curriculum content recommendations for regional AM education, as well as build regional capacity for AM program assessment and improvement by replicating, refining, and disseminating study approaches through further research, annual AM employer and educator meetings, and annual research skill-building academies in which stakeholders transfer research findings to practices and policies that empower rural NW Florida colleges. To date, research efforts have demonstrated that competency perceptions of faculty, employers, and new professionals have notable misalignments that have opportunities for AM program curriculum revision and enhancement. This paper summarizes five years of research output, emphasizing the impactful findings and dissemination products for ASEE community members, as well as opportunities for further research. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

Knowledge, attitude, and practices toward COVID-19 among rural people during the pandemic in India: A community survey

Background: Knowledge, attitude, and practices of the Indian population toward the transmission and prevention of COVID-19 diseases play a vital role in effective control measures. Objective: In this study, we assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practices toward COVID-19 among rural people in Tamil Nadu, India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a semistructured interview schedule, with face validated and translated into the local language after pilot testing, was used to collect the data. An information sheet was provided to the participants in the local language (Tamil), and verbal consent was obtained before starting the interview. Ethical approval was granted by the institutional ethics committee. Results: A total of 762 participants were interviewed, with the average age of participants being 42.59 years (standard deviation: ± 16.8). Around 37% of participants did not receive any formal education;among working people, most of them were involved in agriculture and unskilled labor works. The knowledge related to disease transmission was poor, only 50% of the people knew that virus can spread through droplets and close contact with the infected people, and only 11.4% said that the virus can spread when people get in contact with a contaminated surface. Around 85% of the people said that naturopathy home remedies can help prevent COVID-19 severity. The preventive practices scores were poor, only 11% of the people wore the mask, and educational status was the significant predictor of positive practices scores. Conclusion: The government can develop health educational programs tailored to rural communities to promote the practices and also can implement legal measures to promote the practices among the people. © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.

Underreported Human Exposure to Mycotoxins: The Case of South Africa.

South Africa (SA) is a leading exporter of maize in Africa. The commercial maize farming sector contributes to about 85% of the overall maize produced. More than 33% of South Africa's population live in rural settlements, and their livelihoods depend entirely on subsistence farming. The subsistence farming system promotes fungal growth and mycotoxin production. This review aims to investigate the exposure levels of the rural population of South Africa to dietary mycotoxins contrary to several reports issued concerning the safety of South African maize. A systematic search was conducted using Google Scholar. Maize is a staple food in South Africa and consumption rates in rural and urban communities are different, for instance, intake may be 1-2 kg/person/day and 400 g/person/day, respectively. Commercial and subsistence maize farming techniques are different. There exist differences influencing the composition of mycotoxins in food commodities from both sectors. Depending on the levels of contamination, dietary exposure of South Africans to mycotoxins is evident in the high levels of fumonisins (FBs) that have been detected in SA home-grown maize. Other potential sources of exposure to mycotoxins, such as carryover effects from animal products and processed foods, were reviewed. The combined effects between FBs and aflatoxins (AFs) have been reported in humans/animals and should not be ignored, as sporadic breakouts of aflatoxicosis have been reported in South Africa. These reports are not a true representation of the entire country as reports from the subsistence-farming rural communities show high incidence of maize contaminated with both AFs and FBs. While commercial farmers and exporters have all the resources needed to perform laboratory analyses of maize products, the greater challenge in combatting mycotoxin exposure is encountered in rural communities with predominantly subsistence farming systems, where conventional food surveillance is lacking.

Planning the Trauma Hospital Network Expansion to Increase Access in Rural Communities

Trauma care services are a vital part of all healthcare-based networks as timely accessibility is important for citizens. Trauma care access is even more relevant when unexpected events such as the COVID-19 pandemic overload the capacity of hospitals. Research literature has highlighted that access to trauma care is not equal for all populations, especially when comparing rural and urban groups. In this research we present a decision-making model for the expansion of a trauma hospital network by considering the demand for services of rural communities. The decision-making model provides recommendations in terms of where to place additional aeromedical facilities and where to locate additional trauma hospitals. A case study is presented for the state of Texas, where a sensitivity analysis was conducted to consider changes in demand, cost, and the total number of facilities allowed in the network. The results show that the location of new facilities is sensitive to the expected service demand and the maximum number of facilities allowed in the network. © 2022 IISE Annual Conference and Expo 2022. All rights reserved.

Accost, Accede, or Amplify: Attitudes towards COVID-19 Misinformation on WhatsApp in India

Social media has witnessed an unprecedented growth in users based in low-income communities in the Global South. However, much remains unknown about the drivers of misinformation in such communities. To fill this gap, we conducted an interview-based study to examine how rural and urban communities in India engage with misinformation on WhatsApp. We found that misinformation led to bitterness and conflict - rural users who had higher social status heavily influenced the perceptions and engagement of marginalized members. While urban users relied on the expertise of gatekeepers for verification, rural users engaged in collective deliberations in offline spaces. Both rural and urban users knowingly forwarded misinformation. However, rural users propagated hyperlocal misinformation, whereas urban users forwarded misinformation to reduce their efforts to assess information credibility. Using a public sphere lens, we propose that the reactions to misinformation provide a view of Indian society and its schisms around class, urbanity, and social interactions. © 2022 ACM.

Improvement in Quality of Life through Self-Management of Mild Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Prospective Cohort Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has inhibited people's help-seeking behaviors (HSBs). In particular, older people in rural communities experienced limited access to medical care, which negatively affected their quality of life (QOL). Within HSB, self-management of mild symptoms may mitigate the difficulties experienced by older people in rural communities. However, few studies have examined the relationship between self-management and QOL. Therefore, we conducted a prospective cohort study to clarify this relationship. Our participants were over 65 years of age and lived in rural communities. QOL was measured with the EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L). Demographic data and QOL were collected from participants via questionnaires in 2021 and 2022. The exposure group showed a significantly greater change in EQ-5D-5L health status index scores than the control group (p = 0.002). In addition, the exposure group scored significantly lower than the control group on the EQ-5D-5L dimension "usual activities" in 2021 and on all dimensions in 2022. Thus, self-management of mild symptoms may improve QOL among older people in rural communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Educational interventions for this population regarding self-management could improve QOL for entire communities.

AIR QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF IMMIGRANT RURAL COMMUNITIES BASED ON THE THEORY OF HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - A CASE STUDY OF IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES IN HUBEI, CHINA

In the context of the global outbreak of COVID-19, health issues have attracted worldwide attention. Building a healthy ecological environment is particularly important for human beings, and among the ecological environmental factors, air quality is particularly prominent. The study takes the air quality of newly-built immigrant relocation communities in Western China as the research object, and adopts a number of technical methods, such as professional laboratory test report, instrument test, calculation test and so on. Obtain the data of regional ambient air quality and building indoor air quality, and comprehensively judge the regional environment and building ventilation efficiency of the experimental point. So as to comprehensively grade the air quality of the experimental point. A number of technologies and methods are studied and integrated to form a comprehensive three-dimensional air quality detection technology integration. From the perspective of air quality inspection, provide technical support for the healthy and sustainable development of relocated new rural communities. It is of great practical significance to supervise and urge the construction of a healthy and sustainable new township village.

Multi-hazard perception during COVID-19: Evidence from rural communities in West Sumatra, Indonesia.

Risk perception in a multi-hazard environment improves the ability of risk prioritization management. The undertaken approaches to reduce the negative impacts of the disaster differ from the single hazard's effects. This work applies an online survey targeting West Sumatra-Indonesia rural communities, aiming to examine their perception of multi-hazards during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistical results show that drought, the COVID-19, and earthquakes were perceived to have a proportionally more significant effect on rural communities. Unlike urban areas, rural characteristics have created barriers for the COVID-19 to spread. As a result, the economic sector is considered as the most important factors in comparison to health. Labor migration and social conflicts become more apparent, whereas farmer groups were absent in providing basic supports to their members. Likely, borrowing cash from relatives and financial institutions would be the most applicable option to reduce farmers' vulnerability.