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In the current chapter, we have detailed the course and results of our research to evaluate the five constructs of Health Behaviour Model (HBM) as well as the degree of compliance to preventive measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 among the Indian citizens. Additionally, we also examined the degree of association of the HBM constructs with the compliance. Finally, we investigated whether these constructs differed across various socio-demographic group. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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In a rapidly developing crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, people are often faced with contradictory or changing information and must determine what sources to trust. Across five time points (N = 5902) we examine how trust in various sources predicts COVID-19 health behaviors. Trust in experts and national news predicted more engagement with most health behaviors from April 2020 to March 2022 and trust in Fox news, which often positioned itself as counter to the mainstream on COVID-19, predicted less engagement. However, we also examined a particular public health behavior (masking) before and after the CDC announcement recommending masks on 3 April 2020 (which reversed earlier expert advice discouraging masks for the general public). Prior to the announcement, trust in experts predicted less mask-wearing while trust in Fox News predicted more. These relationships disappeared in the next 4 days following the announcement and reversed in the 2 years that follow, and emerged for vaccination in the later time points. We also examine how the media trusted by Democrats and Republicans predicts trust in experts and in turn health behaviors. Broadly we consider how the increasingly fragmented epistemic environment has implications for polarization on matters of public health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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Background: Societal changes during the COVID-19 pandemic may affect children's health behaviors and exacerbate disparities. This study aimed to describe children's health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic, how they vary by sociodemographic characteristics, and the extent to which parent coping strategies mitigate the impact of pandemic-related financial strain on these behaviors. Methods: This study used pooled data from 50 cohorts in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Program. Children or parent proxies reported sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, and parent coping strategies. Results: Of 3315 children aged 3-17 years, 49% were female and 57% were non-Hispanic white. Children of parents who reported food access as a source of stress were 35% less likely to engage in a higher level of physical activity. Children of parents who changed their work schedule to care for their children had 82 fewer min/day of screen time and 13 more min/day of sleep compared with children of parents who maintained their schedule. Parents changing their work schedule were also associated with a 31% lower odds of the child consuming sugar-sweetened beverages. Conclusions: Parents experiencing pandemic-related financial strain may need additional support to promote healthy behaviors. Understanding how changes in parent work schedules support shorter screen time and longer sleep duration can inform future interventions.
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To identify factors that increase risk for nonadherence to recommended health protective behaviors during pandemics, this study examined the prospective relations of substance use frequency to both adherence to social distancing recommendations and social distancing intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the role of social distancing self-efficacy in these relations. A U.S. community sample of 377 adults completed a prospective online study, including an initial assessment between March 27 and April 5, 2020, and a follow-up assessment one-month later. Results revealed a significant direct relation of baseline substance use frequency to lower adherence to social distancing recommendations one-month later. Results also revealed significant indirect relations of greater substance use frequency to lower levels of both social distancing behaviors and intentions one-month later through lower social distancing self-efficacy. Results highlight the relevance of substance use and social distancing self-efficacy to lower adherence to social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of chronic allergic diseases before and after the COVID-19 pandemic using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2019 and 2021. DATA SOURCES: A representative sample of Korean adults (n = 10,346) aged 19-85 years who completed the survey in 2019 and 2021 was analyzed. STUDY SELECTION: General and health-related characteristics, as well as the prevalence and diagnosis of asthma, atopic dermatitis, and allergic rhinitis, were compared between the two years. Sub-analyses by gender and age were also conducted. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found in marital status, subjective health perception, sleep quality, and walking status between 2019 and 2021. However, there were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence and diagnosis of asthma, atopic dermatitis, and allergic rhinitis. In a sub-analysis by gender and age, the prevalence of asthma in teenagers showed a statistically significant increase in 2021 compared to 2019, while it decreased significantly in the 30s group. CONCLUSION: This study found no significant changes in the prevalence and diagnosis of chronic allergic diseases before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea. However, changes in lifestyle factors, such as physical activity and sleep quality, were observed. Further research on the relationship between COVID-19 and chronic allergic diseases is necessary, and healthcare providers should consider lifestyle changes in their treatment of chronic allergic disease patients during the pandemic.
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BACKGROUND: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the importance of timely and effective assessment of mental well-being has increased dramatically. Machine learning (ML) algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques can be harnessed for early detection, prognostication and prediction of negative psychological well-being states. METHODS: We used data from a large, multi-site cross-sectional survey consisting of 17 universities in Southeast Asia. This research work models mental well-being and reports on the performance of various machine learning algorithms, including generalized linear models, k-nearest neighbor, naïve Bayes, neural networks, random forest, recursive partitioning, bagging, and boosting. RESULTS: Random Forest and adaptive boosting algorithms achieved the highest accuracy for identifying negative mental well-being traits. The top five most salient features associated with predicting poor mental well-being include the number of sports activities per week, body mass index, grade point average (GPA), sedentary hours, and age. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the reported results, several specific recommendations and suggested future work are discussed. These findings may be useful to provide cost-effective support and modernize mental well-being assessment and monitoring at the individual and university level.
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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in 2019 in Wuhan, China. Initially, although the number of COVID-19-infected individuals was very low, the infected cases increased as the virus spread worldwide. Skin manifestation is one of the symptoms observed in COVID-19 patients. Objectives: This study investigated the critical genes and molecular pathways involved in skin manifestations in COVID-19 patients through a biological system approach. Methods: In this study, the microarray dataset was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and analyzed for identifying differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The enrichment analysis of DEGs was evaluated using the DAVID database. Afterward, protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed via the STRING database and visualized using Cytoscape software. The hub genes were recognized using the cytoHubba. The interaction of the microRNA (miRNA)-hub genes, transcription factor (TF)-hub genes, and drug-hub genes was also evaluated in this study. Results: After analysis, some genes with the highest degree of connectivity, which were involved in the pathogenesis of HELLP syndrome were identified, and they were known as hub genes. These genes are as follows: IFN-gamma CXCL1, CCL2, CCL3, TLR2, IL-1B, CXCL6, IL-6, CCL4, and CXCL2. has-mir-34a-5p, has-mir-20a-5p, and has-mir-27a-3p as miRNA, as well as RELA as TF had the most interaction with the hub genes. Conclusion: Finally, IL-6 and CXCL10 that were compared to the other hub genes had the highest interaction with other genes;therefore, their role in Shamgir's pathogenesis is significant. Targeting the cited genes would be a strategy to prevent symptom manifestation and better patient management.
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The significance of mental health inequities globally is illustrated by higher rates of anxiety and depression amongst racial and ethnic minority populations as well as individuals of lower socioeconomic status. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated these pre-existing mental health inequities. With rising mental health concerns, arts engagement offers an accessible, equitable opportunity to combat mental health inequities and impact upstream determinants of health. As the field of public health continues to shift its focus toward social ecological strategies, the social ecological model of health offers an approach that prioritizes social and structural determinants of health. To capture the impacts of arts engagement, this paper creates an applied social ecological model of health while aiming to advocate that engaging in the arts is a protective and rehabilitative behavior for mental health.
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The purpose of this review is to summarize the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of interventions that utilize mobile health (mHealth) technology to promote health behavior changes or improve healthcare services among the Vietnamese population. Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science were used to identify studies published from 2011-2022. Studies utilizing mHealth to promote behavior change and/or improve healthcare services among Vietnamese were included. Studies that included Vietnamese people among other Asians but did not analyze the Vietnamese group separately were excluded. Three independent researchers extracted data using Covidence following PRISMA guidelines. Measures of feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy were synthesized. The ROBINS-I and RoB2 tools were used to evaluate methodological quality. Fourteen articles met inclusion criteria and included 5660 participants. Participants rated high satisfaction, usefulness, and efficacy of mHealth interventions. Short message service was most frequently used to provide health education, support smoking cessation, monitor chronic diseases, provide follow-up, and manage vaccination. Measures of feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy varied across studies; overall findings indicated that mHealth is promising for promoting lifestyle behavior change and improving healthcare services. Cost effectiveness and long-term outcomes of mHealth interventions among the Vietnamese population are unknown and merit further research. Recommendations to integrate mHealth interventions are provided to promote the health of Vietnamese people.
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OBJECTIVES: To assess demographic, structural, and psychological predictors of risk-increasing and risk-decreasing behaviors METHODS: This study used data from an online longitudinal, three-wave COVID-19 survey (12/20-03/21) regarding the behaviors, attitudes, and experiences of US Veteran (n = 584) and non-Veteran (n = 346) adults. RESULTS: Inability to get groceries delivered emerged as the strongest predictor of more frequent risk-increasing behavior across all timepoints. Other consistent predictors of more frequent risk-increasing behavior and less frequent mask wearing included less worry about getting COVID-19, disbelief in science, belief in COVID-19 conspiracies, and negative perceptions of the state response. No demographic factor consistently predicted risk-increasing behavior or mask wearing, though different demographic predictors emerged for more frequent risk-increasing behaviors (e.g., lower health literacy) and mask-wearing (e.g., older age and urban residence) at certain timepoints. The most frequently endorsed reasons for having contact with others concerned health-related (food, medical care, and exercise) and social needs (seeing friends/family and boredom). CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight key individual-level determinants of risk-increasing behaviors and mask wearing which encompass demographic, structural, and psychological factors. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Findings can support public health experts and health communicators promote engagement with risk-reducing behaviors and address key barriers to engaging in these behaviors.
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BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted many people's meaning in life and health behaviors. This study aimed to verify the relationship among meaning in life (MIL), epidemic risk perception, health locus of control (HLC), and preventive health behaviors among older adults after the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic. METHOD: In this longitudinal study, 164 participants aged 55 years and above completed the following measures at time 1 (February 19, 2021) and one month later at time 2 (March 19, 2021): Meaning in Life in the Epidemic Questionnaire, Epidemic Risk Perception Questionnaire, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, and Health Behaviors Before and After the Epidemic Survey. Hayes' SPSS Process Macro was used to analyze the mediating effect of epidemic risk perception (model 4) and the moderating role of powerful others HLC in the mediation model (model 14). RESULTS: The results showed that after controlling for gender, age, education level, and health behaviors at the baseline, risk perception had a significant mediating effect on the relationship between MIL and preventive health behaviors (ß = .02, SE = .01, 95% CI [.00, .04]). In addition, powerful others HLC had a moderating effect on the second half of the mediating effect (ß = .02, p = .02, 95% CI [.00, .03]). Specifically, compared to the older adults with low powerful others HLC, the risk perception of older adults with high powerful others HLC increased preventive health behaviors. CONCLUSION: Practitioners should adequately cultivate older adults' risk awareness and reinforce the importance of advice from doctors and professionals, thereby effectively enhancing the preventive health behaviors of older adults in China during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Since the onset of the pandemic, many governments have introduced behavioral measures to prevent and contrast the spread of COVID-19. The aim of this scoping review is to iden-tify the social-psychological predictors of the compliance to these behaviors. We conducted a search (mainly on PsycInfo) and identified 107 articles (to August 2022) that investigated the role of characteristics inherent to the individual (socio-demographics, personality and individual differences related to empathy, prosociality and morality) or related to their per-ception of the COVID-19 (fear, risk perception and other beliefs related to the COVID-19);the contribution of the social context (culture and social identification) and its perception (norms, and trust in the government);and the contribution of factors related to science communication (trust in science and conspiracy beliefs). This review offers an overview of the results of this research and discuss the theoretical and applied implications.
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Real-time access to information during a pandemic is crucial for mobilizing a response. A sentiment analysis of Twitter posts from the first 90 days of the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted. In particular, 2 million English tweets were collected from users in the United States that contained the word 'covid' between January 1, 2020 and March 31, 2020. Sentiments were used to model the new case and death counts using data from this time. The results of linear regression and k-nearest neighbors indicate that sentiments expressed on social media accurately predict both same-day and near future counts of both COVID-19 cases and deaths. Public health officials can use this knowledge to assist in responding to adverse public health events. Additionally, implications for future research and theorizing of social media's impact on health behaviors are discussed. © 2022 IEEE Computer Society. All rights reserved.
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Background: The most important way to prevent COVID-19 is to observe health behaviors such as keeping social distance from one another. After getting COVID-19, care-seeking behaviors can affect the severity of the disease. The current study aimed to investigate and compare the communication styles, care-seeking, and health behaviors in patients with COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using a self-administered questionnaire on patients with COVID-19 in Maragheh in 2020. The study population included 450 people selected using simple random sampling. Chi-square, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation tests were used to compare communication styles, care-seeking, and health behaviors among outpatients and inpatients with COVID-19. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23 software. Results: The first place to seek treatment for outpatients and inpatients with COVID-19 was health centers (28.2%) and hospitals (44.5%), respectively. In terms of communication behaviors, close contact of family members with others at work, getting the disease from close friends or colleagues (45.8%), and having a history of contact with an infected COVID-19 person (43.5%) were the most reported items by outpatients. On the other hand, hospitalized cases reported close contact of family members with others at work (62.4%), attending physicians' offices (43.8%), and attending gatherings (41.2%) more than other communication behaviors (P<0.0001). Conclusion: Care-seeking behavior is more appropriate among outpatients than inpatients, and preventive behaviors are more stable in outpatients than inpatients. Therefore, health education interventions in the community should focus on correcting care-seeking behaviors and promoting good social communications. © 2023 Authors. All rights reserved.
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Two online studies (Total N = 331) tested the hypothesis that individual differences in self-control and responses to uncertainty would predict adherence to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2020a) guidelines, reported stockpiling, and intentions to engage in hedonic behavior in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trait self-control (b = 0.27, p = .015), desire for self-control (Study 1: b = 0.28, p = .001; Study 2: b = 0.27, p = .005), and cognitive uncertainty (b = 0.73, p < .001) predicted more CDC adherence. State self-control (Study 1: b = -0.15, p = .012; Study 2: b = -0.26, p < .001) predicted less stockpiling, whereas emotional uncertainty (b = 0.56, p < .001) and cognitive uncertainty (b = 0.61, p < .001) predicted more stockpiling. State self-control (b = -0.18, p = .003) predicted less hedonic behavior, whereas desire for self-control (b = 0.42, p < .001) and emotional uncertainty (b = 0.26, p = .018) predicted more hedonic behavior. Study 2 (pre-registered) also found that emotional uncertainty predicted more stockpiling and hedonic behavior for participants low in state self-control (stockpiling: b = -0.31, p < .001; hedonic behavior: b = 0.28, p = .025), but not for participants high in state self-control (stockpiling: b = 0.03, p = .795; hedonic behavior: b = -0.24, p = .066). These findings provide evidence that some forms of self-control and uncertainty influenced compliance with behavioral recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02066-y.
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OBJECTIVE: This pre-registered study was designed to test whether reminders of death and coronavirus would have similar or different effects on health behavior intentions concerning COVID-19 (e.g., mask wearing, social distancing) and whether the type of framing of these behaviors would moderate these effects. DESIGN: The study utilized a 3 (threat: mortality salience vs. coronavirus reminder vs. control topic) x 3 (framing: autonomy-supportive vs. controlled vs. neutral) design. Measures of perceived threat of COVID-19, reactance proneness, and political orientation were included as individual differences. RESULTS: Although the interaction between threat and framing conditions was not significant, the data revealed that (1) lower perceived threat of COVID-19 was associated with lower health behavior intentions to reduce the spread of the virus; (2) after an induction to express their thoughts and feelings about COVID-19, participants with low perceived threat of COVID-19 significantly increased their health intentions; (3) perceived threat of COVID-19 moderated the relationship between reactance proneness and health intentions, such that those high in reactance proneness reported lower intentions unless they had high perceptions of threat; and (4) politically conservative participants reported lower intentions to engage in healthy behaviors, and this relationship was mediated by their lower perceived threat of COVID-19.
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Increasing positive health behaviors as well as limiting negative health behaviors is critical for maintaining physical and mental health. Two self-regulatory facets, executive functions (EF) and emotion regulation/coping (emotional self-regulation;ESR), are both theorized to be related to health outcomes, such that strengths in these skills are related to better or enhanced physical and mental health, whereas weaknesses are associated with poor health outcomes. Thus, gaining a better understanding of these constructs may provide insight into opportunities to alter health behaviors. The present study aimed to explore the relationships among EF, ESR, and health behaviors. A sample of 114 college students completed EF performance-based tasks and self-report questionnaires related to their emotional self-regulation strategy use, physical activity, sleep, COVID-related stress, anxiety, and depression. An exploratory factor analysis revealed ten ESR factors, seven of which were used in regression analyses and four were used in path analyses. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated EFs did not significantly predict health behaviors, although expressive support seeking predicted physical activity and positive focus predicted sleep quality. Path analyses revealed that the indirect effects of EF on health behavior through ESR were not significant. Across all analyses, COVID-19 variables significantly predicted health behaviors. Interpretations of the current results were presented, and future directions were suggested. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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Introduction - The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a major health crisis modern world has to counter. Due to the highly contagious nature of this virus and the rapid growth of infections in many countries specific medical recommendations have been formed to reduce spread of the virus. Aim of the study is determine the psychosocial factors related to obeying medical recommendations against SARS-CoV-2 pandemic during the stage of increasing government's restrictions and limitations. Method – The study included 319 participants (261 women and 58 men) aged 18-66 yrs (M=25). The study was carried out via the Internet from 21st March, 2020 to 27th March, 2020. The sample group included participants chosen using "snowball” effect. Results - It has been shown that the higher anxiety of falling ill, the higher tendency to obey health behaviors towards SARS-CoV-2 (r = .13, p < .001). In order to explain what factors undertaking health behaviors towards SARS-CoV-2 depends on, structural equation modeling was applied including HMB model variables. It has been shown that the benefits and barriers have a significant impact on compliance with health behavior towards SARS-CoV-2 (ß = 0.45, p <0.001). Conclusions – At the beginning of a pandemic, while increasing restrictions perceived barriers and perceived benefits of obeying health recommendations are significant for explaining health behaviors towards SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Perceived risk is less important. Higher intensity of health anxiety, understood as a fear of infection (likelihood of illness) is related to obeying the health behaviors towards SARS-Cov-2. © 2022 Polish Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, global research has suggested that the pandemic has negatively affected lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) populations, including by limiting health care access. There is little research on the impact of COVID-19 among transmasculine persons and men assigned female sex at birth (AFAB) in the United States, who face unique health care challenges outside of the pandemic context. Between May and June of 2020, 20 transmasculine individuals and AFAB men who have sex with men participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were asked how the pandemic affected their access to health care, overall health, and well-being. Interviews were analyzed using an inductive, thematic approach. Participants reported reduced access to in-person health care, which in some cases meant overdue hormone-related bloodwork and unmet health care needs. Most participants reported that they were able to maintain their testosterone regimen, although some were concerned about future access, citing anxiety about potential shortages. Three participants reported canceled or deferred gender-affirming procedures, which they were uncertain would be rescheduled soon. Participants generally reported that the expansion of telehealth improved access to care, particularly for gender-affirming psychotherapy that was otherwise inaccessible or inconvenient prior to the pandemic. Other salient themes include the pandemic's impact on health behaviors and daily routines. Although the COVID-19 pandemic created new challenges for maintaining health, it also expanded access to gender-affirming health care, largely through the expansion of telehealth. Our findings provide new insights for supporting the health of transmasculine individuals and AFAB men. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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The year 2020 has generated profound changes in personal and working relations, and in dreams of millions of people worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and content of nightmares during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, evaluating its associations with sociodemographic, occupational, and clinical factors. Cross-sectional exploratory study, including 1,057 participants who responded to an online survey about mental violence and nightmares during the pandemic, between May 25 and June 1, 2020. A descriptive analysis of the results was done to obtain frequency tables. McNemar's non-parametric test was used to compare the frequency of nightmares before and after the pandemic, and logistic regression models, to identify factors most strongly associated with the pandemic nightmares. Participants were from 21 Brazilian states, with a mean age of 38 ± 14 years, and 78% women. Half of them (n = 529) reported at least one nightmare episode during the pandemic, and 32.9% (n = 348) described a pandemic content. There was nearly a 3-fold increase in the occurrence of nightmares "once a week or more" during the pandemic, 9% before vs. 25% after. Prior psychiatric care, suicidal ideation, sleep medication, increased pandemic alcohol consumption, perceiving high risk of contamination, being woman, and of younger age were factors associated with having nightmares during the pandemic. Prior psychiatric care, sleep medication, and age remained significant after excluding participants without nightmares and comparing between individuals with and without a pandemic content. We conclude the COVID-19 pandemic has affected people's dreams. The increase in the frequency of nightmares, their pandemic content, and association with previous conditions are a concerning public mental health issue and should be taken into consideration by authorities and policy makers.