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Background: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a COVID-19 pandemic on March 11, 2020. Therefore, the availability of vaccines will help develop immunity and protect people from this pandemic. The present systematic study examined knowledge, attitudes, and willingness of adolescents towards COVID-19 vaccine in Bangkok, Thailand. Objectives: The objective of the study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and willingness toward COVID-19 vaccine of key stage 4A-5 students at Satit Prasarnmit International Programme in Bangkok towards COVID-19 vaccine. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted using an online questionnaire. A total of 136 students participated. Knowledge, attitudes, and willingness of adolescents toward the COVID-19 vaccine were assessed. Differences between outcomes and socio-demographic characteristics of participants were analyzed through independent t-tests and the ANOVA. The level of willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 was analyzed by a generalized linear model. Results: Students revealed moderate knowledge about COVID-19, correctly answering 11.08 out of 15 points (SD = 1.74), a low level of attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccine 8.49 out of 15 points (SD = 2.51), and low level of willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 vaccine 2.29 out of 5 points (SD = 1.26), in total of 35 points (28 questions). There are statistically significant positive correlations shown between attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine and the level of willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 vaccine (I2 = 0.384, P < 0.01%). Conclusion: This study revealed students in Satit Prasarnmit International Programme had moderate knowledge towards COVID-19, negative attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccine and low willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19. Furthermore, it indicates that there is a casual relationship between attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccine and the willingness of individuals to be vaccinated against COVID-19 vaccine. Thus, attitude toward COVID-19 vaccine acts as a major predictive factor toward the willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 vaccine. Therefore, to increase peopleA's willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19 vaccine, it is necessary to increase peopleA's attitude toward COVID-19 vaccine.
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Background: The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has rapidly emerged as a global pandemic that causes millions of deaths worldwide. It is transmitted from person to person by respiratory droplets and could cause fatigue, shortness of breath, and fever. Background: The objective of the study was to assess COVID-19 related knowledge, attitude, and preventive behavior among high school students in Bangkok, Thailand. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted using a cross sectional online survey among HarrowA's students Y 12A-13. A total of 148 students participated. COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes toward COVID-19, and preventive behaviors were assessed. Differences between outcomes and socio-demographic were analyzed through independent t-test and the Analysis of variance. Preventive behaviors were analyzed by a generalized linear model. Results: The undergraduate students showed a low knowledge about COVID-19, a mean of 6.38 (standard deviation [SD] = 1.69) questions in a total of 11. However, the result showed a standard level of attitude toward preventive behaviors on COVID-19 with an average score of 47.51 from a score range of 14A-70 (SD = 4.45). Finally, preventive behaviors of participants were at a moderate level with an average score of 36.84 from a range from 12 to 60 (SD = 3.93). The data showed a statistically significant positive correlation between attitude toward preventive behavior on COVID-19 and COVID-19 preventive behavior (r = 0.351**, P = 0.01). From a generalized linear model, attitude toward preventive behavior on COVID-19 (Exp (B) = 0.394, Confidence interval [CI]: 0.212A-.485, P < 0.05) and Gender (Exp (B) = 0.203, 95%, CI: 0.376A-2.807, P < 0.05) can be a predictive factor for the preventive behavior of Harrow International school students. Conclusions: The results assessed that Harrow international students had a lower level of COVID-19 general knowledge, but moderate level of attitude and preventive behavior. Moreover, it indicates that there is a causal relationship between attitude toward COVID-19 and preventive behaviors. Thus, attitudes toward COVID-19 are a major predictive factor of having preventive behaviors. Therefore, school and parents should always build awareness and provide safety to the students and remind students with rules that should be followed to secure them from risking of COVID-19.
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Background: The spread of pathogens rapidly affects all aspects of life. Although the medicine is more advanced, the epidemic situations still can occurred. This continues to increase and is a major public health problem. Therefore, public health maintenance behavior has the effect of inhibiting the spread of pathogens. Breaking the chain of pathogen spread can reduce the spread of bacterial infections and the severity of the epidemic. Objectives: This study aimed to assess community knowledge, attitude, and preventive behavior toward pathogen spreading among high school students in Chonburi, Thailand. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted using a questionnaire. A total of 329 students participated. Knowledge about infection prevention, attitude toward preventive behavior, attitude toward preventive rules and regulation supported, and pathogen transmission preventive behavior were assessed. Independent t-test and ANOVA were used to analyze differences between outcomes and sociodemographic. Results: Students revealed a poor level of knowledge about infection prevention, correctly answering 2.52 (SD = 1.31) question in a total of 5, a high level of attitude toward preventive behavior, average score was 23.31 (SD = 2.22) of 25, and a high level of attitude toward preventive rules and regulation supported, the average scores at 21.48 (SD = 2.71), question in a total of 25, and a high level of pathogen transmission preventive behavior at the average score of 29.69 (SD = 4.06) questions in a total of 35. Conclusion: This research revealed that the high school students of Chonburi Science School at Prince Chulabhorn have a low level of knowledge about pathogens, and shows that they have a positive attitude toward prevention behavior, a good attitude toward supporting prevention rules and regulations, and good prevention behavior. Students have very little knowledge because the school does not have guidance, but some students can discover information by themselves through internet channels as long as they have equipment and connections. Therefore, this study can provide positive attitudes for a young teenager because he is constantly listening and following the rules. Therefore, specific knowledge about the basic prevention of pathogen transmission and infection is essential for all, and should be taught and strengthened in schools where all students know and are aware of this need, and all students will regularly take action to protect themselves such as wearing a mask and washing hands with alcohol gel.
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We present data from two studies examining how COVID-19 restrictions affected health behaviours (alcohol consumption, diet, sleep quality, and physical activity levels), mental wellbeing (negative mood) and cognitive function (decision making, attention, learning, working memory, and time perception) in association with sociodemographic factors. Study 1 assessed participants in Scotland and presents cognitive function data for five timepoints. Study 2 is transnational, assessing participants in Scotland and Japan. Data are stored as CSV files. Reuse may involve examining further effects of pandemic enforced social isolation or serve as baseline data when assessing social isolation in expeditions or ageing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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The COVID-19 pandemic piled stress and strain onto a history of structural racism that has impeded opportunities for Black men to be mentally healthy, happy, and well. Yet, interventions to promote the mental health and wellbeing of young Black men are few and are often limited in their ability to reach a large portion of this population. There is a need to mobilize the resources ubiquitous in young Black men's lives to promote their mental health and wellbeing. Becoming was designed to help fill this gap, and to promote the mental health, wellbeing, and self-care of 18-to-25-year-old Black men in the United States. While there are many aspects of Becoming, this chapter focuses on the rationale for and aspects of mental health, wellbeing, and self-care that underlie this program. Using a biopsychosocial approach, we discuss key considerations for promoting wellbeing as a foundation for increasing participants' capacity to protect and promote their mental health by engaging in intentional self-care practices. We highlight how anti-Black gendered structural racism shapes but does not determine Black men's opportunities to be healthy and thrive, and we use the Information-Motivation-Behavioural Skills (IMB) model of health behaviour change to outline and justify the conceptual targets of the program. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023. All rights reserved.
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The international multicentre study HBSC (Health Behaviour in Schoolaged Children) conducted since 1983 in collaboration with the World Health Organization, has been adopted in our country as the national adolescent health surveillance system since 2017. The main aim is to describe and understand health-related behaviour in 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds in approximately 50 countries between Europe and North America. The study investigated different aspects, such as nutrition, risk behaviors, school and family life and social media use. In addition, the latest survey involved 17-year-old adolescents and included a section on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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IMMUNION (Improving IMMunisation cooperation in the European UNION) is a European project having the objective to support vaccine strategies. The project (active from April 2021 to March 2023) has contributed to improve knowledge on vaccines and vaccinations among health professionals and the information circulation in different target groups, through a multistakeholder collaboration including institutions, associations and media. The IMMUNION consortium has been focusing on activities of survey, professional training and communication, even with the aim to sustain visibility and role of the Coalition for Vaccination. In particular, ISS has coordinated the Work Package on finalising vaccine communication tools to increase vaccination compliance in target communities.
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Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an immense impact on psychic health. Children and adolescents are considered especially vulnerable which is why health promotion and prevention programs are important and should be designed in a motivating way to be attractive to this age group. The aim of this work is to investigate whether young people can be reached with the help of innovative digital formats for health promotion. Methods: An app-based training to promote self-regulation was offered to adolescents in lower secondary education in autumn 2020. Data were collected using an app. The types of motivation to participate in the training were analyzed. In addition, the students were able to rate the attractiveness of the training with the help of a self-designed evaluation sheet. Results: Of the 91 registered participants, 39.56% completed the study. In all, 40.91% of the students stated that the training was "very" helpful and 36.36% rated it as "quite" helpful. Although 50% of the respondents found the app-based training "modern and motivating", the other half would have preferred more personal support. Conclusion: The results confirm previous study results with health apps in children and adolescents. This age group is interested in digital formats, but health apps are not used continuously in this age group unless obligatory.
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Objective: In this study, the effect of having had coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) disease on anti-vaccination was investigated. Material and Methods: The study was conducted between February 2022-August 2022 in the COVID chest diseases clinic in our hospital. The cases who were COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and not vaccinated against COVID-19 hospitalized in our clinic were included in the study. The level of anti-vaccination of the cases was measured with the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (VHS). In addition, demographic informations such as age, gender, educational status, marital status, number of people living in the household, average monthly income, smoking history, and additional chronic diseases were recorded. Routine radiological and laboratory examinations, follow-up times in the clinic, and treatment results were recorded for cases like all patients hospitalized in our COVID chest diseases clinic. Results: 46 cases were included in the study. The mean age of the cases was 54.63+or-14.81 years, 24 (52.1%) were female. VHS was applied to all cases at the time of hospitalization. Since 6 cases were referred to the intensive care unit due to respiratory failure, the second VHS could not be applied to these cases, and these 6 cases were excluded from the study. A 2nd VHS was performed in the remaining 40 patients just before discharge. Each question score, A-B-C section score and total scale score were compared for the pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 cases. While the VHS total score before COVID-19 infection was 36.48+or-7.36, the post-COVID-19 total score was found to be 25.65+or-9.10, a statistically significant decrease was observed (p < 0.001). It was observed that the mean scores of A-B-C decreased statistically in all sections (p < 0.001). Conclusion: As a result of our study, we found that the degree of anti-vaccine resistance decreased after the patients who were against the COVID-19 vaccine had the disease. As a result of our study, we found that the degree of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy of patients decreased after they had the disease. We believe that conducting similar studies and sharing their results through mass media, can change the perspective of vaccine hesitancy individuals in society on this situation, especially during pandemic periods.
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Introduction: Mosquito-borne diseases have historically affected communities, especially in tropical areas where mosquitoes and illnesses are endemic. Globalization, climate change, and increased travel have created ideal conditions for outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases that could threaten the American health system and place a burden on the national economy, especially in southern states. Methods: The study adopts a quantitative cross-sectional design with a retrospective survey carried out using the Pollfish platform in June 2022. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and hierarchical multiple regression to assess the three hypotheses: (H1) Chikungunya awareness is related to sociodemographic factors;(H2) Wearing long sleeves and pants is related to (a) Chikungunya awareness and (b) information-seeking behaviors, when controlling for sociodemographic variables;(H3) Use of insect repellents is related to (a) Chikungunya awareness and (b) information-seeking behaviors when controlling for sociodemographic variables. Results: The results highlight the relationships between chikungunya's awareness, information-seeking behavior, and willingness to engage in protective behaviors. 45.91% of the participants mentioned not having heard about chikungunya, and 67.07% of respondents had sought information about mosquito-borne illnesses in the past, 55.9% have looked at the U.S. State Department's website for mosquito-borne diseases, 38.32% have visited the U.S. CDC website for information specifically about chikungunya. Conclusions: The results of this study show that most American travelers are unaware of chikungunya and its mode of transmission. Travel could likely introduce the chikungunya virus to the United States. Despite increased health information-seeking behavior among U.S. residents after the Covid19 pandemic, Chikungunya awareness is low.
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Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the reflection of COVID-19 pandemic anxiety experienced in adults on nutritional habits during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted with 600 adults aged between 19 and 64 years. The general characteristics of the individuals, nutritional habits, use of dietary supplements and COVID-19 pandemic anxiety before and during the pandemic period were questioned via a Web-based questionnaire. COVID-19-related anxiety was assessed using The COVID-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S) and The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 24.0. Findings: In this study, 49.8% of the participants stated that their appetite and food consumption amount increased during the pandemic period. The rate of use of dietary supplements among individuals was found to be 40%. It was observed that the mean body weight and body mass index increased significantly in both genders during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been determined that anxiety about COVID-19 is higher in individuals and women who start using nutritional support during the pandemic period. The total C19P-S and STAI scores of those who started using a dietary supplement during the pandemic were significantly higher than those who did not use a dietary supplement. Similarly, those whose eating habits changed positively and those who bought more packaged products had higher C19P-S scale mean scores (p < 0.05). Originality/value: During the COVID-19 period, it is important to reduce the anxiety levels of individuals, provide psychological support, raise awareness of adequate and balanced nutrition and the correct use of dietary supplements to adapt to the new lifestyle.
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BACKGROUND: The Congress of the National College of Academic General Practitioners took place in France in June 2021. In total, 1300 participants were registered, provoking concerns about the risk of COVID-19 contamination. OBJECTIVES: The study objective was to report participation in the first French face-to-face medical congress after restrictions due to COVID-19 and whether it resulted in COVID-19 contamination. METHODS: We performed two web-based surveys of respectively 46 and 33 questions. The first questionnaire was sent to all congress participants during the congress (and to a panel of non-participants) and investigated demographic characteristics, medical conditions, behaviours related to COVID-19 contamination risk, and the interest of face-to-face congress as compared to virtual congress. Two weeks after the congress, a questionnaire was addressed to the same population and to university General Practice departments to identify incident COVID-19 cases among participants. RESULTS: A total of 1001 general practitioners and residents completed the first questionnaire; 752 participated in the congress. The respondents were mainly women (61.3%), with a mean age of 35 (SD 10) years, 96.2% had been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, and 11.4% considered themselves at risk for a severe form of COVID-19 for medical reasons. Concerning the interest in attending the congress face-to-face, mean score was 9 over 10 (SD 1.5). No case of COVID-19 was reported among participants according to the second questionnaire (449 respondents). CONCLUSION: During a world pandemic, even participants considering themselves at risk came to a medical congress, highlighting the networking and social aspects of a face-to-face congress.
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Aim: To identify psychosocial predictors of the intention to get a booster COVID-19 vaccine in a low-income country, given that increasing booster vaccination rates against COVID-19 remains a global challenge, especially among low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Subject and methods: We used an online survey to collect responses from a non-probabilistic sample of 720 Bolivians regarding vaccine uptake, motives, perceived confidence, information sources, attitudes favouring COVID-19 vaccines, biosafety behaviour, and sociodemographic characteristics. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed to identify significant associations and predictors. Results: We found that having already received the third dose, obtaining recommendations from family or friends, recommendation from the government, perceived confidence in the previously received dose, and higher attitudes in favour of COVID-19 vaccines significantly predicted the intention to get a booster dose. The associations were significant even when adjusting the model for sociodemographic variables. Conclusion: Including certain psychosocial factors could enhance the promotion of voluntary booster doses among residents of low- and middle-income countries such as Bolivia, where cultural, social, political, and contextual variables may influence health behaviour and increase health-associated risk factors. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10389-023-01937-x.
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The unparalleled speed of COVID-19 vaccine development has necessitated an expansion of existing knowledge on vaccination decision-making. The current study explored (1) how cognitions and emotions shaped college students' COVID-19 vaccination decisions, and (2) where vaccination-inclined and vaccination-hesitant students converged and diverged in their decision-making process. Seventy-seven students participated in 26 focus groups to discuss their complex thoughts and feelings regarding COVID-19 vaccination, offering a more nuanced understanding of COVID-19 vaccination decision-making that has not been fully captured by quantitative studies. Thematic analysis found that vaccination-inclined participants and their hesitant counterparts reported differential patterns of positive and negative emotions, systematic appraisals, and heuristics in decision-making. Future research should investigate the roles of hope and relief, non-health-related benefits of vaccination, social trust, and interpersonal influence in vaccination decision-making.
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Regulatory health policies facilitate desired health behaviours in communities, and among them, smoke-free policies and COVID-19 restrictions have been widely implemented. Qualitative research studies have explored how these measures and other environmental influences shape preventive behaviours. The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize previously published qualitative research, generate across-study themes, and propose recommendations for behaviour change interventions. We used a comprehensive search strategy, relevance screening and confirmation, data extraction, quality assessment, thematic synthesis, and quality-of-evidence assessment. In total, 87 relevant studies were identified. Findings were grouped under six overarching themes and mapped under three categories: (i) the political environment, (ii) the sociocultural environment, and (iii) the physical environment. These findings provide insights into the environmental influences of behaviour and indicate future interventions may be more effective by considering moral norms, community norms, policy support, and group identity.
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Background: Uncertainty about any kind of medication will be a potential threat. Hesitancy regarding vaccination is a danger to overall global public health. Since it's the first-time global efforts were made to develop a vaccine against the pandemic of COVID-19. So, this is unknown its acceptance in the community. Getting information regarding the key determinants that influence and potential myths about the vaccine might help full to develop strategies that can help improve the vaccination programs globally. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine, its determinants, and myths about the vaccine among people in Pakistan. Methods: A descriptive web-based based study was done, using snowball sampling, bilingual, and a self-administered close-ended questionnaire was sent to participants through google forms on social media platforms and email. Results: A total of 463 participants from all over Pakistan showed the minimum level of secondary education. The occupational status of the participants showed that (45.1%) were currently employed. Vaccination and their perception can be influenced by educational/socioeconomic statuses, participants were also asked about factors they considered to be the most influential in terms of encouraging and discouraging. Fear of getting an infection was the most encouraging factor (39.1%) for people to get vaccinated, whereas adverse effects via social and digital media were the most demotivating factor (36.5%). Participants were asked the reasons for their reluctance;most were afraid of an allergic reaction to the vaccine. The various myths and misconceptions associated with the Covid vaccine showed by logistic regression analysis for factors that were potentially associated with the intake of covid vaccination. Conclusion: Addressing educational/sociodemographic factors relating to the COVID-19 vaccination might help encourage the uptake of the vaccination program globally which also tackles future pandemics.
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Background: Covid-19 has been declared a global pandemic by WHO. Health Care Workers (HCWs) being the front-line warriors have been most exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Vaccine hesitancy against Covid-19 has been seen among HCWs. The main aim of the research was to find the hesitancy rates of vaccine among HCWs and the pulling and pushing factors to get vaccinated. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on HCWs. Questionnaires on Google forms were sent to all participants through their WhatsApp number and data was analysed through SPSS version 23.0. Results: Out of 81 HCWs selected, 51.9% (n=42) were initially hesitant when the vaccine was first introduced. The main pulling factor initially to get vaccinated was to shield loved ones, 38.75% (n=31) and 46.2% (n=37) of them received a booster dose of vaccine mainly due to employment requirements. Out of the total, 19.75% (n=16) are still hesitant even after vaccination and the most common pushing factors were fear of the side effects and inadequately tested vaccines. Conclusion: Though the majority of the HCWs got vaccinated, vaccine hesitancy is still present among the HCWs and the major reason is uncertainty about the side effects it could cause in the long term.
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Slow acceptance and delayed response of the state/public have been a common feature in the history of infectious disease pandemics. Globalization affects both the genesis and the control strategies of the pandemics. The general public, health professionals, political leaders as well as administrative authorities, all have shown some or other changes in their routine working or living style while handling the COVID-19 situation. Gradually, the new ways of living ‘the new normal' have transformed into new behaviour. The response of different sections of society has also been different. The bulk of the changes was linked to the fear and panic about the chances of spread/catching of infection which brought the world to its knees. The second wave of the Corona pandemic in 2021 saw shortage and black marketeering of medical supply essentials. Vaccination has emerged as the dominant strategy this time. In the atmosphere of too many rumours, fake news, disinformation and so on, a third wave has now been predicted. There is a significant role of public health discipline in controlling any pandemic like Corona. Generic, age-old preventive measures are the only way out for the infections which spread through the respiratory route, with a fast person-to-person spread. Corona pandemic has provided a lesson for us that for communicable disease control, there is a need to inculcate a nature-friendly responsible behaviour to ensure peaceful co-existence between people and microbes. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.
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Background: Students are a very important part of young society whose awareness affects the health of family and friends. At the same time as the COVID-19 pandemic, the present study was conducted to investigate the level of Knowledge, Preventive Behaviors and Risk Perception of students of Kashan University of Medical Sciences towards COVID-19. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022. In total, 330 students from Kashan University of Medical Sciences were selected via random sampling method. Data collection tools were a questionnaire including 4 sections of demographic information, awareness (15 questions) and preventive behaviors (9 questions) and risk perception (2 questions). The Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for data analysis. Findings: The knowledge of students of Kashan University of Medical Sciences about the ways of transmission, origin, symptoms, incubation period, treatment, how to diagnose, the importance of using a mask and hand hygiene has been between 60 to 98% and very good. The students' preventive behaviors towards all the mentioned items were between 65 and 95% and were very good. About half of the university students had a high risk of COVID-19. Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of this virus and the lack of absolutely effective medicine in the treatment of this disease, it is necessary to raise the level of awareness of students with appropriate training, so that we can see an increase in preventive behaviors and understanding of risk among students.
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This study assessed the knowledge and perception of Nigerians about COVID-19 vaccination. A cross-sectional survey was conducted comprising Health and Non-health workers in Nigeria. The knowledge, attitude, and perception of respondents on COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria was obtained through an online. Logistic regression was employed to determine which factor imparted on COVID-19 vaccination decision. The study showed a significant relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and immigration requirements. The survey showed that 74.07% of the health workers had been vaccinated, while 47.06% of non-Health Workers had been vaccinated. This study recommends that Governments at all levels should create more awareness of the importance of COVID-19 vaccination to increase the number of vaccinated individuals.