The association between depression and non-compliance with COVID-19 preventive behaviors in South Korean older adults stratified by sex.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the association between depression and non-compliance with COVID-19 preventive behaviors among community-dwelling South Korean older adults. METHODS: We utilized the 2020 Korean Community Health Survey-a community-based nationwide survey. A score of 10 points or higher on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was defined as depression. Non-compliance with COVID-19 preventive behaviors was assessed on the following three behaviors: washing hands, wearing masks, and watching distance. We also included socio-demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and COVID-19-related characteristics as covariates. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed, and all statistical analyses were stratified by sex. RESULTS: The 70,693 participants included 29,736 men and 40,957 women. Notably, 2.3% of men and 4.2% of women had depression. Non-compliance with washing hands was significantly higher in men than women (1.3% vs. 0.9%), whereas no significant differences were observed in wearing masks and watching distance. The adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that depression was positively associated with non-compliance with washing hands and watching distance in both sexes. The association between depression and non-compliance with wearing masks was significant only in women. CONCLUSIONS: There was an association between depression and non-compliance with COVID-19 preventive behaviors in South Korean older adults. This signifies that health providers need to reduce depression to improve compliance with preventive behaviors in older adults.

Impact of COVID-19 on post-traumatic stress symptoms in the general population: An integrative review.

The coronavirus pandemic highlights the urgent need for increased support related to mental health concerns. This study aimed to synthesize the findings of empirical studies reporting the post-traumatic stress symptoms in the general population during the coronavirus pandemic. Whittemore and Knafl's (Journal of Advanced Nursing, 52, 546, 2005) integrative review methodology was used to analyse and synthesize the peer-reviewed studies. Five electronic databases, PubMed, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Cochrane and Google Scholar were searched using terms related to the coronavirus pandemic and post-traumatic stress symptoms. The quality of the studies was screened and evaluated using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. The sample size of the 16 studies included in this review ranged from 41 to 3480 participants, with a total of 18 039 participants. The majority of the participants' ages ranged from 30 to 39 years, and 57% of the participants were female. The following factors related to post-traumatic stress symptoms during the coronavirus pandemic were identified as follows: (i) risk factors included social discrimination, fear of uncontrolled contagion and financial burden or economic instability; and, (ii) protective factors included social support and timely government action. A traumatic experience itself can trigger the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder; however, depending on the risk and protection factors, each individual can experience different post-traumatic stress symptoms. Thus, mental health nurses should comprehensively understand how to reduce the influence of risk factors and enhance protective factors when dealing with the pandemic and related trauma. This study's findings are beneficial for identifying, preventing and managing post-traumatic stress symptoms associated with the coronavirus and future pandemics.