Willingness to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine and Its Potential Predictors in Costa Rica: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on morbidity and mortality around the world. As one of the most successful and cost-effective health interventions for preventing infectious diseases, immunization against SARS-CoV-2, is at the moment the most effective strategy for controlling the current pandemic. Despite the high vaccine acceptance rates that countries such as Costa Rica have shown in the past, the public acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine is still uncertain. The purpose of this study was to examine adults' willingness to get a novel COVID-19 vaccine and its potential predictors in Costa Rica. We conducted a cross-sectional study comprising a sample of 4717 adult participants living in Costa Rica who participated in a voluntary electronic survey regarding their intent to get a future COVID-19 vaccine. Results suggest that a high percentage (86.1%) of Costa Ricans aged 18 or more would be willing to be vaccinated once a safe and effective vaccine is approved and distributed in the country. Some relevant significant predictors of willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Costa Rica were higher income, being male, work in the health care sector, and having a relative or a close acquaintance diagnosed with COVID-19. Our findings suggest that it is essential to concentrate efforts on the immediate development of culturally appropriate communication, dissemination, and implementation strategies to maximize immunization against SARS-CoV-2 in Costa Rica.

Food Loss and Waste Actions: Experiences of the Costa Rican Food Loss and Waste Reduction Network.

Food Loss and Waste (FLW) reduction and prevention can be crucial entry points to achieve sustainable food systems. However, the complexity of this problem poses the need for multistakeholder and multidimensional approaches. The Costa Rican FLW Reduction Network has been working since 2014 as a collaborative platform that brings together different sectors and disciplines to promote a change through communication and awareness, alliances, and research and innovation. The purpose of our study was to share the experience of Costa Rica in regards to the applied FLW actions and its catalytic effect on FLW innovation. The study was developed through a multimethod approach that included case studies, stakeholder analysis and literacy analysis to provide an overall assessment of the strategy as input for further efforts in this matter. The main findings indicate that collaborative actions among institutions and sectors are vital in promoting FLW reduction; however, FLW innovation is still at an inception phase where financial resources and policy barriers remain as aspects to address. In conclusion, the Costa Rica FLW Network represents an asset to trigger ongoing and future actions, and approaches like an integrated innovation ecosystem must be promoted.

Implementation of a regulatory food policy to reduce availability of energy-dense foods in Costa Rican high schools.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the extent to which mandatory Guidelines to improve the school food environment were being implemented in Costa Rican high schools and to explore the perspectives of key policy actors towards the Guidelines. DESIGN: Semi-structured interviews and site observations. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and imported to NVivo 12 for analysis. Inductive and deductive themes were identified, and elements of the RE-AIM framework and the social process framework were used when classifying these themes. SETTING: Sixteen public high schools in San José, Costa Rica. PARTICIPANTS: High school principal and kiosk concessionaires. RESULTS: Products that did not adhere to the Guidelines were still widely available in schools, and amongst the most prevalent challenges to implementation that emerged from our interviews, were a lack of understanding of the policy content, a lack of monitoring and accountability, and competing values amongst actors which affected their views on the role that the school must have in offering a healthy food environment. CONCLUSION: Most products offered in high schools did not meet the criteria required by the mandatory Guidelines, and several contextual factors were found to influence implementation. Strengthening the implementation of the Costa Rican Guidelines will require further actions at the governmental and school levels.