The Influence of the Health Belief Model on the Decision to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine: An International Survey Study of College Students.

To better prepare for a potential future pandemic, it is important to investigate factors that influenced responses to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the present study was to investigate factors that influenced the decision to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost everyone throughout the world. Vaccines are a significant factor in managing a pandemic. As vaccines are developed, governments develop vaccine roll-out plans. Unfortunately, vaccine hesitancies can slow the implementation of any vaccine program. A question arises as to the factors that are associated with the decision to get vaccinated. The present study explored associations between vaccine hesitancy, and the Health Belief Model (HBM) in student samples from the Czech Republic, Israel, and the United States. From August, 2021 through December, 2021, an online survey was distributed in Czech, Hebrew, and English. A total of 447 participants completed the survey. A binomial logistic regression was conducted to ascertain the influence of perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, and barriers on the likelihood that participants are vaccinated. Results revealed that the factors of perceived severity and perceived benefits explained 52.6% (Nagelkerke R2) of the variance in vaccination. An analysis of Variance (ANOVA) found significant differences between countries for the 4 HBM factors. Based on these findings, it is recommended that policymakers put forth added emphasis on the severity of a virus and the benefits associated with the vaccine. Further, since there appears to be variability between countries in perceptions of the virus, and associated vaccine, governments should consider factors within their own environment when developing a strategy to combat a pandemic. More specifically, government could explore their own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as they develop a pandemic strategy. Additional practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Perceptions, Coping Strategies, and Mental Health of Residents during COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: Since the inception of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the United States has been the leader in cases and deaths. Healthcare workers treating these severely ill patients are at risk of many deleterious consequences. Residents, in particular, may be affected by physical as well as psychological consequences. Because data are sparse on perceptions, coping strategies, and the mental health of residents during COVID-19, we explored these issues in survey data from a community-based academic program in the southeastern United States. METHODS: In May 2020, when US deaths from COVID-19 reached 100,000, we administered multiple-choice online anonymous surveys to assess resident perceptions, coping strategies, and self-reported levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. We used the COPE inventory to assess coping strategies and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 59 (41.3%) of 143 eligible residents completed the survey, 52 (88.1%) of whom believed that they were likely or very likely to become infected with COVID-19. If infected, 17 (28.8%) believed that their illness would be serious or very serious. The top three strategies to cope with COVID-19 included acceptance, self-distraction, and use of emotional support. With respect to depression, anxiety, and stress, all of the mean scores were in the normal range. CONCLUSIONS: During COVID-19, residents in a southern community-based program with an academic affiliation reported effective coping strategies, predominantly acceptance, self-distraction, and use of emotional support. They reported concerns about becoming infected and, if they did, that their illness would likely be serious. Finally, they have not experienced depression, anxiety, or reported stress. The findings may be restricted in generalizability to a southern community-based program with an academic affiliation.

The Effect of Bullying Vignettes on Negative Affect.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of reading workplace bullying vignettes on negative affect. A within-subjects descriptive design and convenience sample was used. Fifty participants completed the Negative Affect Scale after reading written bullying vignettes and completed the Transportation Narrative questionnaire. Results provide evidence that the participants were transported into the vignettes. Additionally, descriptive statistics and a repeated measure ANOVA revealed a significant increase in negative affect over time. Written vignettes can provide a means to better understand how workplace events can impact cognitive performance. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Underutilization of Aspirin in Patients With Advanced Colorectal Polyps.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is the third-most common cause of cancer deaths in the United States, and advanced colorectal polyps are a major risk factor. Although there are no large-scale individual trials designed a priori to test the hypothesis, in meta-analyses of trials in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, aspirin reduces risk of colorectal cancer. The US Preventive Services Task Force used a microsimulation model, including baseline risk factors, and concluded that aspirin reduces risk of colorectal cancer by 40%. Their guidelines suggest that without a specific contraindication, clinicians should routinely prescribe aspirin to patients with advanced colorectal polyps. METHODS: Written informed consent was obtained, and brief telephone interviews were conducted by trained interviewers for 84 men and women with biopsy-proven advanced colorectal polyps from 55 clinical practices. RESULTS: Of the 84, 39 (46.4%) were men. The mean age was 66 with a range from 41 to 91 years. Among the 84, 36 (42.9%) reported taking aspirin. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest underutilization of aspirin by patients with advanced colorectal polyps. These data pose major challenges that require multifactorial approaches by clinicians and their patients, which include therapeutic lifestyle changes, adjunctive drug therapies, and screening. Lifestyle changes include treating overweight status and obesity and engaging in regular physical activity; adjunctive drug therapies include aspirin. These multifactorial approaches will be necessary to achieve the most good for the most patients with regard to prevention, as well as, early diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer in patients with advanced colorectal polyps.

Development of Vignettes to Explore Workplace Bullying.

Incivility and bullying in healthcare can impact care delivery and quality. There are challenges in research to making a direct link between the behaviors and patient outcomes. One way to address the challenges is through the creation of bullying vignettes that induce mood changes that reflect a feeling of being bullied. The purpose of this study was to develop workplace bullying textual vignettes and to test content validity. Cognitive interviewing was used by engaging content experts to rate 21 author-created vignettes for relevance, realism, and severity. Eleven vignettes were identified and have potential use in research, education, and practice.

Dental anxiety, dental visits and oral hygiene practices.

PURPOSE: The present study investigated the effects of dental anxiety and dental visits on oral hygiene practices, which included brushing, flossing and amount of time brushing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included a dental questionnaire developed to measure aspects of dental visits, oral hygiene and dental anxiety. A demographic questionnaire included questions pertaining to age, ethnicity and citizenship. Participants included 77 undergraduate students attending a diverse southern United States university enrolled in psychology courses. RESULTS: Linear regression was conducted to explore the association between dental anxiety and oral hygiene practices. Results revealed the model explained a significant proportion of variance in oral hygiene practices, R2 = 0.141, F(1,76) = 12.441, P < 0.001. Specifically, higher dental anxiety was associated with poorer oral hygiene practices. A correlation was conducted to investigate the association between dental visits and oral hygiene practices. Results revealed a correlation between dental visits and brushing r(75) = 0.342, P = 0.002, and flossing frequency r(75) = 0.294, P = 0.009. There was no association between visits to the dentist and time spent brushing teeth. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that dental anxiety is associated with oral hygiene practices. Additionally, those who visit the dentist more often have somewhat better oral hygiene practices. The present study indicates that there may be a learned association between dental anxiety and oral hygiene practices. Methods of education can be developed to disassociate anxieties that may inhibit optimum oral hygiene practices. It may also be beneficial for dental professionals to emphasise the value of the amount of time patients spend brushing their teeth.

Risk dishabituation: in repeated gambling, risk is reduced following low-probability "surprising" events (wins or losses).

In path-dependent risk taking, like playing a slot machine, the wager on one trial may be affected by the outcome of the preceding trial. Previous studies have shown that a person's risk-taking preferences may change as a result of the preceding trial (win or loss). For example, the "house money effect" suggests that risk taking may increase after a win, whereas the "break even effect" posits that risk taking increases after a loss. Independent of those findings, a person's emotional state has been found to influence risk taking. For example, the "mood maintenance hypothesis" supports the notion that positive affect decreases risk taking, and related research finds that increased negative affect increases risk taking. Because winning and losing may influence one's emotional state, we sought to investigate how both previous outcomes, as well as a person's emotional responses to those outcomes, independently influence subsequent risk taking. To do this, data were collected using three simplified slot machines where the chance of winning each trial was set to 13%, 50%, and 87%, respectively. Evidence for the break even and house money effects were found on the 13% and 87% games, respectively. Likewise, emotional valence was found to predict risk taking on these two tasks, with emotional valence fully explaining the break even effect observed on the 13% game. In addition to these results, the present research revealed that risk taking is reduced following low-probability ("surprising") events (i.e., a win in the 13% condition or loss in the 87% condition). Dubbed "risk dishabituation," this phenomenon is discussed, along with its likely corresponding emotional experience--surprise.