Fear of COVID-19 and Its Association With Health Literacy in Elderly Patients

Factors associated with perceived fear of future pandemics and/or epidemics: a cross-sectional study in Cyprus

This study aims to understand the levels of fear experienced by individuals regarding future pandemics and/or epidemics among the general population of Cyprus and comprehensively examine the diverse factors that influence this perceived fear. The cross-sectional study was conducted from October 1st, 2022, to February 19th, 2023. A proportionate quota sampling method was used for the recruitment, by recruiting a fixed number of participants from each age group, sex, and place of residence. The study collected information on sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, health literacy, trust, COVID-19 vaccination information, and perceived fear of future epidemics and/or pandemics using a self-administered questionnaire. The survey included 1075 participants, with 53.7% of them reporting fear of future pandemics. Logistic regression analysis revealed that women (OR = 2.37, 95% CI 1.78, 3.16) and individuals vaccinated against COVID-19 (OR = 1.57, 95% CI 1.02, 2.43) were significantly more likely to experience fear of future pandemics. Moreover, higher levels of trust (OR = 1.04, 95% CI 1.02, 1.06) and higher health literacy (OR = 1.05, 95% CI 1.03, 1.08) were associated with an increased likelihood of fearing future pandemics. Conversely, unemployment (OR = 0.30, 95% CI 0.13, 0.65) and having a postgraduate education decreased the likelihood of fearing future pandemics (OR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.34, 0.90). The linear regression model revealed that older age (β = - 0.10, 95% CI - 0.14, - 0.05) was negatively associated with a higher score of fear regarding future pandemics. Conversely, being in a vulnerable group (β = 2.02, 95% CI 0.75, 3.28) and having at least one chronic disease (β = 1.76, 95% CI 0.68, 2.84) showed positive associations with increased fear of future epidemics and/or pandemics. The findings emphasize the need for relevant authorities to prioritize mental health and disseminate information in a manner that avoids spreading fear and panic, particularly among vulnerable population groups.

Changes in cigarette consumption and intention to quit in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in China

INTRODUCTION

Significant changes occurred in the way people socialize and interact with each other since China reported its first COVID-19 cases. However, little is known about how smoking behaviors may have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in China. The aim of this study was to assess changes in smoking behavior and intention to quit during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in China and to investigate the associated factors.

METHODS

An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese adult smokers. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling from 19 March to 2 April 2020.

RESULTS

A total of 1388 smokers participated in this study. Of those, 1014 (73.0%) reported not changing their cigarette consumption, 104 (7.5%) reported smoking more and 268 (19.3%) reported smoking less due to the pandemic. Average daily cigarette consumption among all participants decreased from 15.0 (IQR: 10.0-20.0) to 13.0 (IQR: 8.0-20.0) (W=6.919, p<0.001). For intention to quit, 270 (19.5%) respondents reported becoming more willing to quit, and 91 (6.6%) reported becoming less willing to quit. Multivariate analyses showed that tobacco addiction, overall knowledge about the relationship between smoking and COVID-19, level of attention devoted to COVID-19, anxiety, living alone, and number of smokers in the family were significantly correlated with cigarette consumption and intention to quit, and living alone was the strongest factor associated with increased cigarette consumption (AOR=5.29; 95% CI: 1.51-18.56).

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a slight decrease in cigarette consumption and an increase in quitting intention among Chinese smokers. During the early stages of the pandemic, it was important to focus on the anxiety of smokers, dispel smokers' misunderstandings of smoking and COVID-19 and create a supporting environment in the family to help smokers quit.

Health literacy on COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccinations in Indonesia

Introduction: Health literacy on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects people's capability to ascertain their health and health care quality during the pandemic. The objective of this study was to determine the levels of health literacy about COVID-19 vaccines and vaccinations (Vaccines and Vaccinations literacy-VL) in the Indonesian adult general population, assessing the perceptions of the respondents about current adult immunization and beliefs about vaccinations in general, and analyzing correlations of these variables with the VL levels. Methods: A cross-sectional study using a rapid survey was administered via the Internet. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics; the internal consistency of the VL scales was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient; the inter-correlation between the functional and interactive-critical VL questions, the underlying components (factors) and each question's load on the components were identified using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). An alpha level lesser than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Responses to functional- and interactive/ critical- VL questions were acceptable and showed internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.817 and 0.699, respectively), lowest values observed were 0.806 for functional scale and 0.640 for the interactive-critical scale. The PCA demonstrated that there were two components accounting for 52.45% of the total variability. Approximately 60% of respondents were females (n=686). Almost all respondents used the internet to seek information regarding COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccinations. Many used at least one social media actively with 74.4% of respondents sometimes believing the validity of this information. Conclusions: High scores were observed in both functional- and interactive/ critical-VL, and were quite in a balance between sexes in the prior VL and higher in females for the latter; these were also closely related to the educational level and age group. It is crucial to increase public health literacy in managing the pandemic.

Factors Associated with Anxiety, Depression, and Stress in Peruvian University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, university students have adopted measures that completely transformed their educational environment, and this has generated an increase in psychological stress. The present study aimed to identify the factors associated with anxiety, depression, and stress in students at a university in Peru during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study in students in Lima, Peru. The DASS-21 scale was used to measure levels of depression, anxiety, and stress and associate it with socio-educational and COVID-19-related variables using generalized linear models with Poisson distribution, log link, and robust variance. Of 400 students surveyed, 19.2%, 23.2% and 17.2% of students presented depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. The frequency of depression (PR = 0.91, 95%CI: 0.84-0.99), anxiety (PR = 0.90, 95%CI: 0.83-0.99) and stress (PR = 0.92, 95%CI: 0.86-0.99) was lower in women. The students of the engineering and business faculty presented a higher frequency of anxiety (PR = 1.11, 95%CI: 1.00-1.22). There was a greater frequency of presenting anxiety, depression and stress in students who worked in a different area of health or did not work. Our results suggest the importance of promoting mental health awareness campaigns in university students due to the constant academic load they have.

Educators' Psychosocial Burdens Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Predictive Factors: A Cross-Sectional Survey of the Relationship with Sense of Coherence and Social Capital

This study aims to identify the social and psychological burdens placed on educators during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan and to propose an optimal form of support. We investigated educators' perceptions of psychological and socioeconomic anxieties and burdens, sense of coherence, and social capital using a questionnaire survey of 1000 educators in January 2021. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted to analyze the associations between the variables. Results: Approximately 80% of the respondents considered COVID-19 a formidable, life-threatening illness. Our results revealed that the higher the social capital, the greater the fear of COVID-19, and the higher the sense of coherence, the lower this fear. Conclusions: The anxiety burden of implementing infection prevention was higher than the anxiety burden associated with distance learning. The predictive factors for educators' perceptions of burden included sense of coherence, gender, and age. Our findings suggest the importance of having the government and educational institutions provide multidimensional assistance that matches educators' individual characteristics.