Social capital is associated with lower mosquito vector indices: secondary analysis from a cluster randomised controlled trial of community mobilisation for dengue prevention in Mexico

Factors Impacting Chinese Older Adults' Intention to Prevent COVID-19 in the Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Era: Survey Study

BACKGROUND

Understanding the factors influencing individuals' health decisions is a dynamic research question. Particularly, after China announced the deregulation of the COVID-19 epidemic, health risks escalated rapidly. The convergence of "no longer controlled" viruses and the infodemic has created a distinctive social period during which multiple factors may have influenced people's decision-making. Among these factors, the precautionary intentions of older individuals, as a susceptible health group, deserve special attention.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to examine the intention of older adults to engage in preventive behaviors and the influencing factors, including social, media, and individual factors, within the context of the postepidemic era. Drawing upon the structural influence model of communication, this study tests the potential mediating roles of 3 different types of media exposure between cognitive and structural social capital and protective behavior intention, as well as the moderating role of negative emotions between social capital and media exposure.

METHODS

In this study, a web survey was used to collect self-reported quantitative data on social capital, media exposure, negative emotions, and the intention to prevent COVID-19 among older adults aged ≥60 years (N=399) in China.

RESULTS

The results indicate that cognitive social capital significantly influenced protective behavior intention (P<.001), with cell phone exposure playing an additional impactful role (P<.001). By contrast, newspaper and radio exposure and television exposure mediated the influence of structural social capital on protective behavior intention (P<.001). Furthermore, negative emotions played a moderating role in the relationship between cognitive social capital and cell phone exposure (P<.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that using tailored communication strategies across various media channels can effectively raise health awareness among older adults dealing with major pandemics in China, considering their diverse social capital characteristics and emotional states.

Proof of concept for eliminating Aedes aegypti production by means of integrated control including turtles, copepods, tilapia, larvicides, and community participation in Monte Verde, Honduras

Monte Verde, a peri‑urban squatter community near San Pedro Sula, virtually eliminated Aedes aegypti production in all known larval habitats: wells; water storage containers including pilas (open concrete water tanks used for laundry), 200-liter drums, 1000-liter plastic "cisterns," buckets; and objects collecting rainwater. The project began in 2016 when Monte Verde was overrun with dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. During more than a year of experimentation, Monte Verde residents crafted an effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly toolkit that was inexpensive but required full community participation. Biological control with copepods, turtles, and tilapia was at the core of the toolkit, along with a mix of other methods such as getting rid of unnecessary containers, scrubbing them to remove Ae. aegypti eggs, and covering them to exclude mosquitoes or rainwater. Environmentally friendly larvicides also had a limited but crucial role. Key design features: (1) toolkit components known to be nearly 100% effective at preventing Ae. aegypti production when fitted to appropriate larval habitats; (2) using Ae. aegypti larval habitats as a resource by transforming them into "egg sinks" to drive Ae. aegypti population decline; (3) dedicated community volunteers who worked with their neighbors, targeting 100% coverage of all known Ae. aegypti larval habitats with an appropriate control method; (4) monthly monitoring in which the volunteers visited every house to assess progress and improve coverage as an ongoing learning experience for both volunteers and residents. Taking pupae as an indicator of Ae. aegypti production, from September 2018 to the end of the record in December 2021 (except for a brief lapse during COVID lockdown in 2020), the monthly count of pupae fluctuated between zero and 0.6% of the 22,984 pupae counted in the baseline survey at the beginning of the project. Adult Ae. aegypti declined to low numbers but did not disappear completely. There were no recognizable cases of dengue, Zika, or chikungunya after June 2018, though the study design based on a single site did not provide a basis for rigorous confirmation that Monte Verde's Ae. aegypti control program was responsible. Nonetheless, Monte Verde's success at eliminating Ae. aegypti production can serve as a model for extending this approach to other communities. Key ingredients for success were outside stimulation and facilitation to foster shared community awareness and commitment regarding the problem and its solution, enduring commitment of local leadership, compatibility of the toolkit with the local community, overcoming social obstacles, rapid results with "success breeding success," and building resilience.

Participação comunitária no enfretamento da COVID-19: entre o utilitarismo e a justiça social

O presente ensaio objetivou discutir os fundamentos e possibilidades da participação comunitária para o enfrentamento da COVID-19. Na primeira parte, são discutidos os sentidos de comunidade definidos por critérios geográficos, de agregação de interesses ou epidemiológicos. No contexto da pandemia, reflete-se que nenhuma das três perspectivas podem ser consideradas isoladamente. Foi discutida a necessidade de articulação das diferentes abordagens a fim de se prover intervenções sanitárias socialmente contextualizadas. Em seguida, são apresentados os quatro principais modelos teóricos presentes na literatura internacional que fundamentam as práticas de participação comunitária em diversos países. Para a análise da participação comunitária no contexto da COVID-19 foi utilizada a sistematização conceitual fundamentada em duas metanarrativas: a utilitarista e a da justiça social. A perspectiva utilitarista envolve ações direcionadas às medidas de restrição do contato social. Nesse sentido, a participação é entendida como colaboração na execução de ações que contribuam para o controle do agravo. A perspectiva da justiça social aborda sobretudo os determinantes sociais da saúde e a redução das desigualdades sociais. Trata-se de abordagem voltada ao empoderamento comunitário e à busca de soluções para os problemas sociais e econômicos determinantes da disseminação da COVID-19 e de outras doenças. Conclui-se sobre as peculiaridades e a importância de cada uma das abordagens. A participação comunitária no enfrentamento da COVID-19 deve considerar os contextos emergencial, de fortalecimento do sistema de saúde e de defesa do sistema de proteção social e da democracia.