A cross-sectional study of COVID-19-related bullying in a sample of Lebanese adults: scale validation, correlates, and mediating effect of fear and anxiety

Changes in social mixing and attitudes and practices to precautionary measures in a maturing COVID-19 pandemic in six communities in Sudan: a qualitative study

INTRODUCTION

With low COVID-19 vaccination coverage, non-pharmaceutical interventions were critical to mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic in Sudan. We explored changes in social contact patterns, risk perception, attitudes, and practices toward protective measures during an evolving COVID-19 outbreak in six illustrative communities in Sudan.

METHODS

This qualitative study took place in six communities in five Sudanese states using focus group discussions with community members and non-participant structured observations in public spaces between March 2021 and April 2021. A total of 117 participants joined 24 group discussions. We used a two-stage thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The perceived importance of compliance with individual preventative measures among those who believe in COVID-19 was higher than observed compliance with behaviors in most study sites. Adherence was consistently low and mainly driven by enforced movement restrictions. As restrictions were lifted, social contacts outside the household resumed pre-COVID-19 levels, and risk perception and individual and institutional adherence to protective measures diminished. We identified an environment that is socially and economically unsupportive of preventive practices, compounded by widespread rumours, misinformation, and mistrust in the government-led response. However, we identified new social habits that can contribute to reducing COVID-19 transmission.

CONCLUSION

The unfavourable social and economic environment, coupled with the low visibility of the pandemic and pandemic response, has likely modulated the influence of higher risk perception on adopting precautionary behaviours by individuals. Governments and non-governmental actors should increase the visibility of the pandemic and pandemic response, enforce and incentivise infection control measures in public areas, promote emerging preventive social habits, and actively track and address rumours and misinformation related to COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines.

Addressing stigma in infectious disease outbreaks: a crucial step in pandemic preparedness

There is a complex interplay between infectious disease outbreaks and the stigmatization of affected persons and communities. Outbreaks are prone to precipitating stigma due to the fear, uncertainty, moralisation, and abatement of freedoms associated with many infectious diseases. In turn, this stigma hampers outbreak control efforts. Understanding this relationship is crucial to improving coordinated outbreak response. This requires valid and reliable methods for assessing stigma towards and within impacted communities. We propose adopting a cross-outbreak model for developing the necessary assessment tools. A stigma-informed approach must then be integrated into outbreak preparedness and response efforts to safeguard public health and promote inclusivity and compassion in future outbreaks.

Students' Perspectives of the Economic, Financial, and Psychological Effects of Online Learning and Its Gender Association: A Cross-Sectional Study in Jordanian Universities

INTRODUCTION

Jordan declared a quarantine in March 2020 and shut down all educational institutions in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. E-learning was a novel way to continue the educational process in the wake of the pandemic. The study evaluates online learning (OL), aiming to examine the economic, financial, and psychological effects of OL on students, as well as their concentration, university instructors' efficiency, and satisfaction with OL. This research also explores the gender association of OL effects in Jordanian universities.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study. A self-filled questionnaire was generated using an online form and distributed to students at public and private universities through social media. The questionnaire utilized a five-point Likert scale to assess various aspects related to OL. The main evaluation involved a Chi-square test and posthoc test to examine gender-based differences in the factors associated with OL. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value of 0.721 and a Cronbach's Alpha of 0.7.

RESULTS

A total of 720 responses were collected and analyzed. The results revealed a significant gender association with the economic/financial (P=0.001) and psychological (P=0.002) effects of OL. It was observed that 65.3% of students reported feeling depressed due to online learning. Moreover, a significant correlation was found between students' concentration and university instructors' efficiency (P=0.00). Interestingly, only 14.72% of students believed university instructors were 100% efficient in teaching theoretical and practical subjects. Additionally, 55% of the students expressed their desire for university instructors to record lectures for ease of access.

CONCLUSION

The study concludes that OL's poor economic/financial effects disproportionately affect female students. On the other hand, male students were more likely to strongly disagree with the poor psychological effects of OL. Moreover, female students were more inclined to strongly disagree with the notion that OL has no psychological effect. Lastly, significant findings indicate that both students and university instructors share equal responsibility for the success of OL in Jordanian universities.