Assessing the Role of Trust in Information Sources, Adoption of Preventive Practices, Volunteering and Degree of Training on Biological Risk Prevention, on Perceived Risk of Infection and Usage of Personal Protective Equipment Among Italian Medical Students During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Antecedents of physicians' intentions to engage in digital volunteering work: an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) approach

Purpose

The digitalization has changed the volunteer paradigm, making young volunteers use technology in their volunteering activities. The current study sets out to identify and model the antecedents that determine intention to engage in digital health volunteering among Algerian physicians to give insights promoting the development of digital volunteering in different countries of the world.

Design/methodology/approach

To this end, the authors used a survey design to extend the technology acceptance model (TAM) with two construct (self-efficacy and perceived risk of COVID-19 infection). A convenience sample of 163 physicians; working in the private and public sectors in six provinces of Algeria was selected. The data were analyzed through a multiple linear regression.

Findings

The findings show that the perceived usefulness, ease of use, attitudes toward digital volunteering, level of self-efficacy and perceived risk of COVID-19 infection have a significant positive effect on physicians' intentions to engage in digital volunteering work in the context of health crises.

Practical implications

This study reveals that engaging in digital volunteering can be promoted during health crises as an effective strategy to provide support and assist public health institutions and emergency management.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study from Africa that explores digital volunteer work, and the first study that extends the TAM to investigate digital volunteer intention among physicians.

Changes in Personal Protective Equipment Usage Among Healthcare Personnel From the Beginning of Pandemic to Intra-COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand

OBJECTIVES

Personal protective equipment (PPE) use is associated with reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare personnel (HCP). There are limited data on the impact of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the PPE use of HCP. We describe the changes in PPE use from just before the widespread of community outbreaks ('pre-pandemic') to intra-pandemic time points, and examine factors associated with not changing in PPE use behavior among HCP in four Thai hospitals.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective cohort evaluation using two-time points: (i) February-March 2020 (pre-pandemic period); and (ii) January-March 2021 (intra-pandemic period). Self-reported frequency of appropriate PPE use was measured by a Likert scale. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with no increase in self-reported PPE use.

RESULTS

Of 343 HCP, the proportion of participants reporting 'always' using PPE rose from 66% during the pre-pandemic period to 80% during the pandemic. Factors associated with HCP who did not increase in PPE use included having high baseline reported PPE, being a non-registered HCP (e.g. nurse assistants, dental assistants, porters), being male, and having a low perceived risk of becoming infected with any respiratory virus while working in the hospital.

CONCLUSION

PPE education, training, and risk communication content should target all cadres of HCP, regardless of registered/non-registered status, with a focus on behavior change for improved prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses in healthcare settings.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in China: An Analysis of Reasons through Mixed Methods

This study aims to investigate the causes of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the Chinese population. The LDA model and content analysis were used to analyze the content of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy expressed by the Chinese on Weibo from 2020 to 2022, the leading causes of vaccine hesitancy, and the changes in the reasons for vaccine hesitancy over time. The study found that when the Chinese expressed vaccine hesitancy, it usually involved themes such as information access (18.59%), vaccination services (13.91%), and physical illness (13.24%), and topics such as vaccination process (6.83%), allergic diseases (6.59%), and international news (6.43%). Constraints (35.48%), confidence (17.94%), and calculation (15.99%) are the leading causes of vaccine hesitancy on Weibo. These findings provide a comprehensive picture of how the Chinese express vaccine hesitancy in social media and the reasons and changes for vaccine hesitancy, which can help inspire public health experts, health organizations, or governments in various countries to improve the phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy.

Digital Media Exposure and Health Beliefs Influencing Influenza Vaccination Intentions: An Empirical Research in China

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether/how digital media exposure influences people's intention to influenza vaccination. Through an anonymous online survey, we collected data on Chinese people's exposure to influenza and influenza vaccine information on digital media platforms and their attitudes toward influenza vaccines (N = 600). The structural equation model analysis results strongly support to the research hypotheses and the proposed model. The findings reveal three major themes: (1) digital media exposure significantly influence the susceptibility and severity of influenza. (2) After exposure to digital media, it is helpful to understand the vaccine's benefits, reduce the barriers to vaccination, and finally improve the intention to vaccination. (3) Users receive cues to action from digital media, and their vaccination intention tends to be positive. These findings explore how digital media exposure influences influenza vaccination intention and may provide insights into vaccine promotion efforts in countries. Research has shown that digital media exposure contributes to getting vaccinated against influenza.

Risk perception of COVID-19 among college students in China: Latent profile analysis

Background

The outbreak of the new coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) has had a significant impact on people's mental and physical health. Meanwhile, people's perceptions of risk may influence their emotional states and preventative behavior during an epidemic. Previous research have revealed the diversity and uniqueness of risk perception, and college students may have a different perspective on risk perception. The objective of this study was to describe the subtypes of risk perception for COVID-19 among college students in China, identify the subtypes' traits, and investigate their affecting variables.

Methods

College students from 10 Chinese provinces participated in a cross-sectional study (n = 2,000) that from January 16 to 30, 2022. The latent profiles and influencing factors for risk perception were investigated using latent profile analysis, one-way analysis of variance, and multinomial logistical regression.

Results

The sample group of this survey was 1,946 students, and the response rate was 97.3%. The best model was suggested to consist of three profiles: "neutral risk perception" (20.3%), "perception seriously without susceptible" (52.8%), and "low risk perception" (26.9%). Risk perception of COVID-19 was positively associated with attention to negation information (r = 0.372, p < 0.01), anxiety (r = 0.232, p < 0.01), and depression (r = 0.241, p < 0.01), and negatively associated with perceived social support (r = -0.151, p < 0.01). Logistic-regressions analyses mainly revealed that the risk perception of three profiles related to having chronic diseases (OR = 2.704, p < 0.01), medical major (OR = 0.595, p < 0.01; OR = 0.614, p < 0.05), without having COVID-19 confirmed cases around (OR = 0.539, p < 0.01), attention to negative information (OR = 1.073, p < 0.001; OR = 1.092, p < 0.001), and perceived social support (OR = 0.0.975, p < 0.01).

Conclusions

The level of risk perception for COVID-19 among Chinese college students was unsatisfactory, and the risk perception of COVID-19 had significant group characteristics and heterogeneity. Colleges and public health practitioners could have a theoretical and empirical basis to implement risk perception intervention efforts by identifying latent subgroups during the COVID-19 epidemic.