Precision Mapping of COVID-19 Vulnerable Locales by Epidemiological and Socioeconomic Risk Factors, Developed Using South Korean Data

Impactos psicosociales de la pandemia de COVID-19 en mujeres de asentamientos rurales: estudio longitudinal

Resumen Objetivo: analizar los impactos psicosociales de la pandemia de COVID-19 en mujeres brasileñas de asentamientos rurales. Método: se trata de un estudio longitudinal cuantitativo con 13 mujeres asentadas. Los datos se recolectaron entre enero de 2020 y septiembre de 2021 mediante cuestionarios sobre percepción del entorno social (calidad de vida, apoyo social, autoeficacia), síntomas de trastorno mental común y aspectos sociodemográficos. Los datos se analizaron mediante estadística descriptiva, análisis de conglomerados y análisis de varianza. Resultados: se identificaron condiciones de vulnerabilidad entrelazadas que posiblemente exacerbaron los desafíos impuestos por la pandemia. El dominio físico de la calidad de vida fluctuó de manera diferente e inversa de acuerdo a los síntomas del trastorno mental. En cuanto al dominio psicológico, al final del segmento, se identificó un aumento en el tiempo en toda la muestra, dado que la percepción de las mujeres era mejor que antes de la pandemia. Conclusión: hay que destacar el empeoramiento de la salud física de las participantes que, probablemente, puede estar relacionado con la dificultad para acceder a los servicios de salud durante ese período y el miedo al contagio. A pesar de eso, las participantes fueron resilientes emocionalmente durante todo el período e, inclusive, tuvieron signos de mejoría en los aspectos psicológicos, lo que sugiere un posible efecto de la organización comunitaria del asentamiento.

Os impactos psicossociais da pandemia de COVID-19 entre mulheres assentadas: estudo longitudinal

Resumo Objetivo: analisar os impactos psicossociais da pandemia de COVID-19 entre mulheres brasileiras de assentamentos rurais. Método: trata-se de um estudo quantitativo longitudinal com 13 mulheres assentadas. Os dados foram coletados entre janeiro de 2020 e setembro de 2021 utilizando questionários sobre a percepção do ambiente social (qualidade de vida, apoio social, autoeficácia), sintomas de transtorno mental comum e aspectos sociodemográficos. Os dados foram analisados por meio de estatística descritiva, análise de agrupamento e de variância. Resultados: foram identificadas condições de vulnerabilidade interseccionadas que, possivelmente, exacerbaram os desafios decorrentes da pandemia. O domínio físico da qualidade de vida oscilou diferentemente e inversamente de acordo com os sintomas de transtorno mental. Quanto ao domínio psicológico, no final do segmento, identificou-se em toda a amostra um incremento ao longo do tempo, pois a percepção das mulheres estava melhor do que antes da pandemia. Conclusão: a piora na saúde física das participantes merece destaque e, provavelmente, pode estar relacionada à dificuldade de acesso aos serviços de saúde neste período bem como ao medo da contaminação. Apesar disso, as participantes apresentaram-se emocionalmente resilientes em todo o período, inclusive, com sinais de melhora em relação aos aspectos psicológicos, sugerindo um possível efeito da organização comunitária do assentamento.

Spatial relationship between COVID-19 and previous infectious disease outbreaks: Evidence from South Korea

As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been rapidly spreading across the world, scholars have started paying attention to risk factors that affect the occurrence of the infectious disease. While various urban characteristics have been shown to influence the outbreak, less is known about whether COVID-19 is more likely to be transmitted in areas with a greater number of incidents of previous infectious diseases. This study examines a spatial relationship between COVID-19 and previous infectious diseases from a spatial perspective. Using the confirmed cases of COVID-19 and other types of infectious diseases across South Korea, we identified spatial clusters through regression and spatial econometric models. We found that COVID-19-confirmed case rates tended to be clustered despite no similarity with the spatial patterns of previous infectious diseases. Existing infectious diseases from abroad were associated with the occurrence of COVID-19, while the effect diminished after controlling for the spatial effect. Our findings highlight the importance of regional-level infectious disease surveillance for the effective prevention and control of COVID-19.

Psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic among settled women: A longitudinal study

OBJECTIVE

to analyze the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic among Brazilian women from rural settlements.

METHOD

this is a quantitative and longitudinal study conducted with 13 settled women. The data were collected between January 2020 and September 2021 using questionnaires on the perception of the social environment (quality of life, social support, self-efficacy), common mental disorder symptoms and sociodemographic aspects. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, cluster analysis and variance analysis.

RESULTS

intersecting vulnerability conditions were identified that possibly intensified the challenges arising from the pandemic. The Quality of Life physical domain fluctuated differently and inversely according to the mental disorder symptoms. As for the psychological domain, at the end of the segment, an increase over time was identified in the entire sample, as the women's perception was better than before the pandemic.

CONCLUSION

worsening of the participants' physical health deserves to be highlighted and, probably, it can be related to the difficulty accessing health services in this period as well as to the fear of contamination. Despite this, the participants were emotionally resilient throughout the period, including signs of improvement in terms of psychological aspects, suggesting a possible effect of the community organization of the settlement.

Socioeconomic-Related Inequalities in COVID-19 Vulnerability in South Africa

Individuals' vulnerability to the risk of COVID-19 infection varies due to their health, socioeconomic, and living circumstances, which also affect the effectiveness of implementing non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs). In this study, we analysed socioeconomic-related inequalities in COVID-19 vulnerability using data from the nationally representative South African General Household Survey 2019. We developed a COVID-19 vulnerability index, which includes health and social risk factors for COVID-19 exposure and susceptibility. The concentration curve and concentration index were used to measure socioeconomic-related inequalities in COVID-19 vulnerability. Recentred influence function regression was then utilised to decompose factors that explain the socioeconomic-related inequalities in COVID-19 vulnerability. The concentration index estimates were all negative and highly significant (p < 0.01), indicating that vulnerability to COVID-19 was more concentrated among the poor. According to the decomposition analysis, higher income and education significantly (p < 0.01) positively impacted lowering socioeconomic-related COVID-19 vulnerability. Living in an urban region, being Black, and old all had significant (p < 0.01) positive impacts on increasing socioeconomic-related COVID-19 vulnerability. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of socially defined COVID-19-vulnerable populations in South Africa and the implications for future pandemic preparedness plans.

A spatial-temporal analysis at the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and its determinants: The case of Recife neighborhoods, Brazil

The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to there being a worldwide socio-economic crisis, with major impacts on developing countries. Understanding the dynamics of the disease and its driving factors, on a small spatial scale, might support strategies to control infections. This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 on neighborhoods of Recife, Brazil, for which we examine a set of drivers that combines socio-economic factors and the presence of non-stop services. A three-stage methodology was conducted by conducting a statistical and spatial analysis, including clusters and regression models. COVID-19 data were investigated concerning ten dates between April and July 2020. Hotspots of the most affected regions and their determinant effects were highlighted. We have identified that clusters of confirmed cases were carried from a well-developed neighborhood to socially deprived areas, along with the emergence of hotspots of the case-fatality rate. The influence of age-groups, income, level of education, and the access to essential services on the spread of COVID-19 was also verified. The recognition of variables that influence the spatial spread of the disease becomes vital for pinpointing the most vulnerable areas. Consequently, specific prevention actions can be developed for these places, especially in heterogeneous cities.

Factors that most expose countries to COVID-19: a composite indicators-based approach

Studies carried out in different countries correlate social, economic, environmental, and health factors with the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19. However, such studies do not reveal which factors make one country more exposed to COVID-19 than other. Based on the composite indicators approach, this research identifies the factors that most impact the number of cases and deaths of COVID-19 worldwide and measures countries' exposure to COVID-19. Three composite indicators of exposure to COVID-19 were constructed through Principal Component Analysis, Simple Additive Weighting, and k-means clustering. The number of cases and deaths from COVID-19 is strongly correlated ( R  > 0.60) with composite indicator scores and moderately concordant ( K  > 0.4) with country clusters. Factors directly or indirectly associated with the age of the population are the ones that most expose countries to COVID-19. The population of countries most exposed to COVID-19 is 12 years older on average. The proportion of the elderly population in these countries is at least twice that of countries less exposed to COVID-19. Factors that can increase the population's life expectancy, such as Gross Domestic Product per capita and the Human Development Index, are four times and 1.3 times higher in more exposed countries to COVID-19. Providing better living conditions increases both the population's life expectancy and the country's exposure to COVID-19.

The Effects of Income Level on Susceptibility to COVID-19 and COVID-19 Morbidity/Mortality: A Nationwide Cohort Study in South Korea

This study aimed to investigate the association of income level with susceptibility to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. Using the Korean National Health Insurance COVID-19 Database cohort, medical claim data from 2015 through 2020 were collected. A total of 7943 patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 from 1 January 2020 to 4 June 2020 were included. A total of 118,914 participants had negative COVID-19 PCR tests. Income levels were classified by 20th percentiles based on 2019 Korean National Health Insurance premiums. The 20th percentile income levels were categorized into three groups (low, middle, and high). The relationship of income level with susceptibility to COVID-19 and COVID-19 morbidity and mortality was analyzed using logistic regression analysis. A high income level was related to lower odds of COVID-19 infection (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.75-0.83, p < 0.001). The negative association between income level and COVID-19 infection was maintained in all subgroups. Patients with low income levels were susceptible to COVID-19 infection; however, there was no relation of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality with income level in the Korean population.

COVID-19-related stigma and its influencing factors: a nationwide cross-sectional study during the early stage of the pandemic in China

OBJECTIVES

To describe the situation of COVID-19-related stigma towards patients with COVID-19 and people from the city of Wuhan in China and to assess the associations between COVID-19-related stigma, health literacy and sociodemographic characteristics during March 2020, the early stage of the pandemic.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional online survey.

SETTING

The study surveyed 31 provinces in China.

PARTICIPANTS

This study surveyed 5039 respondents in China.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Public stigma towards both patients with COVID-19 and Wuhan residents was measured. Binary logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with public COVID-19-related stigma.

RESULTS

Among the participants, 122 (2.4%) reported themselves and 254 (5.0%) reported the communities they lived in as holding a stigmatising attitude towards patients with COVID-19, respectively. Additionally, 114 (2.5%) and 475 (10.3%) reported that themselves and the communities they lived in, respectively, held a stigma against people from Wuhan, which was the most severely affected area in China. People aged over 40, lived in areas with severe epidemics (adjusted OR (aOR)=2.03, 95% CI (1.05 to 3.92)) and who felt it difficult to find and understand information about COVID-19 (aOR=1.91, 95% CI (1.08 to 3.37); aOR=1.88, 95% CI (1.08 to 3.29)) were more likely to stigmatise patients with COVID-19. People who were male, aged 41-50 and had difficulty understanding information (aOR=2.08, 95% CI (1.17 to 3.69)) were more likely to stigmatise people from Wuhan.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with COVID-19 and Wuhan residents suffered stigma at both the individual and the community levels. Those who had low health literacy, who lived in areas with a large number of COVID-19 cases and who were of ethnic minorities were more likely to stigmatise others. Tailored interventions are encouraged to improve health literacy and consequently to reduce public COVID-19-related stigma.

COVID-19 Medical Vulnerability Indicators: A Predictive, Local Data Model for Equity in Public Health Decision Making

This article reports the outcome of a project to develop and assess a predictive model of vulnerability indicators for COVID-19 infection in Los Angeles County. Multiple data sources were used to construct four indicators for zip code tabulation areas: (1) pre-existing health condition, (2) barriers to accessing health care, (3) built environment risk, and (4) the CDC's social vulnerability. The assessment of the indicators finds that the most vulnerable neighborhoods are characterized by significant clustering of racial minorities. An overwhelming 73% of Blacks reside in the neighborhoods with the two highest levels of pre-existing health conditions. For the barriers to accessing health care indicator, 40% of Latinx reside in the highest vulnerability places. The built environment indicator finds that selected Asian ethnic groups (63%), Latinx (55%), and Blacks (53%) reside in the neighborhoods designated as high or the highest vulnerability. The social vulnerability indicator finds 42% of Blacks and Latinx and 38% of selected Asian ethnic group residing in neighborhoods of high vulnerability. The vulnerability indicators can be adopted nationally to respond to COVID-19. The metrics can be utilized in data-driven decision making of re-openings or resource distribution such as testing, vaccine distribution and other pandemic-related resources to ensure equity for the most vulnerable.

The Collateral Damage of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Mental Health and Psychiatry

The potential consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak are multifarious and remain largely unknown. Deaths as a direct result of the condition are already in the millions, and the number of indirect deaths is likely to be even higher. Pre-existing historical inequalities are compounded by the virus, driving increased rates of infection and deaths amongst people who use drugs and alcohol, those belonging to racial-ethnic minority groups, poorer communities, LBGTQ+ populations, healthcare workers, and other members of the care economy; all of whom are already at increased risk of adverse mental health effects. In this paper we suggest that a central role of mental health practitioners is advocacy: both for people who use psychiatric services and for those who, due to the effects of the pandemic, are at an increased risk of needing to do so.

Increased COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy and Health Awareness amid COVID-19 Vaccinations Programs in Israel

In January 2021, Israel started vaccinating healthcare workers (HCWs) and individuals older than 65 years with COVID-19 vaccines. Scientific literature points to vaccine hesitancy as being a major health concern. During time of pandemics, increased consciousness of health behaviors may be encountered. The current study aimed to assess attitudes to general vaccines and to COVID-19 vaccines in particular among adult (>18) Israeli general public, and among Israeli dentists and dental hygienists. Cross-sectional surveys were filled out by a total of 501 participants (361 Israeli adults >18 years, 73 dental hygienists, and 67 dentists). Along with basic demographics, participants responded to the Hebrew VAX, COVID-VAX and HCS scales. Group comparisons were analyzed using t tests and ANOVAs with Scheffe's test used for post hoc comparisons. Dental hygienists demonstrated significantly higher anti-vaccinations approaches than both dentists (p < 0.01) and the general public (p < 0.05). In all groups, attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccines were more negative compared to attitudes towards general vaccines, with hygienists demonstrating significant negative attitudes compared to dentists (p < 0.05). The general public (p = 0.56) and hygienists demonstrated increased health awareness compared to dentists (p < 0.05). As health awareness has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic primary strategies to combat vaccine hesitancy should be implemented in the general public, and in particular, an dental teams.

Towards Privacy Paradigm Shift Due to the Pandemic: A Brief Perspective

With the advent of the pandemic (e.g., novel corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19)), a tremendous amount of data about individuals are collected by the health authorities on daily basis for curbing the disease’s spread. The individuals’ data collection/processing at a massive scale for community well-being with the help of digital solutions (e.g., mobile apps for mobility and proximity analysis, contact tracing through credit card usage history, facial recognition through cameras, and crowd analysis using cellular networks data etc.) raise several privacy concerns. Furthermore, the privacy concerns that are arising mainly due to the fine-grained data collection has hindered the response to tackle this pandemic in many countries. Hence, acquiring/handling individuals data with privacy protection has become a vibrant area of research in these pandemic times. This paper explains the shift in privacy paradigm due to the pandemic (e.g., COVID-19) which involves more and detailed data collection about individuals including locations and demographics. We explain technical factors due to which the people’s privacy is at higher risk in the COVID-19 time. In addition, we discuss privacy concerns in different epidemic control measures (ECMs) (e.g., contact tracing, quarantine monitoring, and symptoms reporting etc.) employed by the health authorities to tackle this disease. Further, we provide an insight on the data management in the ECMs with privacy protection. Finally, the future prospects of the research in this area tacking into account the emerging technologies are discussed. Through this brief article, we aim to provide insights about the vulnerability to user’s privacy in pandemic times, likely privacy issues in different ECMs adopted by most countries around the world, how to preserve user’s privacy effectively in all phases of the ECMs considering relevant data in loop, and conceptual foundations of ECMs to fight with future pandemics in a privacy preserving manner.

Fear of COVID-19 for Individuals and Family Members: Indications from the National Cross-Sectional Study of the EPICOVID19 Web-Based Survey

The study analyzed the association of the fear of contagion for oneself and for family members (FMs) during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with demographic and socioeconomic status (SES) and health factors. The study was performed within the EPICOVID19 web-based Italian survey, involving adults from April-June 2020. Out of 207,341 respondents, 95.9% completed the questionnaire (60% women with an average age of 47.3 vs. 48.9 years among men). The association between fear and demographic and SES characteristics, contacts with COVID-19 cases, nasopharyngeal swab, self-perceived health, flu vaccination, chronic diseases and specific symptoms was analyzed by logistic regression model; odds ratios adjusted for sex, age, education and occupation were calculated (aORs). Fear for FMs prevailed over fear for oneself and was higher among women than men. Fear for oneself decreased with higher levels of education and in those who perceived good health. Among those vaccinated for the flu, 40.8% responded they had feelings of fear for themselves vs. 34.2% of the not vaccinated. Fear increased when diseases were declared and it was higher when associated with symptoms such as chest pain, olfactory/taste disorders, heart palpitations (aORs > 1.5), lung or kidney diseases, hypertension, depression and/or anxiety. Trends in fear by region showed the highest percentage of positive responses in the southern regions. The knowledge gained from these results should be used to produce tailored messages and shared public health decisions.