Fear and Attitude towards SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Infection in Spanish Population during the Period of Confinement

Fear of COVID-19: the mediation role between the COVID-19 diagnosis and KAP in Spanish university students

BACKGROUND

Although health public services recommend prevention strategies for COVID-19 some of these recommendations have not been taken seriously by young people. Understanding why some people comply with these recommendations and others do not seem to be crucial in helping public health services to predict behavior and compliance with rules, especially for young people. Previous studies suggest that knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) are useful to assess compliance with the preventive measures and public health policies. Being afraid has also been found to correlate with more engagement with preventive measures. This study aims to assess the KAP and fear of COVID-19 of Spanish university students and to understand the relation between diagnosis, KAP and the level of fear.

METHOD

Participants of this cross-sectional study were 598 college students (69.4% women) from different Spanish Universities. Data were collected for a month using an online questionnaire through Sphinx iQ2.

RESULTS

Levels of KAP among Spanish students were satisfactory and results suggest the presence of fear among them. More importantly, fear of COVID-19 mediated the impact of the diagnosis on the KAP.

CONCLUSIONS

Feeling fear seems to be the mechanism underlying the relationship between diagnosis and KAP. Diagnosis is associated with KAP when the diagnosis it is accompanied by measures of fear. KAP, diagnosis, or perceived fear of COVID must be taken together in consideration for health interventions and public health campaigns design.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection During the First and Second Pandemic Waves in Spain: the ENE-COVID Study

Objectives. To describe participant characteristics associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in Spain's first 2 COVID-19 waves per the Spanish National Seroepidemiological Survey of SARS-CoV-2 Infection (ENE-COVID). Methods. A representative cohort of the noninstitutionalized Spanish population, selected through stratified 2-stage sampling, answered a questionnaire and received point-of-care testing April to June 2020 (first wave: n = 68 287); previously seronegative participants repeated the questionnaire and test November 2020 (second wave: n = 44 451). We estimated seropositivity by wave and participant characteristics, accounting for sampling weights, nonresponse, and design effects. Results. We found that 6.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.7%, 6.4%) of Spain's population was infected by June and 3.8% (95% CI = 3.5%, 4.1%) more by November 2020. Both genders were equally affected. Seroprevalence decreased with age in adults 20 years and older in the second wave; socioeconomic differences increased. Health care workers were affected at 11.1% (95% CI = 9.0%, 13.6%) and 6.1% (95% CI = 4.4%, 8.5%) in the first and second waves, respectively. Living with an infected person increased infection risk to 22.1% (95% CI = 18.9%, 25.6%) in the first and 35.0% (95% CI = 30.8%, 39.4%) in the second wave. Conclusions. ENE-COVID characterized the first 2 pandemic waves, when information from surveillance systems was incomplete. (Am J Public Health. 2023;113(5):533-544. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307233).

Risk factors of orphan and vulnerable children in a children's home during the COVID-19 pandemic

Orphans and vulnerable children in children's homes are exposed to multiple psychosocial risks. This study aimed to explore the risks facing orphans and vulnerable children in a children's home in a township setting during COVID-19. Qualitative data was thematically analysed for this study. Fifty-eight female Black African children (n = 58) in a children's home were individually interviewed to ascertain the psychosocial risks that they experienced during COVID-19. The participants were orphans and vulnerable children residing in a children's home located in Johannesburg in South Africa. All children were enrolled in either primary or secondary schools located nearby the children's home. Boys were not included because the children's home only caters for females. The study found that unhealthy coping mechanisms, non-compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols, disruptive behaviour, fear of being infected and abuse by caregivers emerged as risks. We recommend that children be offered life skills such as coping mechanisms when faced with adversity, be constantly monitored to ensure adherence to safety rules and be given therapeutic interventions to deal with their fears. Furthermore, caregivers need to be psycho-educated on the giving of care to orphans and vulnerable children. The physical environment of the children's homes should be made conducive to allow healthy interactions with factors that impact on them.

The Level of Fear Experienced by the Individuals and their Applications to Health Institutions during the Covid-19 Pandemic

AIM

The study aims to investigate the effect of the level of fear experienced by individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic on their application to health institutions.

METHOD

This descriptive study was conducted between July and September 2020 with the participants who met the inclusion criteria in Turkey. When the mean COVID-19 Fear Scale score was considered and the standard deviation values ​​were taken as 18.83 ± 6.01, the sample size was determined as 98 individuals, with 95% confidence level, 90% test power, and 0.331 effect size. With the snowball sampling method, the study was carried out with 577 people who filled out the Google form. The Personal Information Form and the COVID-19 Fear Scale were used as data collection tools. The data were analyzed with SPSS 20.0. Descriptive statistics, correlation, Mann-Whitney U (U), and Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed to analyze the data. Ethics committee approval was obtained prior to the study.

RESULTS

The mean age of the participants was 32.06 ± 11.25 (min 18-max 71); 77.8% were female; 66% were university graduates, and 54.9% were single. The total mean score of the participants from the COVID-19 Fear Scale was determined as 16.84 ± 5.68 (min 7-max 34), which points to moderate level of fear. The COVID-19 Fear Scale scores of the female participants, the participants with high income, and those living with their families were found to be higher (p < 0.05). The COVID-19 Fear Scale scores were found to be higher in those who sleep less than 7 hours a day, who have a psychological disorder, who applied to health institutions during the coronavirus process, and who postponed their application to health institutions in an emergency due to the fear of infection (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

It has been determined that during the coronavirus process, 21.5% of individuals attend in person to health institutions and 40.7% of individuals attend in person to health institutions in emergencies. It was found that the level of fear was higher in the participants who applied to health institutions during the pandemic. The participants who postponed their application to health institutions in emergencies due to the fear of infection were found to have higher levels of fear.