[Evaluation of national communication contents on COVID-19 prevention: use of a mixed method]

INTRODUCTION

The challenges of communicating with the population during a health crisis are multiple, with the ultimate objective of getting as many people as possible to apply preventive measures.

AIM

The objective of this article is to present the results of an evaluation of the communication contents on COVID-19 prevention broadcast by Santé publique France (the national public health agency) on March 2020, for the general population. Two studies, one quantitative and one qualitative, were carried out during the first lockdown. The "Coronavirus Alert" communication campaign then included four media contents (spots and posters) describing health protective behaviors and signs of the disease.

RESULTS

Recall of the campaign was particularly high, with nine in ten spontaneously citing messages from the campaign. Over 90% found it easy to understand and useful, although 20% found it induced anxiety. The declared impact on behavior was also very high, with 97% of people affirming to be encouraged by the media contents to implement health protective behaviors. There was, however, lower adherence to the campaign among men and low-income people.The qualitative study clarified some of the results: the clarity of the materials was attributed to the pictograms illustrating the health protective behaviors, and the tone of the spots was judged appropriate to the seriousness of the health situation.

CONCLUSION

These studies highlight significant exposure to the supports tested and a positive perception of them. Their lessons were useful in continuing the dissemination of the health protection tools produced by Santé publique France.

Changes in home cooking and culinary practices among the French population during the COVID-19 lockdown

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a strict lockdown in France for 2 months, drastically changing the daily life of the population. We investigated changes in perceived diet quality and cooking practices during the lockdown in comparison with the preceding period. Between June 9 and 30, 2020, 2422 participants were recruited and completed a questionnaire regarding the evolution of their overall diet and cooking habits during the lockdown. Descriptive analyses showed that 41.5% of participants described dietary changes with a similar proportion reporting positive or negative changes (22.0% and 19.5%, respectively). The exceptional circumstances of the lockdown provided a positive opportunity for some people to improve their diet quality by spending more time cooking (54.8% of those reporting a positive change) or eating more fresh products, including fruits and vegetables (47.4%). By contrast, other participants reported a decline in their diet quality, mainly caused by poorer dietary choices due to the consumption of comfort food (50.3% of those reporting a negative change), snacking (40.1%), or food supply issues (35.9%). The lockdown led to a massive rise in home cooking with 42.0% of all participants cooking more frequently (vs 7.0% cooking less), as barriers such as time constraints were reduced. Using multivariate analyses, we found that this change in cooking frequency varied among population subgroups, especially in regard to financial situation, as individuals in financial difficulty tended to cook less. As home cooking has already been linked to better diet quality and thus health status, our results suggest that the lockdown increased social health inequalities. An adequate public health response is therefore needed to support nutritionally vulnerable populations.

Biomarkers of exposure to environmental contaminants in French pregnant women from the Elfe cohort in 2011

BACKGROUND

As part of the perinatal component of the French Human Biomonitoring (HBM) program, biomarkers levels of various chemicals have been described among pregnant women having given birth in continental France in 2011 and who have been enrolled in the Elfe cohort (French Longitudinal Study since Childhood). This paper describes the design of the study and provides main descriptive results regarding exposure biomarkers levels.

METHODS

Exposure biomarkers were measured in biological samples collected at delivery from pregnant women randomly selected among the participants in the clinical and biological component of the Elfe cohort (n=4145). The geometric mean and percentiles of the levels distribution were estimated for each biomarker. The sampling design was taken into account in order to obtain estimates representative of the French pregnant women in 2011.

RESULTS

Results provide a nation-wide representative description of biomarker levels for important environmental contaminants among pregnant women who gave birth in France in 2011. Bisphenol A (BPA), and some metabolites of phthalates, pesticides (mainly pyrethroids), dioxins, furans, polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), brominated flame retardants (BFRs), perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) and metals (except uranium) were quantified in almost 100% of the pregnant women. Some compounds showed a downward trend compared to previous studies (lead, mercury), but others did not (pyrethroids) and should be further monitored.

CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVES

The present results show that French pregnant women are exposed to a wide variety of pollutants, including some that have been banned or restricted in France.

Comparaison de deux enquêtes nationales de consommations alimentaires (INCA 1 1998/99 et Baromètre santé nutrition 2002) au regard de cinq objectifs alimentaires du Programme national nutrition santé

BACKGROUND

Monitoring the dietary intake of the French population requires the implementation and regular renewal of representative national survey. As these surveys can use different methodologies (food frequency questionnaire, 24 hour recall, 3 or 7-day dietary record...), it seems useful to check whether they supply similar results. The aim of this study is to determine whether two representative national surveys with different methodologies can be used alternately to monitor changes in food consumption of the French population.

METHOD

Percentages of consumers aged 15-75 were compared between two national food surveys (Health Nutrition Barometer 2002 and INCA 1 1998-99) with respect to five food frequency recommendations of the French National Nutrition and Health Program.

RESULTS

The same public health priorities were found in both surveys: the food groups were graded according to the same hierarchy of adequate food intake prevalences (ascending: fruits and vegetables, dairy products, fish, starchy foods and meat-fish-egg products). On the other hand, significant statistical different elements were pointed out in a few food groups which may be explained by methodological patterns. Definitions of portions and food groups, survey duration and seasons are indeed important parameters to be considered when comparing surveys.

CONCLUSION

The results show the need to elaborate standardized methods for comparison of food consumption surveys, which can be useful for the evaluation of the national nutritional recommendations. The methodological limitations described in this study also indicate that the quantitative description of food intake trends should improve when established by the results of the same regularly repeated survey.