Get Rid of Mr. Virus: The Effect of Injurant Anthropomorphism on the Intention to Engage in Protective Behavior

AbstractGlobal population growth, urbanization, and climate change worsen the immediate environment of many individuals. Elevated concentrations of air pollutants, higher levels of acoustic noise, and more heat days, as well as increasingly complex mixtures of pollutants pose health risks for urban inhabitants. There is a growing awareness of the need to record personal environmental conditions (“the human exposome”) and to study options and implications of adaptive and protective behavior of individuals. The vast progress in smart technologies created wearable sensors that record environmental as well as spatio-temporal data while accompanying a person. Wearable sensing has two aspects: firstly, the exposure of an individual is recorded, and secondly, individuals act as explorers of the urban area. A literature review was undertaken using scientific literature databases with the objective to illustrate the state-of-the-art of person-based environmental sensing in urban settings. We give an overview of the study designs, highlight and compare limitations as well as results, and present the results of a keyword analysis. We identify current trends in the field, suggest possible future advancements, and lay out take-home messages for the readers. There is a trend towards studies that involve various environmental parameters and it is becoming increasingly important to identify and quantify the influence of various conditions (e.g., weather, urban structure, travel mode) on people’s exposure.

Download Full-text

From Isolation to Containment: Perceived Fear of Infectivity and Protective Behavioral Changes during the COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18126503 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (12) ◽

pp. 6503

Author(s):

Arielle Kaim ◽

Maya Siman-Tov ◽

Eli Jaffe ◽

Bruria Adini

Keyword(s):

Vaccination Campaign ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Protective Behavior ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Social Distancing ◽

The Public ◽

The Road ◽

Israeli Population ◽

Study Results ◽

Public Health Officials

In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, maintenance of protective behavior is a continued challenge in the effort to contain the spread of the virus. A cross-sectional study via an internet questionnaire was utilized to elucidate changes in compliance to protective behavior among the Israeli population (n = 1120), after the beginning of the vaccination campaign. Comparison was made between individuals who were previously infected with the virus, those who received one dose of inoculation with the vaccine, and individuals that were neither infected or vaccinated. The study results indicate that those who were previously infected with the COVID-19 virus were less careful about mask wearing (18.8%) and social distancing (29.7%), as compared to the other examined groups (regarding mask wearing, 8.2% and 11.6% respectively, and with regard to social distancing 12.8% and 19.2%) and may require targeted risk communication campaigns to address this population. Furthermore, the study revealed that those that were non-Jewish (as compared to Jewish study counterparts) or that were older (19+) were more vigilant in their protective behavior (29.6% vs. 11.2% respectively for social distancing and 29.6% vs. 11.1% respectively for mask wearing). Despite a successful initial vaccination campaign in Israel, public health officials need to engage all members of the public to unremittingly observe compliance to directed health guidelines, to ensure that the results of previous governmental efforts in fighting the pandemic (such as lockdowns) will be effectively sustained, and the road to containment will be hastened.

Download Full-text

Acceptability of COVID-19 Vaccines and Protective Behavior among Adults in Taiwan: Associations between Risk Perception and Willingness to Vaccinate against COVID-19

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18115579 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 5579

Author(s):

Feng-Jen Tsai ◽

Hsiu-Wen Yang ◽

Chia-Ping Lin ◽

Jeffrey Zen Liu

Keyword(s):

Risk Perception ◽

Final Analysis ◽

Personal Health ◽

College Level ◽

Protective Behavior ◽

Protective Behaviors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Vaccine Acceptance ◽

The Impact ◽

To Receive

This study aims to evaluate acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines and the impact of risk perception on vaccine acceptance and personal health protective behaviors in Taiwan. A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted from 19 to 30 October 2020; 1020 participants were included in the final analysis; chi-square and logistic regression analyses were conducted. In total, 52.7% of participants were willing to receive COVID-19 vaccines, 63.5% perceived the severity of COVID-19 in Taiwan as “not serious”, and nearly 40% were worried about COVID-19 infection. Participants with higher perceived severity of COVID-19 had significantly higher odds of refusing the vaccine (OR = 1.546), while those worried about infection had lower odds of poor health protective behaviors (OR = 0.685). Vaccine refusal reasons included “the EUA process is not strict enough” (48.7%) and “side effects” (30.3%). Those who had previously refused other vaccinations were 2.44 times more likely to refuse the COVID-19 vaccines. Participants’ age had an influence on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. In general, the Taiwanese public’s acceptance of the vaccine was lower than that in other high-income countries. Elderly participants and those with college-level education and above who had previously refused vaccines had lower willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Risk perception was positively associated with personal health protective behaviors but negatively associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.

Download Full-text

Mathematical model of COVID-19 intervention scenarios for São Paulo—Brazil

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-020-20687-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Osmar Pinto Neto ◽

Deanna M. Kennedy ◽

José Clark Reis ◽

Yiyu Wang ◽

Ana Carolina Brisola Brizzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Compartmental Model ◽

Time Window ◽

Algorithm Design ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

Intervention Strategies ◽

Transmission Dynamics ◽

São Paulo ◽

Protective Behavior ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Multi Objective Genetic Algorithm

AbstractWith COVID-19 surging across the world, understanding the effectiveness of intervention strategies on transmission dynamics is of primary global health importance. Here, we develop and analyze an epidemiological compartmental model using multi-objective genetic algorithm design optimization to compare scenarios related to strategy type, the extent of social distancing, time window, and personal protection levels on the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in São Paulo, Brazil. The results indicate that the optimal strategy for São Paulo is to reduce social distancing over time with a stepping-down reduction in the magnitude of social distancing every 80-days. Our results also indicate that the ability to reduce social distancing depends on a 5–10% increase in the current percentage of people strictly following protective guidelines, highlighting the importance of protective behavior in controlling the pandemic. Our framework can be extended to model transmission dynamics for other countries, regions, states, cities, and organizations.

Download Full-text