scholarly journals Trends, patterns and psychological influences on COVID-19 vaccination intention: findings from a large prospective community cohort study in England and Wales (Virus Watch)

Author(s):  
Thomas E Byrne ◽  
Parth Patel ◽  
Madhumita Shrotri ◽  
Sarah Beale ◽  
Susan Michie ◽  
...  

Objectives - To assess trends in intention to accept a COVID-19 vaccine between 1 December 2020 and 25 February 2021, explore associations between socio-demographic factors and vaccination intention and investigate how COVID-19 vaccine- and illness-related attitudes, beliefs and emotions influence vaccination intention. Design - Prospective household community cohort study of COVID-19 infection (Virus Watch). Setting - Online survey of Virus Watch study participants in the community across England and Wales. Participants - Individuals could enrol in Virus Watch if all household members agreed to participate and at least one household member had access to the internet, an email address, and could read English. All Virus Watch participants aged 16 years and over who responded to questions relating to COVID-19 vaccine intention in questionnaires between December 2020 and February 2021 were included in this analysis. Main outcome measures - Vaccination intention was measured by individual participant responses to "Would you accept a COVID-19 vaccine if offered?", collected between 1-14 December 2020 and 17-25 February 2021. Possible responses were "Yes", "No" and "Unsure" (December 2020 & February 2021) and "Already had a COVID-19 vaccine" (February 2021 only). Responses to a 13-item questionnaire collected between 4-11 January 2021 were analysed using factor analysis to investigate psychological influences (attitudes, beliefs and emotions) on vaccination intention. Results - Survey response rate was 56% (20,792/36,998) in December 2020 and 52% (20,284/38,727) in February 2021, with 14,713 adults reporting across both time points. Of participants reporting across both timepoints, 13,281 (90%) answered "Yes" and 1,432 (10%) responded "No" or "Unsure" in December 2020. Of those answering "No" or "Unsure" in December 2020, 1,233 (86%) went on to answer "Yes" or "Already had a COVID-19 vaccine" in February 2021. The magnitude of this shift was consistent across all ethnic groups measured and all levels of social deprivation. Age was most strongly associated with vaccination intention, with 16-24-year-olds more likely to respond "No" or "Unsure" than those aged 75+ in December 2020 (RR: 4.32, 95% CI: 2.40-7.78 & 2.93 95% CI: 2.19-3.92, respectively) and February 2021 (RR: 5.30 95% CI: 1.39-20.20 & 20.21 95%CI: 7.19-56.78). The association between ethnicity and vaccination intention has weakened, but not disappeared, over time. Both vaccine- and illness-related psychological factors were shown to influence vaccination intention. Conclusions - Over four in five adults (86%) who were reluctant or intending to refuse a COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020 had changed their mind in February 2021 and planned on accepting, or had already accepted, a vaccine.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amlan Haque ◽  
Gamithri Gayana Karunasena ◽  
David Pearson

PurposeThis paper aims to stimulate the pursuit of waste-free food consumption and develop guidelines to avoid irresponsible consumer behaviours. In doing so, the paper answers the questions: How much food is thrown away by Australian households? What are the causes of food wasted? And, how motivated are Australian household members to reduce food waste?Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was completed by a demographically representative sample of 5,272 households in Australia to address these questions. Using the state-wise data set and a structural equation modelling technique, this paper analyses behavioural and socio-demographic factors that influence household food waste in Australia.FindingsThe study identified that inedible food waste was the most common waste that people threw away (69%). The second-largest contribution towards waste came from meal leftovers (44%). The study identified household members not finishing their meal and cooking too much food as the leading causes of food waste from meal leftovers. Furthermore, household food members were unable to identify whether the food was safe to eat, uncertain whether they would eat prepared food that was saved for later consumption and remained confused about when to discard food. Finally, 42% indicated a high level of motivation to reduce food waste, while 34% indicated a moderated level.Originality/valueThis study's findings contribute to the practical challenges associated with the measurement of food waste in households. Further, the study provides insights to policymakers and practitioners to develop customised interventions to reduce household food waste.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunil R Dommaraju ◽  
Stephanie Gordon Rivera ◽  
Ethan G Rocha ◽  
Scott Bicknell ◽  
Daniel Loizzo ◽  
...  

Objectives: The objectives of the HOLISTIC Cohort Study are to establish a 3-year prospective cohort study that characterizes the health of students within and across health professional education programs during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, implement an interprofessional student research team, and inform initiatives to improve student health. This report describes the rationale and design of the HOLISTIC Cohort Study, including recruitment strategy, survey development, data management, and descriptive statistics of the first wave of study participants. Methods: An interprofessional student research team was formed to continuously inform study design. The first wave of recruitment was conducted from April 14, 2021 to May 5, 2021 across seven health science colleges (applied health, dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health, social work) at the University of Illinois Chicago in Chicago, IL. Eligible students were sent an invitation via email to complete an online survey after providing electronic informed consent. The online survey was based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2019 survey and the 2014 World Health Organization Report of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts Working Group Questionnaire. Two additional recruitment waves are planned in the Spring 2022 and Spring 2023; follow-up of participants previously enrolled will occur during these second and third recruitment waves. Results: Of 5,118 students invited to participate in the first wave, 553 (10.8%) completed the survey and includes participants from all seven health science colleges. The average age of participants is 27.3 years, 435 (78.8%) identify as female, and 137 (24.8%) identify as an underrepresented minority. Overall, 465 (84.6%) participants reported being currently employed for wages. Just over half (51%) reported no days with poor physical health within a month but only 11.2% reported no days with poor mental health within a month. Nearly one in ten (9.4%) reported having ever had a positive test for COVID-19. Conclusion: The HOLISTIC Cohort Study of health professional students across seven health science colleges has completed the first of three waves of enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the first wave of study participants, increased attention to supporting the mental and physical health of health professional students is needed.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0256114
Author(s):  
Cathryn Knight ◽  
Tom Crick

The prevalence of dyslexia identification has increased significantly over the last two decades. Yet there is debate over whether there are distinct biological and cognitive differences between those with literacy difficulties and the subgroup of people identified as dyslexic. This is the first paper that provides evidence for this ongoing debate by investigating the socio-demographic factors, outside biology and cognition, that predict whether a child is identified as dyslexic in the UK. Using secondary data from the UK’s Millennium Cohort Study, this paper examines the socio-demographic factors that predict whether a child’s teacher identifies them as dyslexic at age 11. Gender, season of birth, socio-economic class and parental income are found to be significant predictors of the dyslexia label. Therefore, factors seemingly unrelated to the clinical aspects of dyslexia influence whether a child is identified as dyslexic in England and Wales. This suggests that label may not be evenly distributed across a population; furthermore, it may also indicate that resources for support may not be fairly allocated. The findings further support the argument that a ‘dyslexic sub-group’ within poor readers is created due to the impact of environmental factors. The results from this national-scale study thus questions the reliability, validity and moral integrity of the allocation of the dyslexia label across current education systems in the UK.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e041834
Author(s):  
Guy Fagherazzi ◽  
Aurélie Fischer ◽  
Fay Betsou ◽  
Michel Vaillant ◽  
Isabelle Ernens ◽  
...  

IntroductionA few major clinical factors such as sex, obesity or comorbidities have already been associated with COVID-19 severity, but there is a need to identify new epidemiological, clinical, digital and biological characteristics associated with severity and perform deep phenotyping of patients according to severity. The objectives of the Predi-COVID study are (1) to identify new determinants of COVID-19 severity and (2) to conduct deep phenotyping of patients by stratifying them according to risk of complications, as well as risk factors for infection among household members of Predi-COVID participants (the Predi-COVID-H ancillary study).Methods and analysisPredi-COVID is a prospective, hybrid cohort study composed of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Luxembourg who will be followed up remotely for 1 year to monitor their health status and symptoms. Predi-COVID-H is an ancillary cohort study on household members of index cases included in Predi-COVID to monitor symptoms and household clusters in this high-risk population. A subcohort of up to 200 Predi-COVID and 300 Predi-COVID-H participants with biological samples will be included. Severity of infection will be evaluated by occurrence and duration of hospitalisation, admission and duration of stay in intensive care units or equivalent structures, provision of and duration of supplemental oxygen and ventilation therapy, transfer to another hospital, as well as the impact of infection on daily activities following hospital discharge.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been approved by the National Research Ethics Committee of Luxembourg (study number 202003/07) in April 2020. An informed consent is signed by study participants. Scientific articles will be submitted to international peer-reviewed journals, along with press releases for lay audience for major results.Trial registration numberNCT04380987.


Author(s):  
Katarzyna Zatońska ◽  
Piotr Psikus ◽  
Alicja Basiak-Rasała ◽  
Zuzanna Stępnicka ◽  
Maria Wołyniec ◽  
...  

(1) Background: Alcohol is a leading risk factor of premature morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to investigate the patterns of alcohol consumption in the PURE Poland cohort study baseline. (2) Methods: A Polish cohort was enrolled in the baseline study in 2007–2010. The study group consisted of 2021 adult participants of urban and rural areas from the Lower Silesia voivodeship in Poland (747 men and 1274 women). (3) Results: In the overall study population, 67.3% were current drinkers, 10.3% were former drinkers, and 22.4% were abstainers. Current use of alcohol products was more prevalent in men (77.2%), people living in urban areas (73.0%), and people with a higher level of education (78.0%). The percentage of current drinkers decreased with increasing age (from 73.4% in 30- to 44-year-olds to 48.8% in participants aged 64 and more). The majority of participants (89.2%) declared a low level of alcohol intake. The chance of high level of intake of alcohol was four times higher in men than in women (OR 4.17; CI 1.64–10.6). The majority of participants (54.6%) declared most frequent consumption of low-alcohol drinks (beer, wine) and 21% declared most frequent consumption of spirits. Current drinkers had almost 1.5-fold higher odds of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) than never drinkers (OR 1.49, CI 1.03–2.17; OR 1.66, CI 1.27–2.18, respectively). Former drinkers had higher odds for hypertension and CVD than never drinkers (1.73, CI 1.05–2.85; OR 1.76, CI 1.22–2.53, respectively). (4) Conclusions: In our cohort study, we observed several socio-demographic factors differentiating the patterns of alcohol consumption. The preventive programs should focus predominantly on men, people aged <45 years, and those with a higher level of education.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. e048042
Author(s):  
Andrew Hayward ◽  
Ellen Fragaszy ◽  
Jana Kovar ◽  
Vincent Nguyen ◽  
Sarah Beale ◽  
...  

IntroductionThe coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant global mortality and impacted lives around the world. Virus Watch aims to provide evidence on which public health approaches are most likely to be effective in reducing transmission and impact of the virus, and will investigate community incidence, symptom profiles and transmission of COVID-19 in relation to population movement and behaviours.Methods and analysisVirus Watch is a household community cohort study of acute respiratory infections in England and Wales and will run from June 2020 to August 2021. The study aims to recruit 50 000 people, including 12 500 from minority ethnic backgrounds, for an online survey cohort and monthly antibody testing using home fingerprick test kits. Nested within this larger study will be a subcohort of 10 000 individuals, including 3000 people from minority ethnic backgrounds. This cohort of 10 000 people will have full blood serology taken between October 2020 and January 2021 and repeat serology between May 2021 and August 2021. Participants will also post self-administered nasal swabs for PCR assays of SARS-CoV-2 and will follow one of three different PCR testing schedules based on symptoms.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been approved by the Hampstead National Health Service (NHS) Health Research Authority Ethics Committee (ethics approval number 20/HRA/2320). We are monitoring participant queries and using these to refine methodology where necessary, and are providing summaries and policy briefings of our preliminary findings to inform public health action by working through our partnerships with our study advisory group, Public Health England, NHS and government scientific advisory panels.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noa Shviro Roseman ◽  
Natalya Bilenko ◽  
Rivka Sheffer ◽  
Zohar Mor

Abstract Background Second-grade pupils in Israel have been vaccinated against influenza since the winter of 2016–2017. This study aims to appraise the rate reduction of seasonal influenza vaccine among vaccinated children and their household members, and that of the vaccinated cohort and their household members. Methods This retrospective cohort study was performed in winter 2016–2017 in Tel-Aviv District, Israel and compared second-grade pupils who were vaccinated at school, with third-grade pupils- who were not vaccinated at school. Parents in nine schools were asked to report prior vaccination against influenza and influenza-like illness (ILI) of their children and other household members. Rate reduction was defined as [(ILI among unvaccinated) – (ILI among vaccinated)] / (ILI among vaccinated) (%). Results Of 527 participants, 359 (68.1%) were unvaccinated and 168 (31.9%) vaccinated. Unvaccinated children reported more ILI compared with vaccinated children (19.5% vs. 7.7%), yielding a rate reduction of 60.5%. Unvaccinated children also had a greater number of physicians’ visits and missed school days (35.7% vs. 14.9 and 42.9% vs. 25.6%, respectively). The rate of ILI among household members of unvaccinated children was 34.5%, compared with 25.0% among household members of vaccinated children. The vaccinated cohort (defined as all children in second grade) reported less ILI compared with the unvaccinated cohort (defined as all children in third grade), with a rate reduction of 44.6%. Pupils of the unvaccinated cohort were more likely to miss school days (42.1% vs. 32.0%, respectively), and a higher rate of ILI was reported among household members of the unvaccinated cohort (35.4% vs. 27.3%, respectively). Conclusion Influenza vaccine administered in school setting reduced ILI among the vaccinated cohort and their household members by 60.5 and 27.5%, respectively, compared with the unvaccinated cohort. Expansion of the vaccination program in a school setting increased the public health benefit of influenza vaccines among both school children and their household members.


2021 ◽  
pp. 263183182110274
Author(s):  
Deblina Roy ◽  
Sujita Kumar Kar ◽  
SM Yasir Arafat ◽  
Pawan Sharma ◽  
Russell Kabir

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures have affected the sexuality and emotional bonding among the couple across the world. Objectives: We aimed to assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on the married people’s emotional bonding and sexual relationships in 3 south Asian counties (Bangladesh, India, and Nepal). Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among Bangladesh, India, and Nepal residents from April 3 to April 15, 2020. The survey was designed in English. The participants were selected through convenience sampling technique, the link of the online questionnaire was shared with the participants. Only participants older than 18 years and above, married, and living with their spouses were included in the study. Results: A total number of 120 respondents were included finally for analysis from the participating countries (India, Nepal, and Bangladesh). The mean age of the participants was 35.42 (±5.73) years; the majority were males under the age of 40 years and had completed postgraduation as their qualification. Among the study participants, more than half (53.8%) of the women reported being sexually active during the lockdown, whereas 41% of the men reported being sexually active. Among the sexually active participants, most women (57.7%) reported that they perceived positive emotional bonding with their partners. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference observed when compared with men. There are variations in responses. However, no significant association was identified. Conclusion: There are a few insights from the study, that is, there was no significant difference found in almost 3 countries in emotional intimacy. There had been a trend that there is improved emotional bonding with their partners, although no significant difference was observed.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. e044642
Author(s):  
Hoda Badr ◽  
Abiodun Oluyomi ◽  
Maral Adel Fahmideh ◽  
Syed Ahsan Raza ◽  
Xiaotao Zhang ◽  
...  

IntroductionAlthough social distancing may help contain the spread of COVID-19, the social isolation and loneliness it causes can heighten stress, contribute to unhealthy lifestyle behaviours and have deleterious effects on social relationships. This ongoing longitudinal cohort study aims to (1) characterise the psychological, social and health behavioural impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic over a 12-month period in the USA; (2) determine whether these impacts differ for certain subgroups based on sociodemographics and other individual-level factors; and (3) explore whether there are modifiable factors (eg, coping, social support) that moderate the effects of the pandemic over time.Methods and analysisAdults (aged ≥18 years) who were fluent in either English or Spanish were recruited via social media and invited to complete an online survey during the 8-week period from 13 April to 8 June 2020 (baseline). Follow-up surveys will be conducted 6 and 12 months after baseline. Data transformations, non-parametric tests or other alternative methods will be used when appropriate. Descriptive statistics and cross-sectional analyses will be performed. Longitudinal associations will be analysed using multilevel modelling with time-variant and time-invariant predictors of change in trajectory over the study period.Ethics and disseminationResearch ethics approval was received from the Baylor College of Medicine Institutional Review Board (H-47505). Overall, this study will provide timely information that can be used to inform public health messaging strategies and guide development of assessment tools and interventions to support vulnerable individuals dealing with the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.


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