scholarly journals “People play it down and tell me it can’t kill people, but I know people are dying each day”. Children’s health literacy relating to a global pandemic (COVID-19); an international cross sectional study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0246405
Author(s):  
Lucy Bray ◽  
Bernie Carter ◽  
Lucy Blake ◽  
Holly Saron ◽  
Jennifer A. Kirton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Children's Health ◽  
Children’S Health ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Source Of Information

The aim of this study was to examine aspects of children’s health literacy; the information sources they were accessing, their information preferences, their perceived understanding of and their reported information needs in relation to COVID-19. An online survey for children aged 7–12 years of age and parent/caregivers from the UK, Sweden, Brazil, Spain, Canada and Australia was conducted between 6th of April and the 1st of June 2020. The surveys included demographic questions and both closed and open questions focussing on access to and understanding of COVID-19 information. Descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis procedures were conducted. The findings show that parents are the main source of information for children during the pandemic in most countries (89%, n = 347), except in Sweden where school was the main source of information. However, in many cases parents chose to shield, filter or adapt their child’s access to information about COVID-19, especially in relation to the death rates within each country. Despite this, children in this study reported knowing that COVID-19 was deadly and spreads quickly. This paper argues for a community rather than individual approach to addressing children’s health literacy needs during a pandemic.

scholarly journals Dissociation, Cognitive Reflection and Health Literacy Have a Modest Effect on Belief in Conspiracy Theories about COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5065
Author(s):  
Vojtech Pisl ◽  
Jan Volavka ◽  
Edita Chvojkova ◽  
Katerina Cechova ◽  
Gabriela Kavalirova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
Variance Explained ◽  
Modest Effect

Understanding the predictors of belief in COVID-related conspiracy theories and willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 may aid the resolution of current and future pandemics. We investigate how psychological and cognitive characteristics influence general conspiracy mentality and COVID-related conspiracy theories. A cross-sectional study was conducted based on data from an online survey of a sample of Czech university students (n = 866) collected in January 2021, using multivariate linear regression and mediation analysis. Sixteen percent of respondents believed that COVID-19 is a hoax, and 17% believed that COVID-19 was intentionally created by humans. Seven percent of the variance of the hoax theory and 10% of the variance of the creation theory was explained by (in descending order of relevance) low cognitive reflection, low digital health literacy, high experience with dissociation and, to some extent, high bullshit receptivity. Belief in COVID-related conspiracy theories depended less on psychological and cognitive variables compared to conspiracy mentality (16% of the variance explained). The effect of digital health literacy on belief in COVID-related theories was moderated by cognitive reflection. Belief in conspiracy theories related to COVID-19 was influenced by experience with dissociation, cognitive reflection, digital health literacy and bullshit receptivity.

scholarly journals Political views of doctors in the UK: a cross-sectional study

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 880-887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate L Mandeville ◽  
Rose-Marie Satherley ◽  
Jennifer A Hall ◽  
Shailen Sutaria ◽  
Chris Willott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Urgent Care ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Political Views ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundLittle is known about the political views of doctors in the UK despite doctors' importance in the functioning of the National Health Service (NHS).MethodsThis is a survey-based, cross-sectional study in which we asked questions about voting behaviour in 2015 and 2017 UK general elections and 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union (EU) (Brexit), and questions relating to recent health policies.Results1172 doctors (45.1% women) from 1295 responded to an online survey. 60.5% described their political views as ‘left-wing’ and 62.2% described themselves as ‘liberal’. 79.4% of respondents voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum compared with 48.1% of voters as a whole (χ2=819.8, p<0.001). 98.6% of respondents agreed that EU nationals working in the NHS should be able to remain in the UK after Brexit. The median score for the impact of Brexit on the NHS on a scale of 0 (worst impact) to 10 (best impact) was 2 (IQR=1–4). Most respondents agreed with the introduction of minimum alcohol pricing in the UK (73.9%), charging patients who are not eligible for NHS treatment for non-urgent care (70.6%) and protecting a portion of national spending for the NHS (87.1%). 65.8% thought there was too much use of NHS-funded private sector provision in their medical practice. Specialty, income and grade were associated with divergent opinions.ConclusionsUK doctors are left-leaning and liberal in general, which is reflected in their opinions on topical health policy issues. Doctors in the UK voted differently from the general electorate in recent polls.

scholarly journals Survey of the effect of viewing an online e-cigarette advertisement on attitudes towards cigarette and e-cigarette use in adults located in the UK and USA: a cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. e027525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Booth ◽  
Ian P Albery ◽  
Sharon Cox ◽  
Daniel Frings
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Social Acceptability ◽  
Cigarette Use ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Likert Scales ◽  
Post Exposure ◽  
Smoking Group ◽  
The Uk

ObjectivesThis study explored the potential for e-cigarette advertisements to (1) enhance attitudes towards cigarettes and/or (2) reduce barriers to e-cigarettes uptake. The study tested whether exposure to an online electronic cigarette advertisement changed attitudes towards cigarettes and e-cigarettes in smokers, non-smokers, e-cigarette users and dual users (smokers who also use e-cigarettes).DesignCross-sectional studySettingOnline surveyParticipantsAdults (n=964) aged 18 to 65 years old (M=36 years, SD=11.6) from the UK and USA. Participants were grouped into current non-smokers, e-cigarette users, dual users and smokers.InterventionsParticipants viewed 1 of 15 randomly assigned online e-cigarette advertisements.Primary measuresThree single seven-point Likert scales measuring health, desirability, social acceptability were completed pre and post advertisement exposure.ResultsPost exposure all smoking groups showed a decrease or no change in how socially acceptable or desirable they rated cigarettes. Paradoxically, dual users rated cigarettes as being significantly healthier after viewing the advertisement (p=0.01) while all other smoking group ratings remained the same. There was an increase or no change in how all smoking groups perceived the healthiness and desirability of e-cigarettesConclusionsWe observed no evidence that exposure to an e-cigarette advertisement renormalises or encourages smoking in smokers, non-smokers or e-cigarette users. However, there is some indication that viewing an e-cigarette advertisement may increase duals users’ perceptions of the health of smoking.

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

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. e048983
Author(s):  
Tianyu Jiang ◽  
Xudong Zhou ◽  
Leesa Lin ◽  
Yanzheng Pan ◽  
Yuyuan Zhong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Low Health Literacy ◽  
Related Stigma ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The City

ObjectivesTo 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.DesignA cross-sectional online survey.SettingThe study surveyed 31 provinces in China.ParticipantsThis study surveyed 5039 respondents in China.Outcome measuresPublic 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.ResultsAmong 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.ConclusionsPatients 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.

scholarly journals Digital health literacy and online information queries in Portuguese university students

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Rosário ◽  
C Augusto ◽  
MJ Silva ◽  
S Martins ◽  
A Duarte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
University Students ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Logistic Regression Models

Abstract Background Worldwide there is an overwhelming amount of information about COVID-19 circulating online, also named infodemic. Misinformation (the unintentional) and disinformation (the intentional) spreading of false information have proven to be very dangerous to public health. Hence, more than ever, people need skills for searching, evaluating and integrating information related to health in daily life, i.e., health literacy. Until now, little is known about the digital health literacy of university students and their information-seeking behaviour. Hence, this study aimed to analyse the associations between university students' digital health literacy and online information queries during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (and infodemic) in Portugal. Methods A cross-sectional study of 3.084 Portuguese university students (75.7% females), with an average age of 24.2 (SD = 7.5), was conducted using an online survey. We used sociodemographic data (sex, age, subjective social status) and the digital health literacy questionnaire adapted to the specific COVID-19 context. Online information queries included the topics related to SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 searched by students. Logistic regression models were performed. Results Online information queries (e.g., individual measures to protect against infection, current spread of the virus, current situation assessments and recommendations) were associated with an increased odds of achieving sufficient digital health literacy. Conclusions Online information queries related to epidemiological and public health topics are significantly associated with digital health literacy in times of COVID-19. Further studies are needed, including programs that improve digital health literacy among university students and increase the availability of high-quality content information.

scholarly journals Global Imperative of Suicidal Ideation in 10 Countries Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teris Cheung ◽  
Simon Ching Lam ◽  
Paul Hong Lee ◽  
Yu Tao Xiang ◽  
Paul Siu Fai Yip ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Health Beliefs ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Patient Health ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
The Uk

Background: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a detrimental impact on individuals' psychological well-being; however, a multi-country comparison on the prevalence of suicidal ideation due to the virus is still lacking.Objectives: To examine the prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation among the general population across 10 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study which used convenience sampling and collected data by conducting an online survey. Participants were sourced from 10 Eastern and Western countries. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to measure the outcome variable of suicidal ideation. Ordinal regression analysis was used to identify significant predictors associated with suicidal ideation.Results: A total of 25,053 participants (22.7% male) were recruited. Results from the analysis showed that the UK and Brazil had the lowest odds of suicidal ideation compared to Macau (p &lt; 0.05). Furthermore, younger age, male, married, and differences in health beliefs were significantly associated with suicidal ideation (p &lt; 0.05).Conclusions: The findings highlight the need for joint international collaboration to formulate effective suicide prevention strategies in a timely manner and the need to implement online mental health promotion platforms. In doing so, the potential global rising death rates by suicide during the pandemic can be reduced.

scholarly journals COMPARISON OF HEALTH LITERACY AMONG IRAQI WOMEN WITH DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Zena Mudhfar Al-nema
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Younger Women ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Group A ◽  
Group B ◽  
Source Of Information

 Objectives: The objectives of the study were to compare the health knowledge of women of different age groups. To evaluate different methods for developing health literacy.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2014 to January 2016 in Baghdad, Iraq. All candidates were females, age ≥18 years, neither medical staff nor medical students.The sample was divided into two groups: Group A: Females aged18–45 years, Group B: Females aged >45 years. A comparison between the two groups regarding their health literacy and the source of information was made.Results: The final sample included 213 women, of them, there were 107≤45 years (Group A) and 106>45 years (Group B) women. Significant difference was found between both groups regarding the knowledge about the prevention of cholera where the accurate answers were 46.7% in Group A versus 80.1% in Group B. The main source of information for both groups was the personal experience. However, internet was used more (42%) by the younger women (Group A), and television was used more (52.8%) by the older women (Group B).Conclusion: Young women had a better literacy on common medical problems, but the old showed overall limited health literacy. Pharmacists, physicians, and activities of the Ministry of Health played an impotent role in health literacy in the old women. 

scholarly journals Coronavirus-Related Health Literacy: A Cross-Sectional Study in Adults during the COVID-19 Infodemic in Germany

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (15) ◽  
pp. 5503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orkan Okan ◽  
Torsten Michael Bollweg ◽  
Eva-Maria Berens ◽  
Klaus Hurrelmann ◽  
Ullrich Bauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Information Campaigns ◽  
Representative Study ◽  
Lower Health

There is an “infodemic” associated with the COVID-19 pandemic—an overabundance of valid and invalid information. Health literacy is the ability to access, understand, appraise, and apply health information, making it crucial for navigating coronavirus and COVID-19 information environments. A cross-sectional representative study of participants ≥ 16 years in Germany was conducted using an online survey. A coronavirus-related health literacy measure was developed (HLS-COVID-Q22). Internal consistency was very high (α = 0.940; ρ = 0.891) and construct validity suggests a sufficient model fit, making HLS-COVID-Q22 a feasible tool for assessing coronavirus-related health literacy in population surveys. While 49.9% of our sample had sufficient levels of coronavirus-related health literacy, 50.1% had “problematic” (15.2%) or “inadequate” (34.9%) levels. Although the overall level of health literacy is high, a vast number of participants report difficulties dealing with coronavirus and COVID-19 information. The participants felt well informed about coronavirus, but 47.8% reported having difficulties judging whether they could trust media information on COVID-19. Confusion about coronavirus information was significantly higher among those who had lower health literacy. This calls for targeted public information campaigns and promotion of population-based health literacy for better navigation of information environments during the infodemic, identification of disinformation, and decision-making based on reliable and trustworthy information.

Socioeconomic inequalities in children under 15 with medical complexity: A population-based study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neus Carrilero ◽  
Dolores Ruiz-Muñoz ◽  
Albert Dalmau-Bueno ◽  
Cristina Colls ◽  
Anna García-Altés
Keyword(s):  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Socioeconomic Position ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Children's Health ◽  
Children’S Health ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disease ◽  
And Cluster Analysis

Abstract Background Health inequalities from the first stages of life onwards have consequences for children’s health status and for their future development. Children’s health is profoundly affected by the socioeconomic position (SEP) of their parents. The situation is even more disruptive in children with medically complex (CMC) conditions. The aim of this study is to describe the characteristics and related pathologies of CMC in Catalonia, and to assess the presence of socioeconomic inequalities.Methods Cross-sectional study and cluster analysis of the diseases in the CMC population under the age of 15 in Catalonia in 2016 using administrative data. Each pathology cluster obtained was described and its association with socioeconomic position (SEP) determined. The Adjusted Morbidity Groups (Catalan acronym GMA) classification system was used to identify the CMC. Main outcome measures: SEP, GMA score, sex, and age distribution were recorded in both populations (CMC and non-CMC) and in each of the clusters identified.Results 71% of the CMC population have at least one parent with no employment or an annual income of less than €18,000. Four comorbidity clusters were identified in CMC: respiratory (47%), neurodevelopmental (18%), hemato-oncological (12%), and perinatal disorders (23%). CMC experience higher levels of poverty and social disadvantage in all clusters. SES-cluster association results were: in the respiratory OR, 2.1 in boys and 2.1 in girls; in the neurodevelopmental disease, OR 2.0 in boys and 1.8 in girls; in the hemato-oncology OR, 1.7 in boys and 1.8 in girls; and in the perinatal OR, 1.7 in boys and 1.8 in girls.Conclusions There are socioeconomic health inequalities in childhood across a broad spectrum of health outcomes. Children with lower SEP are more likely to have CMC conditions. All clusters showed SEP inequalities and respiratory and neurodevelopment clusters are the most prevalent.

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