COVID-19 Outbreak in Hong Kong: Public Health, Surgical Masks, and Hand Hygiene

The limitations of waste management in the Cipayung Landfill (TPA) causing a buildup of garbage up to more than 30 meters. This condition has a health impact on people in Cipayung Village. This study aims to analyze the impact of waste management at Cipayung Landfill on public health in Cipayung Village, Depok City. The research is descriptive qualitative. Data obtained by purposive sampling. Data was collected by interviews, observation and documentation. Based on interviews with 30 respondents, it was found that the most common diseases were diarrhea, then other types of stomach ailments, subsequent itching on the skin and coughing. This is presumably because the environmental conditions in the form of unhealthy air and water and clean and healthy living behaviors (PHBS) have not become the habit of the people. The results indicated that there were no respondents who had implemented all of these criteria. In general respondents have implemented 3 criteria, namely maintaining hair hygiene, maintaining skin cleanliness, and maintaining hand hygiene. While maintaining clean water storage is the most often overlooked behavior. To minimize this health impact, improvements in waste management in Cipayung landfill are needed along with continuous socialization and education to develop PHBS habits and the importance of maintaining a clean environment.

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THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF SCHOOL-BASED VACCINATION WITH A 9-VALENT HPV VACCINE IN HONG KONG

10.26226/morressier.58fa1769d462b80290b51b5c ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Adeline Law

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Hpv Vaccine ◽

Health Impact ◽

Public Health Impact ◽

The Public ◽

School Based

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The reasons of dropout of sport in Hong Kong school athletes

Health Psychology Research ◽

10.4081/hpr.2017.6766 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Abdul-Rahman Hassan ◽

Michael Huen Sum Lam ◽

Susanna Ku ◽

William Ho Cheung Li ◽

Ka Yiu Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Parental Influence ◽

Social Value ◽

Previous Experience ◽

Training Intensity ◽

Sport Training ◽

Health Domains ◽

And Training

Dropout of sport is an issue in sport and public health domains. The aim of this study was to identify the potential dropout reasons of school athletes and to examine if their perception of dropout was affected by the previous dropout experience. There were 50 subjects who were divided into two groups based on their previous dropout experience (Dropout Group=22, No Dropout Group=28). They filled a questionnaire about potential dropout reasons of the current sport. Coach and teammates were two predominated reasons of dropout; Influence of parent and training seemed to affect the termination of the sport to a lesser extent. Moreover, the perception of social value and lost focus were significantly different between two groups. Character of coach and teammates affect the engagement of training in school athletes. However, the parental influence had less influence than expected. Training intensity played little role as the dropout reason. Previous experience of dropout had an impact of potential dropout reasons on their current sport training.

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Comparison of Standard Culture-Based Method to Culture-Independent Method for Evaluation of Hygiene Effects on the Hand Microbiome

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.00093-17 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

C. Zapka ◽

J. Leff ◽

J. Henley ◽

J. Tittl ◽

E. De Nardo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Hand Hygiene ◽

Bacterial Community Composition ◽

Test Methods ◽

Skin Microbiome ◽

Critical Area ◽

Characterization Methods ◽

Culture Independent ◽

Microbiome Research ◽

Standard Culture

ABSTRACT Hands play a critical role in the transmission of microbiota on one’s own body, between individuals, and on environmental surfaces. Effectively measuring the composition of the hand microbiome is important to hand hygiene science, which has implications for human health. Hand hygiene products are evaluated using standard culture-based methods, but standard test methods for culture-independent microbiome characterization are lacking. We sampled the hands of 50 participants using swab-based and glove-based methods prior to and following four hand hygiene treatments (using a nonantimicrobial hand wash, alcohol-based hand sanitizer [ABHS], a 70% ethanol solution, or tap water). We compared results among culture plate counts, 16S rRNA gene sequencing of DNA extracted directly from hands, and sequencing of DNA extracted from culture plates. Glove-based sampling yielded higher numbers of unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) but had less diversity in bacterial community composition than swab-based sampling. We detected treatment-induced changes in diversity only by using swab-based samples (P < 0.001); we were unable to detect changes with glove-based samples. Bacterial cell counts significantly decreased with use of the ABHS (P < 0.05) and ethanol control (P < 0.05). Skin hydration at baseline correlated with bacterial abundances, bacterial community composition, pH, and redness across subjects. The importance of the method choice was substantial. These findings are important to ensure improvement of hand hygiene industry methods and for future hand microbiome studies. On the basis of our results and previously published studies, we propose recommendations for best practices in hand microbiome research. IMPORTANCE The hand microbiome is a critical area of research for diverse fields, such as public health and forensics. The suitability of culture-independent methods for assessing effects of hygiene products on microbiota has not been demonstrated. This is the first controlled laboratory clinical hand study to have compared traditional hand hygiene test methods with newer culture-independent characterization methods typically used by skin microbiologists. This study resulted in recommendations for hand hygiene product testing, development of methods, and future hand skin microbiome research. It also demonstrated the importance of inclusion of skin physiological metadata in skin microbiome research, which is atypical for skin microbiome studies. IMPORTANCE The hand microbiome is a critical area of research for diverse fields, such as public health and forensics. The suitability of culture-independent methods for assessing effects of hygiene products on microbiota has not been demonstrated. This is the first controlled laboratory clinical hand study to have compared traditional hand hygiene test methods with newer culture-independent characterization methods typically used by skin microbiologists. This study resulted in recommendations for hand hygiene product testing, development of methods, and future hand skin microbiome research. It also demonstrated the importance of inclusion of skin physiological metadata in skin microbiome research, which is atypical for skin microbiome studies.

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Socioeconomic Disparities in eHealth Literacy and Preventive Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hong Kong: Cross-sectional Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.24577 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ziqiu Guo ◽

Sheng Zhi Zhao ◽

Ningyuan Guo ◽

Yongda Wu ◽

Xue Weng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Drainage System ◽

Socioeconomic Disparities ◽

Preventive Behaviors ◽

Web Based ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Ehealth Literacy ◽

Surgical Masks ◽

High Adherence

BACKGROUND eHealth literacy can potentially facilitate web-based information seeking and taking informed measures. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate socioeconomic disparities in eHealth literacy and seeking of web-based information on COVID-19, and their associations with COVID-19 preventive behaviors. METHODS The COVID-19 Health Information Survey (CoVHIns), using telephonic (n=500) and web-based surveys (n=1001), was conducted among adults in Hong Kong in April 2020. The Chinese eHealth literacy scale (eHEALS; score range 8-40) was used to measure eHealth literacy. COVID-19 preventive behaviors included wearing surgical masks, wearing fabric masks, washing hands, social distancing, and adding water or bleach to the household drainage system. Adjusted beta coefficients and the slope indices of inequality for the eHEALS score by socioeconomic status, adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for seeking of web-based information on COVID-19 by socioeconomic status, and aORs for the high adherence to preventive behaviors by the eHEALS score and seeking of web-based information on COVID-19 were calculated. RESULTS The mean eHEALS score was 26.10 (SD 7.70). Age was inversely associated with the eHEALS score, but education and personal income were positively associated with the eHEALS score and seeking of web-based information on COVID-19 (for all, <i>P</i> for trend<.05). Participants who sought web-based information on COVID-19 showed high adherence to the practice of wearing surgical masks (aOR 1.56, 95% CI 1.15-2.13), washing hands (aOR 1.33, 95% CI 1.05-1.71), social distancing (aOR 1.48, 95% CI 1.14-1.93), and adding water or bleach to the household drainage system (aOR 1.67, 95% CI 1.28-2.18). Those with the highest eHEALS score displayed high adherence to the practice of wearing surgical masks (aOR 3.84, 95% CI 1.63-9.05), washing hands (aOR 4.14, 95% CI 2.46-6.96), social distancing (aOR 2.25, 95% CI 1.39-3.65), and adding water or bleach to the household drainage system (aOR 1.94, 95% CI 1.19-3.16), compared to those with the lowest eHEALS score. CONCLUSIONS Chinese adults with a higher socioeconomic status had higher eHealth literacy and sought more web-based information on COVID-19; both these factors were associated with a high adherence to the guidelines for preventive behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Effective COVID-19 Control: A Comparative Analysis of the Stringency and Timeliness of Government Responses in Asia

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18168686 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (16) ◽

pp. 8686

Author(s):

Shu Chen ◽

Lei Guo ◽

Taghred Alghaith ◽

Di Dong ◽

Mohammed Alluhidan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Hong Kong ◽

South Korea ◽

Health System ◽

Mainland China ◽

Initial Response ◽

Control Measures ◽

System Control ◽

East And Southeast Asia ◽

Study Sites

Aim: Many governments in East and Southeast Asia responded promptly and effectively at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Synthesizing and analyzing these responses is vital for disease control evidence-based policymaking. Methods: An extensive review of COVID-19 control measures was conducted in selected Asian countries and subregions, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, and Vietnam from 1 January to 30 May 2020. Control measures were categorized into administrative, public health, and health system measures. To evaluate the stringency and timeliness of responses, we developed two indices: the Initial Response Index (IRI) and the Modified Stringency Index (MSI), which builds on the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT). Results: Comprehensive administrative, public health, and health system control measures were implemented at the onset of the outbreak. Despite variations in package components, the stringency of control measures across the study sites increased with the acceleration of the outbreak, with public health control measures implemented the most stringently. Variations in daily average MSI scores are observed, with Mainland China scoring the highest (74.2), followed by Singapore (67.4), Vietnam (66.8), Hong Kong (66.2), South Korea (62.3), Taiwan (52.1), and Japan (50.3). Variations in IRI scores depicting timeliness were higher: Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Singapore acted faster (IRI > 50.0), while Japan (42.4) and Mainland China (4.2) followed. Conclusions: Timely setting of stringency of the control measures, especially public health measures, at dynamically high levels is key to optimally controlling outbreaks.

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Facemask wearing among Chinese international students from Hong Kong studying in United Kingdom Universities during COVID-19: A mixed method study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.27647 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Agnes Yuen-Kwan Lai ◽

Shirley Man-Man Sit ◽

Theresa Tze-Kwan Lai ◽

Man-Ping Wang ◽

Cecilia Hoi-Mei Kong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Hong Kong ◽

United Kingdom ◽

International Students ◽

Mixed Method ◽

Public Attitudes ◽

Preventive Measure ◽

Mixed Method Study ◽

Personal Beliefs ◽

The Uk

BACKGROUND The mental health of international students studying abroad has been neglected during the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE This mixed-method study examined perceived public attitudes, personal beliefs, practice and stress toward facemask wearing as a preventive measure against COVID-19 among international university students from Hong Kong studying in the United Kingdom (UK) in the early stage (January – March 2020) of the pandemic. METHODS Our study included 2 parts: (i) an exponential, non-discriminative snowball sampling strategy was used to recruit 91 Chinese students studying in the UK to complete an online questionnaire survey, and (ii) online Zoom focus group interviews were conducted with 16 students to gain an in-depth understanding on their experiences and coping methods during the pandemic. RESULTS Of the 91 students, 92.3% reported the UK public did not view facemask wearing as a preventive measure. 98.9% believed facemask wearing was an effective preventive measure, but 56% wore facemasks more than half of the time when out in public. 50.5% of them had internal conflicts of feeling stressed both when wearing facemasks and not wearing facemasks, which was more common in females than males [(62.5% versus 31.5%, P=0.004, Relative Risk (RR): 1.99 (1.17, 3.38)]. 61.5% reported public prejudiced attitudes against facemask wearing, also more females than males (71.4% versus 45.7%, P=0.02, RR: 1.56 (1.05, 2.32). Qualitative findings showed feeling of conflicts between personal beliefs and social norms, feeling stressed about wearing facemasks as a preventive measure, and experience of prejudice. Peer and family support helped students face such difficulties. Positive thinking and being adaptable were effective methods of stress management. Qualitative findings corroborated the quantitative results. CONCLUSIONS Prejudiced attitudes and behaviours from others, and differences in public attitudes toward facemask wearing resulted in much stress in students’ stress. Clear and accurate public health messaging regarding facemask wearing is needed to change public attitudes and mitigate prejudice. Owing to the ongoing pandemic and rising xenophobia, specifically Sinophobia, academic institutions and public health professionals should take initiative in reaching out to urgently address the needs of international students and provide support in managing their ongoing stress and enhance mental wellbeing. CLINICALTRIAL Ethics approval was granted by the Institutional Review Board of The University of Hong Kong / Hospital Authority Hong Kong West Cluster (reference number: UW20-298). The study was registered with the National Institutes of Health (identifier number: NCT04365361).

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