Demand for Health Information on COVID-19 among Vietnamese

Due to the rapid spread of coronavirus, Vietnam introduced its first national partial lockdown on April 1st, 2020. The public relied on online sources, whether through official websites or phone-based applications, to acquire up-to-date health information, provide accurate instructions, and limit misinformation. This study aims to provide insight regarding the current level of awareness of the pandemic, and to identify associated factors in Vietnamese participants to recommend necessary interventions. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a web-based survey during the first week of the lockdown period. There were 341 observations collected using a snowball sampling technique. A Tobit multivariable regression model was used to identify factors associated with the demand for each category of health information. The most requested information was the latest updated news on the epidemic, followed by information about disease symptoms and updated news on the outbreak. The prevalence of diverse socioeconomic, demographic, and ethnic factors in Vietnam requires consideration of the specific health information needs of unique groups. Identifying group-specific demands would be helpful to provide proper information to fulfill each population group’s needs.

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Psychosocial Impacts of COVID-19 on Healthcare Workers During the Nationwide Partial Lockdown in Vietnam in April 2020

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.562337 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Thao Thanh Nguyen ◽

Xuan Thi Thanh Le ◽

Nguyen Thao Thi Nguyen ◽

Quang Nhat Nguyen ◽

Huong Thi Le ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Workers ◽

Health Resources ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Psychosocial Problems ◽

Psychosocial Health ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Web Based ◽

The Impact

Background: The psychosocial impact of COVID-19 is greater among healthcare workers (HCWs) than the general population. This study aims to identify psychosocial problems faced by HCWs in Vietnam during the national partial lockdown between 1 and 22 April 2020 and to identify risk factors associated with psychosocial issues among this population.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the second week of April 2020 during the national lockdown in Vietnam. Snowball sampling technique was used to recruit participants through web-based surveys. The Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used to assess the impact of COVID-19 on HCWs through online surveys.Results: Of the 349 HCWs, we found 22.6% reported psychosocial problems. Most of participants reported having exposure to COVID-19 daily (48.7%). The majority of them also felt that their job put them at risk of SARS-CoV-2 infections (90.3%) and expressed fear of potential infection (85.7%). Despite COVID-19 risks, 95.4% of participants, however, expressed their willingness to continue working at their current health facility. In addition, 94.8% of participants believed if they or their family members had been infected, their agency leaders would have provided them with appropriate medical care. Lastly, HCWs who worked in the internal medicine department who did not take care of COVID-19 patients or expressed fear of becoming infected were more likely to have higher total IES-R scores.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the support of healthcare leaders and assurance of care might be helpful in mitigating the psychological effects of COVID-19 among HCWs in Vietnam. These resources should be tailored to HCWs who are working in different areas of health services, including staff who are not working directly with COVID-19 patients. In addition, psychosocial health resources should be provided for not only physicians but also nursing staff.

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Travel Health Knowledge and Perception of Foreign Backpackers Traveling in Bali

Jurnal Ilmu Kesehatan Masyarakat ◽

10.26553/jikm.2021.12.2.128-142 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 128-142

Author(s):

Ni Made Dian Kurniasari ◽

Desak Nym. Widyanthini ◽

I Ketut Hari Mulyawan ◽

I Md. Ady Wirawan

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Health Knowledge ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Health Problems ◽

International Travel ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Web Based ◽

Travel Health ◽

Almost All

International travel to a country has potentially carry health risks for travelers, including backpackers. To date, little is known about Travel Health knowledge and perception among foreign backpackers traveling to Bali. This study aimed to explore the level of knowledge and perception, as well as health information that backpackers need in their destination, Bali. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted from December 2017 to January 2018 in Bali. This study involved 133 backpackers, taken by convenience sampling technique. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and were analysed descriptively. The results showed that backpackers’ knowledge was inadequate, especially to common diseases or health problems that occurred to travelers in Bali. There were 94.74% have low knowledge about rabies, 48.87% have less knowledge about methanol poisoning and 58.65% have low knowledge about diarrhoea. A total of 69.18% backpackers have a perception that they were not prone to being exposed to diseases and health problems in Bali and 36.84% were not aware that they had to seek health information before traveling to Bali. Almost all stated that they needed complete, destination-specific health information. It is necessary to increase backpackers’ knowledge and awareness regarding Travel Health at the destination. The development of integrated health promotion media about travel health in Bali, in form of web-based or application-based is one of the strategies to consider.

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Depression among pet owners and non-pet owners: a comparative cross-sectional study in Dhaka, Bangladesh

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.53276.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

pp. 574

Author(s):

Samar Kishor Chakma ◽

Taswib Tajwar Islam ◽

Mohammad Shahjalal ◽

Dipak Kumar Mitra

Keyword(s):

Psychological Health ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Later Life ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Pet Ownership ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Web Based ◽

Pet Owners

Background: Depression is a major contributor to overall global disease burden, often beginning in the teenage years and continuing into later life. Previous studies have reported high global rates of depression during these formative years, including in Bangladesh. At the same time, the therapeutic effect that pet ownership can have on depression is increasingly being recognized. However, studies examining these effects in Bangladesh are scarce. This study examined the association between household pet ownership and depression among people older than 13 years in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using online and offline approaches. We used a snowball sampling technique to identify pet owners aged greater than 13 years residing in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Both web-based survey questionnaires using social media and hard copies were used to collect data from urban-dwelling pet owners. Logistic regression was used to identify the independent role of pet ownership in depression, adjusting for confounders including age, sex, marital status, known chronic disabilities, and other variables. Results: A total of 140 pet owners and an equal number of non-pet owners participated in the study. Pet owners were found to be 41% less depressed than non-pet owners (AOR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.31–1.14). In addition, males (AOR: 3.38; 95% CI: 1.50–7.62) who were either unmarried (AOR: 2.10; 95% CI: 1.05–4.16), smoked tobacco (AOR: 5.27; 95% CI: 1.50–18.53), or had a physical disability (AOR: 5.27; 95% CI: 1.50–18.53) were significantly more likely to be depressed. Conclusion: Regression analysis revealed that in Dhaka, pet owners were associated with lower levels of depression compared to non-pet owners. Keywords: Pets and depression, animal-assisted activities, pets and mental health, pets and psychological health.

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The Uptake and Vaccination Willingness of COVID-19 Vaccine among Chinese Residents: Web-Based Online Cross-Sectional Study

Vaccines ◽

10.3390/vaccines10010090 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 90

Author(s):

Yi Kong ◽

Hao Jiang ◽

Zhisheng Liu ◽

Yi Guo ◽

Dehua Hu

Keyword(s):

Health Status ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Personal Health ◽

Binary Logistic Regression Analysis ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Web Based ◽

The Difference ◽

High Level

Objective: To investigate the uptake and vaccination willingness of the COVID-19 vaccine among Chinese residents and analyze the difference and factors that impact vaccination. Methods: The snowball sampling method was used to distribute online questionnaires. Relevant sociodemographic data along with the circumstances of COVID-19 vaccination were collected from the respondents. The χ2 test, independent samples t test and binary logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: Among 786 respondents, 84.22% had been vaccinated. Over 80% of the vaccinated population have completed all the injections because of supporting the national vaccination policies of China, while the unvaccinated population (23.91%) is mainly due to personal health status. Meanwhile, statistical analysis revealed that the main predictors of not being vaccinated were younger age (3 to 18 years old), personal health status, and lower vaccinated proportion of family members and close friends (p < 0.05). Conclusions: There was a high level of uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine in China, and people who have not been vaccinated generally had a low willingness to vaccinate in the future. Based on our results, it suggested the next work to expand the coverage of the COVID-19 vaccination should be concentrated on targeted publicity and education for people who have not been vaccinated.

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Online Pregnancy-Related Information: Reliability and Worries Among Expectant Women In Qatar

10.21203/rs.3.rs-509046/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ayman Al-Dahshan ◽

Mohamad Chehab ◽

Nagah Selim

Keyword(s):

Antenatal Care ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Care Providers ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Web Based ◽

Related Information ◽

University Degree ◽

Self Administered Questionnaire

Abstract Background: Although the internet can be a source of reassurance and clarification for expectant women, it ‎could cause concerns or feelings of worry when reading about pregnancy-related ‎information. The current research sought to assess the feelings of worry and perceived reliability towards online pregnancy-related information and the associated factors among expectant women attending antenatal clinics at primary healthcare centers in Qatar.Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed. The participants were recruited through a systematic random sampling technique. ‎A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from the participants. Descriptive and analytic statistics were used when appropriate‎.Results: A total of 327 expecting women completed the questionnaire. Most participants were aged between 26-34 years (74.1%), held a college/university degree (76.4%), and multigravidas (73.1%). About one-third of the women ‎(31.2‎%) reported feeling worried due to something they read online. The participants coped with these feelings by consulting their antenatal care provider at the next appointment (51.0%) or by talking with relatives and friends (47.0%). Furthermore, most women (79.2%) considered online pregnancy-related information to be reliable or highly reliable. Holding a college/university degree, primigravidae, and having no children were factors significantly associated with a high perception of reliability of online health information.Conclusion: Although online pregnancy information caused feelings of worry for some pregnant ‎women, most women perceived such information to be reliable. Thus, antenatal care providers should be equipped to guide pregnant women on how to access high-quality web-based information.

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Influence of failure factors on entrepreneurial resilience in Angolan micro, small and medium-sized enterprises

International Journal of Organizational Analysis ◽

10.1108/ijoa-07-2019-1829 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Mário Franco ◽

Heiko Haase ◽

Dalne António

Keyword(s):

Developing Economies ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Business Failure ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Content Type ◽

National Market ◽

Practical Level ◽

Failure Factors

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyse the influence of failure factors on entrepreneurial resilience in micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Design/methodology/approach To achieve this goal, a quantitative and cross-sectional study was carried out. Using a snowball sampling technique, 133 Angolan MSMEs founders responded to a questionnaire. Findings The results indicate that entrepreneurs attribute the failure of their activities to financial and external environmental factors such as the economic crisis and changes in the country’s laws. However, these entrepreneurs are considered resilient, as they have enough capacity to resist the national market and have a strong sense of optimism. Practical implications Based on the empirical evidence, this study shows that the failure factors of the MSMEs studied have a significant influence on some of the dimensions of entrepreneurial resilience. At the practical level, the study can be also seen as a tool to support decision making in allocating resources to improve entrepreneurial resilience in developing economies. Originality/value This study contributes to the field of research on MSMEs in an innovative way, through triangulation of the factors of business failure and entrepreneurial resilience. Furthermore, it makes some contributions to developing the theory in entrepreneurship, which has been associated with various studies about business failure.

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Sexual Violence and Consequences of Unintended Pregnancy among the Street Based Sex Workers in Nepal

Journal of Development and Administrative Studies ◽

10.3126/jodas.v25i1-2.23443 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 25 (1-2) ◽

pp. 62-75

Author(s):

Rita Karki

Keyword(s):

Sexual Violence ◽

Unintended Pregnancy ◽

Sex Workers ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Unprotected Sex ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Risk Area ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Almost All

Unintended pregnancy, concerning particularly in street based female sex workers (SFSWs) who solicit in streets or public places for sex, is closely associated with sexual relation involuntarily and often unwillingly. It seriously challenges in physical, mental, social and economic wellbeing hazardously. The aim of the study is to explore the sexual violence, use of contraception and events and consequences of unintended pregnancy, the study of which is lacking up to the present time in Nepal. A cross-sectional study is conducted using mixed method consisting of questionnaire-based survey with 110 SFSWs along with case studies and observations. Respondents are identified by using snowball sampling technique. The findings are presented descriptively after arranging in different themes. Results show that almost all the SFSWs had experienced sexual violence at least once after involving in sex trade; 74 percent had threatening experience and 87 percent induced abortion among the unintended pregnancy from clients. The results indicate that the forced prostitution and threatening experience to follow clients' interest and unprotected sex are significantly hazardous for SFSWs' overall health. High prevalence of sexual violence and unintended pregnancy result in poor health outcomes for SFSWs. Assuring the sexual health and life safety of SFSWs from group sexual violence is another risk area for further exploration.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS EXPERIENCES OF INDIAN POPULATION DURING CORONAVIRUS DISEASE PANDEMIC SOCIAL ISOLATION AND LONELINESS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research ◽

10.22159/ajpcr.2021.v14i7.41752 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 32-34

Author(s):

DIVYA GOEL ◽

MAJID FAROOQ

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychological Health ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Female Gender ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Difference ◽

Mental Health Programs

Objective: The sudden emergence of wide spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to adoption of physical distancing or lockdown all over the globe to curtail the viral transmission. Although lockdown plays an important role, at the same time, it can adversely affect the psychological health of the population. In addition, because of stay at home order, people are more inclined to use the media which can further aggravate the mental health issues in population. This study was planned to study the perceived psychological issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Methods: An online social survey was conducted using semi-structured questionnaire, participants were added through snowball sampling technique. Results: A total of 455 people (264 females and 191 males) participated in the study. Majority of participants 228 (50.1%) felt stressed out during coronavirus lockdown period. Female gender was associated with greater negative psychological impact of lockdown. Most participants 263 (57.8%) were worried about the health of the loved ones. Most of the participants tried to seek information from different media. The difference between the stress level was highly significant (p=0.04639∗) between the participants depending on the duration for which they explore the information on different media. Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic was associated with stress in the majority of people in our sample, and media has a role to modulate the psychological impact of this lockdown. As COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing, we need to verify these findings on larger population and policy-makers need to strengthen our mental health programs to mitigate the psychological impact of this pandemic.

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Quality of Life of Menopausal Women Residing Dharan Sub-metropolitan City, Nepal

10.21203/rs.3.rs-568976/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anu Thapa ◽

Mangala Shrestha ◽

Nirmala Pokharel ◽

Tulasa Basnet

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Demographic Variables ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Metropolitan City ◽

Menopausal Women

Abstract Background: Menopause poses a big challenge during middle age and to the healthy aging of woman. Majority of women face various problems and disturbances in daily living leading to decrease in quality of life. This study focuses on menopause related symptoms and quality of life in relation to the symptoms. Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 women of age 40-60 years at Dharan Sub-metropolitan City of Nepal selected through snowball sampling technique. The data were collected over the period of four weeks. Semi- structured questionnaire for demographic variables and menopause specific quality of life (MENQOL) questionnaire were used to collect data. Interview technique was adapted. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to interpret data. Result: Mean menopausal age of the study group was 47.14 years. The most common symptoms of vasomotor, psychosocial, physical and sexual domains were hot flushes, experiencing poor memory, feeling tired or worn out and change in sexual desire respectively. The overall score of menopausal quality of life for each domain reported that highest the mean score in sexual domain (3.58 ± 1.62) and least score in vasomotor domain (2.08 ± 1.67). The score of physical domain was significantly high in late postmenopausal group than early postmenopausal group. Significant association was obtained with age, ethnicity, menopause status, physical activity and marital status in relation to the domains of quality of life. Conclusions: The results conclude that all the menopausal women were having at least one menopausal symptom from each domain. The menopausal women scored highest in sexual domain and least in vasomotor domain suggesting decrease quality of life in relation to sexual domain. Menopausal symptoms were associated with decrease in quality of life. Thus awareness regarding the menopausal changes should be focused in premenopausal age group of women

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A snapshot of public knowledge of novel coronavirus disease 2019: a web-based national survey

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10495-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yu Liu ◽

Dan Wang ◽

Hao Xu ◽

Ying Xiao ◽

Cui Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tertiary Education ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Control Measures ◽

Psychological State ◽

Secondary Outcome ◽

Public Knowledge ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Web Based ◽

Novel Coronavirus

Abstract Background Although the number of existing cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China has been decreasing since late February 2020, the number of confirmed cases abroad is surging. Improving public knowledge of COVID-19 is critical to controlling the pandemic. This study aimed to determine China’s public knowledge of COVID-19 and the attitudes towards control measures. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted over 48 h from 22:30 29 February 2020 to 22:30 2 March 2020 based on a self-administered web-based questionnaire. The survey was conducted on the WeChat network. Exponential non-discriminative snowball sampling was applied. The questionnaire was voluntarily completed by WeChat users. The questionnaire covered basic demographic information, public knowledge of the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19, psychological state, and attitudes towards the overall control measures. The primary outcome was the China’s public knowledge of COVID-19 and the attitudes towards control measures and secondary outcome was the psychological state of the public during this pandemic. Results The study included 10,905 participants and 10,399 valid questionnaires were included for analysis. Participants with tertiary education, younger participants and healthcare workers had better overall knowledge than other participants (all P < 0.05). Approximately 91.9% of the participants believed in person-to-person transmission and 39.1% believed in animal-to-person transmission. No significant correlation between anxiety and the number of regional existing confirmed cases was found, while participants in Hubei were more anxious than those in other regions. In general, 74.1% of the participants acknowledged the effectiveness of the overall control measures, and the percentage of participants with agreement with the overall control measures was negatively correlated with the number of regional existing confirmed cases (r = − 0.492, P = 0.007). Conclusions In conclusion, the survey revealed that the Chinese public had overall good knowledge of COVID-19 except for those indeterminate knowledges. With dynamic changes in the global pandemic situation and more research, further studies should be conducted to explore changes in public knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19 in the future. The media could be used in a strict and regular manner to publicize knowledge of such pandemics to halt their spread.

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