Association between Health Behaviours and Religion in Austrian High School Pupils—A Cross-Sectional Survey

ObjectivePublic cooperation to practise preventive health behaviours is essential to manage the transmission of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. We aimed to investigate beliefs about COVID-19 diagnosis, transmission and prevention that have the potential to impact the uptake of recommended public health strategies.DesignAn online cross-sectional survey.ParticipantsA national sample of 1500 Australian adults with representative quotas for age and gender provided by an online panel provider.Main outcome measureProportion of participants with correct/incorrect knowledge of COVID-19 preventive behaviours and reasons for misconceptions.ResultsOf the 1802 potential participants contacted, 289 did not qualify, 13 declined and 1500 participated in the survey (response rate 83%). Most participants correctly identified ‘washing your hands regularly with soap and water’ (92%) and ‘staying at least 1.5 m away from others’ (90%) could help prevent COVID-19. Over 40% (incorrectly) considered wearing gloves outside of the home would prevent them from contracting COVID-19. Views about face masks were divided. Only 66% of participants correctly identified that ‘regular use of antibiotics’ would not prevent COVID-19.Most participants (90%) identified ‘fever, fatigue and cough’ as indicators of COVID-19. However, 42% of participants thought that being unable to ‘hold your breath for 10 s without coughing’ was an indicator of having the virus. The most frequently reported sources of COVID-19 information were commercial television channels (56%), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (43%) and the Australian Government COVID-19 information app (31%).ConclusionsPublic messaging about hand hygiene and physical distancing to prevent transmission appears to have been effective. However, there are clear, identified barriers for many individuals that have the potential to impede uptake or maintenance of these behaviours in the long term. We need to develop public health messages that harness these barriers to improve future cooperation. Ensuring adherence to these interventions is critical.

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Students who are both victims and perpetrators of physical violence at a private high school in rural Northern Vietnam: Prevalence and Socio-Demographic Correlates

Journal of Health and Development Studies ◽

10.38148/jhds.0504skpt20-082 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 05 (04) ◽

Author(s):

Ngoc Binh Nguyen ◽

Kim Anh Le ◽

Quang Dat Truong

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

High School Students ◽

School Violence ◽

Physical Violence ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

School Students ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Northern Vietnam ◽

Perpetrators And Victims ◽

Private High School

Backgrounds: Physical violence in schools is a fairly common problem in Vietnam. However, current studies pay little attention to violence in private schools. Objectives: The study aims to estimate the prevalence and related sociodemographic factors of school physical violence among students at Hiep Hoa 5 private high school in Bac Giang province in Northern Vietnam. Methods: This was a school-based cross-sectional survey using a random sample technique with a multistage process from April to June 2019. Main findings: 412 students participated in the study, and the results indicated that 55/412 (13.3%) students were both perpetrators and victims of school violence. While 16.7% of students performed physical violence, 27.9% of students suffered physical violence by other students in the past six months. Experiencing physical violence was associated with sociodemographic characteristics such as gender, grade, exposure to physical violence in the media, time playing action games and witnessing violent events in the living place... Conclusions: More than 13% of students are perpetrators and victims of physical violence by their peers at a rural private high school. This prevalence is significantly correlated with individual factors. The results suggest that a greater focus on young people's educational activities should be provided to direct their development, including preventing physical violence. Keywords: Physical violence, high school students, perpetrators and victims.

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Ethnic disparities in psychotic experiences explained by area-level syndemic effects

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.2019.203 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 217 (4) ◽

pp. 555-561 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jeremy Coid ◽

Rafael Gonzalez Rodriguez ◽

Constantinos Kallis ◽

Yamin Zhang ◽

Kamaldeep Bhui ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Black Men ◽

Latent Variable ◽

Psychiatric Symptoms ◽

National Level ◽

Ethnic Disparities ◽

Health Behaviours ◽

Individual Risk ◽

Psychotic Experiences ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional

BackgroundEthnic inequalities in health outcomes are often explained by socioeconomic status and concentrated poverty. However, ethnic disparities in psychotic experiences are not completely attenuated by these factors.AimsWe investigated whether disparities are better explained by interactions between individual risk factors and place-based clustering of disadvantage, termed a syndemic.MethodWe performed a cross-sectional survey of 3750 UK men, aged 18–34 years, oversampling Black and minority ethnic (BME) men nationally, together with men residing in London Borough of Hackney. Participants completed questionnaires covering psychiatric symptoms, substance misuse, crime and violence, and risky sexual health behaviours. We included five psychotic experiences and a categorical measure of psychosis based on the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire.ResultsAt national level, more Black men reported psychotic experiences but disparities disappeared following statistical adjustment for social position. However, large disparities for psychotic experiences in Hackney were not attenuated by adjustment for social factors in Black men (adjusted odds ratio, 3.24; 95% CI 2.14–4.91; P < 0.002), but were for South Asian men. A syndemic model of joint effects, adducing a four-component latent variable (psychotic experiences and anxiety, substance dependence, high-risk sexual behaviour and violence and criminality) showed synergy between components and explained persistent disparities in psychotic experiences. A further interaction confirmed area-level effects (Black ethnicity × Hackney residence, 0.834; P < 0.001).ConclusionsSyndemic effects result in higher rates of non-affective psychosis among BME persons in certain inner-urban settings. Further research should investigate how syndemics raise levels of psychotic experiences and related health conditions in Black men in specific places with multiple deprivations.

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Religiosity and Health-Related Risk Behaviours in a Secular Culture—Is there a Correlation?

Journal of Religion and Health ◽

10.1007/s10943-019-00919-2 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 59 (5) ◽

pp. 2381-2396

Author(s):

Nanna Herning Svensson ◽

Niels Christian Hvidt ◽

Susanne Pagh Nissen ◽

Maria Munch Storsveen ◽

Elisabeth Assing Hvidt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Behaviours ◽

Religious Practice ◽

Risk Behaviours ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Secular Culture ◽

Related Risk ◽

Health Related ◽

Life Threatening ◽

Religious Cultures

Abstract In the present study, we examine the correlation between religiosity and health-related risk behaviours among citizens aged 29–60 based on a cross-sectional survey in Denmark, known for its more secular culture. Health-related risk behaviours such as smoking and alcohol intake are known to increase the risk of developing one or more chronic or life-threatening diseases. In this study religiosity, in a random sample of Danes, seems to be associated with healthier lifestyle, such as a healthier dietary pattern and less smoking, as is found in more religious cultures. Our study suggests that religious practice among Danish citizens seems to be correlated with health behaviours and that healthcare professionals should pay more attention to the connection between religiosity and health.

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A Cross-Sectional Survey of Salty Snack Consumption among Serbian Urban-Living Students and Their Contribution to Salt Intake

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu12113290 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (11) ◽

pp. 3290

Author(s):

Jasmina B. Timic ◽

Jelena Kotur-Stevuljevic ◽

Heiner Boeing ◽

Dušanka Krajnovic ◽

Brizita Djordjevic ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

High School Students ◽

University Students ◽

Salt Intake ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

School Students ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Urban Living ◽

Salty Snack ◽

Snack Consumption

This study investigated the behavior of urban-living students related to the salty snacks consumption, and their contribution to salt daily intake. A cross-sectional survey on 1313 urban-living students (16–25 years, 61.4% university students and 38.6% high school students) used a pre-verified questionnaire created specifically for the study. The logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the factors influencing snack consumption. The results of salt content and the snack consumption frequency were used to evaluate snack contribution to salt intake. All subjects consumed salty snacks, on average several times per week, more often at home and slightly more during periods of intensive studying, with 42% of the participants reporting to consume two or more packages per snacking occasion. Most of the participants consumed such products between main meals, but 10% of them took snacks immediately after the main meal. More high-school students than university students were in the “high snack group” (p < 0.05). The most frequently consumed salty snacks were those with the highest content of salt. Salt intake from snack products for a majority of participants ranged between 0.4 and 1 g/day. The research revealed younger age, home environment and significant contribution to salt intake as critical points in salty snack consumption among urban-living students important for the better understanding of their dietary habits.

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