Perceived Health Concerns During COVID 19 Crisis Amongst Jamaicans

Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global crisis affecting several countries, including Jamaica. The risk perception of a crisis is shaped by both real hazards and perceived threats. Therefore, a cross-sectional research survey was conducted in August 2020 to evaluate Jamaicans' perceived health concerns during COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional randomized online questionnaire survey was sent to a total of 268 participants. As a result, 92 people (34%) responded to the online questionnaire survey in August 2020, and SPSS analyzed the data. Results and Discussion: Out of 92 respondents, 78% were females, 22% were males, and more than 70% of participants were over 35 yrs. old. 52% of participants perceived the country was not prepared for a crisis such as COVID-19. The biggest concerns during this crisis were family health (39%), economic hardship (28%), societal health (20%), and personal health (13%). In personal health, the majority of Jamaicans were concerned about physical and mental health during this crisis. Conclusion: The responding and understanding of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are functions of both natural threats and perceived risks. The interaction of physical health and risk perception is complex and dependent on understanding the crisis, uncertainty, and destructive potential. The results suggest a crisis burden on mental health in addition to physical health; therefore, an effective campaign should be planned to prevent a deepening mental health crisis. This research study suggests a potential burden on societal health in healthcare delivery systems and other public health services. The awareness program should be promoted to motivate and help the Jamaicans to handle the crisis. The policymakers should consider working with government, science, and faith-based institutions to develop a multidisciplinary framework to control the COVID-19 pandemic's negative impact on Jamaican society.

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Prevalence and correlates of anxiety and depression in frontline healthcare workers treating people with COVID-19 in Bangladesh

BMC Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s12888-021-03243-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Rafia Tasnim ◽

Md. Safaet Hossain Sujan ◽

Md. Saiful Islam ◽

Asmaul Husna Ritu ◽

Md. Abid Bin Siddique ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Linear Regression Analysis ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Health Concerns ◽

Mental Health Concerns

Abstract Background Healthcare workers (HCWs) who are in the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic are often under significant pressures that may predispose them to symptoms of poor mental health. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of anxiety and depression among HCWs and factors correlated with mental health concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. And, it also aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Bangla version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted between July and August, 2020. A self-reported online questionnaire was utilized to collect data. The survey included questions concerning socio-demographic, lifestyle, and work setting, as well as the HADS. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multiple linear regression analysis were performed. Results Data from 803 HCWs (50.7% male; mean age: 27.3 [SD = 6.9]; age range: 18-58 years) were included in the final analysis. The Bangla HADS was psychometrically sound, and demonstrated good internal consistency and reliability (α = 0.83), and excellent construct validity. Prevalence estimates of anxiety and depression were 69.5%, and 39.5%, respectively, for less severe symptomology (at least borderline abnormal), and 41.2% and 15.7% for more severe (at least abnormal) symptomology. Regression analyses with the total HADS score as a dependent variable revealed significant (p < 0.05) associations with female gender, moderate and poor health status, infrequent physical exercising, smoking, having had regrets about one’s profession because of the pandemic and associated experiences, not updating on the latest COVID-19-related research, experiencing discrimination in the workplace, and facing social problems due to working in a lab or hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions Symptoms of anxiety and depression are prevalent among HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. The findings suggest a need for screening for mental health concerns, and employing early intervention to help these individuals.

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Traffic Risk Perception, Risky Road Use Behaviors among Vietnamese People

The Open Psychology Journal ◽

10.2174/1874350102013010049 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 49-57

Author(s):

Nguyen V. Luot ◽

Dao T.D. Linh ◽

Nguyen D. Phong ◽

Nguyen V. Long ◽

Bui M. Duc ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Perception ◽

Questionnaire Survey ◽

Traffic Accidents ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Study Data ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Young Males ◽

Two Factors

Background: The total number of (road) traffic accidents in Vietnam remains high and the death toll caused by these accidents also ranks second in Southeast Asia. Many studies elsewhere have shown a positive correlation between the traffic risk perception and the traffic risky behavior (henceforth, referred to as TRP and TRB, respectively, for short) However, this relationship has been relatively under-researched in the context of Vietnam. This study aimed to fulfill the above research gap by investigating the present status of TRP and TRB among Vietnamese people who used motorbikes and/or electric motorbikes for their daily travel as well as the association between these two variables. Methods: This was a cross-sectional quantitative study. Data were collected from a convenient sample of 373 people using motorbikes and electric motorbikes (102 males, 271 females; M age = 25.8) by means of an online questionnaire survey. This questionnaire survey was constructed based on the Risk Perception Scale on traffic risk developed by Ram et al. (2016) as well as an additional question that was to explore the risk behaviors of research participants during their traffic involvement for the last thirty days. Results: TRP indices were found to be higher for women than for men. Young males with extroverted characteristics had higher TRB than old females with introverted characteristics. However, no relationship existed between these two factors in the present study. Conclusion: As the finding of this study turned out to be inconsistent with those of previous research, more empirical studies are still welcome in this area.

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Relationships between Physical and Social Behavioural Changes and the Mental Status of Homebound Residents in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 Pandemic

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17186653 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (18) ◽

pp. 6653

Author(s):

Ben Y. F. Fong ◽

Martin C. S. Wong ◽

Vincent T. S. Law ◽

Man Fung Lo ◽

Tommy K. C. Ng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Physical Health ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Severe Depression ◽

Social Contact ◽

Well Being ◽

Full Time ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Physical Strain

In Hong Kong, social distancing has been adopted in order to minimise the spread of COVID-19. This study aims to examine the changes in physical health, mental health, and social well-being experienced by local residents who were homebound during the pandemic. An online questionnaire in both Chinese and English versions was completed by 590 eligible participants from 24 April to 13 May 2020. The questionnaire found that individuals aged 18 to 25 years spent more time resting and relaxing but experienced more physical strain. Working status was associated with social contact, with participants working full-time jobs scoring higher in “maintaining social communication via electronic means” and “avoiding social activities outside the home”. Additionally, approximately one third of the participants (29.7%) had moderate to severe depression, and participants aged 18 to 25 were found to have higher scores in PHQ-9. Changes in physical health and social contact were significantly associated with developing depressive symptoms. From the results, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to exert a negative impact on the mental health status of individuals.

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Intimate Partner Violence and its Mental Health Implications Amid COVID-19 Lockdown: Findings Among Nigerian Couples

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/08862605211015213 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088626052110152

Author(s):

Margaret Isioma Ojeahere ◽

Sahmicit Kankemwa Kumswa ◽

Frances Adiukwu ◽

Janet Punyit Plang ◽

Yetunde Folake Taiwo

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Health Consequences ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Health Implications

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a global health problem with increasing mental health consequences. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Nigeria, couples were compelled to spend more time together, regardless of their pre-existing challenges. Our study aims to determine the prevalence of IPV, its forms, and mental health implications among Nigerian households amid the COVID-19 lockdown. A cross-sectional study was implemented which used the snowball sampling technique to recruit 474 participants across 31 states in Nigeria. A semi-structured online questionnaire was distributed using the WhatsApp platform. The relationship between IPV, its forms, and associated factors were analyzed using descriptive analysis and logistic regression with significant value at p ≤ .05 and confidence interval of 95%. Majority (98.1%) of the participants had at least a college degree and 90.1% were employed. Overall prevalence of IPV ranged from 7.2% to 13.5%. Using the lockdown as the landmark, higher prevalence was found before than during the lockdown across physical, emotional, financial, and sexual forms of IPV. Emotional form had the highest prevalence both before and during the lockdown with 11.4% and 3.8% respectively. Furthermore, 22.6% of participants reported that the lockdown affected their mental health. Hopelessness, feelings of failure, being irritable, and constantly under strain were psychological symptoms significantly associated with IPV amid the lockdown. Decreased prevalence of IPV were found in the early phase of the pandemic, suggesting that couples can experience less partner violence during periods of confinement. Our study supports existing evidence that forms of IPV have negative mental health consequences on abused partners.

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Self-reported suboptimal sleep and receipt of sleep assessment and treatment among persons with and without a mental health condition in Australia: a cross sectional study

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10504-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alexandra P. Metse ◽

Caitlin Fehily ◽

Tara Clinton-McHarg ◽

Olivia Wynne ◽

Sharon Lawn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Physical Health ◽

Health Condition ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Mental Health Condition ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Sleep Assessment ◽

Assessment And Treatment ◽

Sleep Parameters

Abstract Background Poor sleep and poor mental health go hand in hand and, together, can have an adverse impact on physical health. Given the already disproportionate physical health inequities experienced by people with a mental health condition worldwide, the need to consider and optimise sleep has been highlighted as a means of improving both physical and mental health status. Sleep recommendations recently developed by the United States’ National Sleep Foundation incorporate a range of sleep parameters and enable the identification of ‘suboptimal’ sleep. Among community-dwelling persons with and without a 12-month mental health condition in Australia, this study reports: [1] the prevalence of ‘suboptimal’ sleep and [2] rates of sleep assessment by a health care clinician/service and receipt of and desire for sleep treatment. Methods A descriptive study (N = 1265) was undertaken using self-report data derived from a cross-sectional telephone survey of Australian adults, undertaken in 2017. Results Fifteen per cent (n = 184) of participants identified as having a mental health condition in the past 12 months. Across most (7 of 8) sleep parameters, the prevalence of suboptimal sleep was higher among people with a mental health condition, compared to those without (all p < 0.05). The highest prevalence of suboptimal sleep for both groups was seen on measures of sleep duration (36–39% and 17–20% for people with and without a mental health condition, respectively). In terms of sleep assessment and treatment, people with a mental health condition were significantly more likely to: desire treatment (37% versus 16%), have been assessed (38% versus 12%) and have received treatment (30% versus 7%). Conclusions The prevalence of suboptimal sleep among persons with a mental health condition in Australia is significantly higher than those without such a condition, and rates of assessment and treatment are low for both groups, but higher for people with a mental health condition. Population health interventions, including those delivered as part of routine health care, addressing suboptimal sleep are needed.

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Acceptability of COVID-19 Vaccines and Protective Behavior among Adults in Taiwan: Associations between Risk Perception and Willingness to Vaccinate against COVID-19

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18115579 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 5579

Author(s):

Feng-Jen Tsai ◽

Hsiu-Wen Yang ◽

Chia-Ping Lin ◽

Jeffrey Zen Liu

Keyword(s):

Risk Perception ◽

Final Analysis ◽

Personal Health ◽

College Level ◽

Protective Behavior ◽

Protective Behaviors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Vaccine Acceptance ◽

The Impact ◽

To Receive

This study aims to evaluate acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines and the impact of risk perception on vaccine acceptance and personal health protective behaviors in Taiwan. A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted from 19 to 30 October 2020; 1020 participants were included in the final analysis; chi-square and logistic regression analyses were conducted. In total, 52.7% of participants were willing to receive COVID-19 vaccines, 63.5% perceived the severity of COVID-19 in Taiwan as “not serious”, and nearly 40% were worried about COVID-19 infection. Participants with higher perceived severity of COVID-19 had significantly higher odds of refusing the vaccine (OR = 1.546), while those worried about infection had lower odds of poor health protective behaviors (OR = 0.685). Vaccine refusal reasons included “the EUA process is not strict enough” (48.7%) and “side effects” (30.3%). Those who had previously refused other vaccinations were 2.44 times more likely to refuse the COVID-19 vaccines. Participants’ age had an influence on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. In general, the Taiwanese public’s acceptance of the vaccine was lower than that in other high-income countries. Elderly participants and those with college-level education and above who had previously refused vaccines had lower willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Risk perception was positively associated with personal health protective behaviors but negatively associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.

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The cost of mental and physical health disability in childhood and adolescence to families in the UK: findings from a repeated cross-sectional survey using propensity score matching

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018729 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. e018729 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Francesca Solmi ◽

Mariya Melnychuk ◽

Stephen Morris

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Physical Health ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Family ◽

Additional Costs ◽

The Uk ◽

The Cost ◽

Mental And Physical Health

ObjectiveIn the UK, families of disabled children are entitled to receive disability benefits to help meet costs associated with caring for their child. Evidence of actual costs incurred is scant, especially for mental health disability. In this study, we aimed to quantify the cost of mental and physical health disability in childhood and adolescence to families in the UK using the concept of compensating variation (CV).DesignRepeated cross-sectional survey.SettingThe UK general populationParticipants85 212 children drawn from 8 waves of the Family Resources Survey.OutcomesUsing propensity score matching we matched families with a disabled child to similar families without a disabled child and calculated the extra income the former require to achieve the same living standards as the latter, that is, their CV. We calculated the additional costs specifically associated with several definitions of mental health and physical health disability.ResultsFamilies of a child with any mental health disability, regardless of the presence of physical health comorbidity, needed an additional £49.31 (95% CI: 21.95 to 76.67) and, for more severe disabilities, an additional £57.56 (95% CI: 17.69 to 97.44) per week to achieve the same living standards of families without a disabled child. This difference was greater for more deprived families, who needed between £59.28 (95% CI: 41.38 to 77.18) and £81.26 (95% CI: 53.35 to 109.38) more per week depending on the extent of mental health disability. Families of children with physical health disabilities, with or without mental health disabilities, required an additional £35.86 (95% CI: 13.77 to 57.96) per week, with economically deprived families requiring an extra £42.18 (95% CI: 26.38 to 57.97) per week.ConclusionsMental and physical health disabilities among children and adolescents were associated with high additional costs for the family, especially for those from deprived economic backgrounds. Means testing could help achieve a more equitable redistribution of disability benefit.

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A scoping review of palliative care outcome measures in interstitial lung disease

European Respiratory Review ◽

10.1183/16000617.0080-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 30 (161) ◽

pp. 210080

Author(s):

Rebecca A. Gersten ◽

Amanda C. Moale ◽

Bhavna Seth ◽

Judith B. Vick ◽

Hannah Brown ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Mental Health ◽

Palliative Care ◽

Physical Health ◽

Outcome Measures ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Social Health ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Care Outcome

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) confers a high mortality and symptom burden, substantially impacting quality of life. Studies evaluating palliative care in ILD are rapidly expanding. Uniform outcome measures are crucial to assessing the impact of palliative care in ILD. This scoping review evaluates existing outcome measures in general health-related quality of life (HRQoL), physical health, mental health, social health and advance care planning (ACP) domains in patients with ILD. Articles in English with quantitative assessment of at least one measure of general HRQoL, physical health, mental health, social health or ACP in patients with ILD were included. Searches across three databases yielded 3488 non-duplicate articles. 23 met eligibility criteria and included three randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or secondary analysis of an RCT (13%), three cross-sectional studies or secondary analysis of cross-sectional study (13%), one prospective study (4%) and 16 retrospective studies (70%). Among eligible articles, 25 distinct instruments were identified. Six studies assessed general HRQoL (26%), 16 assessed physical health (70%), 11 assessed mental health (48%), six assessed social health (26%) and 16 assessed ACP (70%). The ability to compare results across studies remains challenging given the heterogeneity in outcome measures. Future work is needed to develop core palliative care outcome measures in ILD.

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Mental health of undergraduate distance learners: a cross-sectional study

Asian Association of Open Universities Journal ◽

10.1108/aaouj-08-2021-0097 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Gayani P. Gamage ◽

H.M.Chulani J. Herath

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Distance Learning ◽

Physical Health ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Distance Learners ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Content Type

PurposeMental health is as important as physical health and new university entrants report high prevalence of depression. In open and distance learning (ODL), students must manage both work and studies. Those who are unable to effectively balance these aspects may experience negative outcomes such as dropping out, distress and physical health problems. Therefore, the study aims to investigate psychological distress amongst distance-learning undergraduate students to gather evidence for recommending necessary interventions.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional study was conducted using depression, anxiety, stress scale (DASS-21). Participants were undergraduate students from the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL). The students' socio-demographic details, history of physical and mental illnesses were also recorded.FindingsAccording to scoring, 51% of the sample was categorised as “psychologically distressed” relating to the anxiety levels they reported whilst depression (35%) and stress remained (20%) at low levels. The three-factor structure of DASS-21 was also confirmed with reliability scores of 0.8 obtained for all three sub-scales.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations were low-response rate (less than 50%) and inability to provide causal explanations for psychological distress. Further research could address these.Practical implicationsThe current research identified anxiety as a psychologically distressing factor for ODL students with the use of a reliable screening tool. Therefore, exploring reasons and interventions to help reduce anxiety could be developed.Social implicationsMajority of distance learners are contributing to a country's economy whilst learning to improve their current socio-economic status. Therefore, addressing these negative impacts is important.Originality/valueThe study explored ODL students' psychological distress and highlighted the need to identify causes and development of support systems to enhance mental well-being.

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Changes in mental health during three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeated cross-sectional study among polish university students

BMC Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s12888-021-03615-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Aleksandra M. Rogowska ◽

Dominika Ochnik ◽

Cezary Kuśnierz ◽

Karolina Chilicka ◽

Monika Jakubiak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

University Students ◽

Physical Health ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

High Stress ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Satisfaction With Life Scale ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional

Abstract Background Research indicates that mental health worsened during the Coronavirus crisis, in particular among women and university students. However, few longitudinal studies have so far investigated the changes in mental health outcomes across three subsequent waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study aims to examine changes in mental health among university students. Methods A total of 1,961university students from Poland, at mean age 23.23 years (SD = 3.16, 57.47% of women) were included in this repeated cross-sectional study across three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: W1 (n = 657), W2 (n = 654), and W3 (n = 650). They completed the online survey with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), General Self-Rated Health (GSRH), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), as well as sociodemographic variables. Results The prevalence of people at high risk of anxiety and perceived stress, poorer physical health, and low life satisfaction changed significantly across three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the two-way ANOVA showed that both the wave (W1<W2<W3) and gender (men<women) had a significant impact on the level of anxiety. Statistically significant changes in perceived stress were found between pandemic waves (W1>W2, W1>W3), and genders (men<women). Self-reported physical health significantly deteriorated in W3 compared to W1 and W2 (W1>W3, W2>W3), and was significantly worse in women than in men. The level of life satisfaction also decreased significantly in W3 (W1>W3, W2>W3), but did not differ between men and women. High GAD risk was presented two times more frequently among women and people who subjectively assessed their health as poor, three times more likely in participants dissatisfied with their lives, and seven times more probably in persons with high-stress levels. Conclusions The results of this study consistently indicate (using parametric and non-parametric statistical analysis) that there are significant differences in mental health problems across three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. It suggests that pandemic waves should be considered in future review studies and meta-analyses. Furthermore, these findings indicate a potential role for prevention and intervention programs aimed at alleviating life satisfaction and subjective assessment of health and improving coping skills to reduce stress and anxiety.

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