Impact of Vaccination on the Sense of Security, the Anxiety of COVID-19 and Quality of Life among Polish. A Nationwide Online Survey in Poland

The pandemic state has a destructive effect on the human psyche and induces fear for one’s own health. By reducing the risk of severe COVID-19, vaccination may indirectly improve the mental state. This study aims to assess the effects of vaccination on respondents’ mental well-being, their attitudes towards adherence to government recommendations limiting viral transmission, and to identify factors that may influence the decision to get vaccinated. The survey took the form of the authors’ own, fully voluntary, anonymous, online questionnaire. Standardised psychometric tools were used in the survey: Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) and Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life (MANSA). The survey involved 1696 respondents, the vast majority of whom were women, and were aged 18–29. The vaccination status was declared by 1677 respondents (98.9%), 430 (25.4%) of whom were vaccinated with at least one dose of vaccine, while 303 (17.9%) respondents were not only unvaccinated at all, and declared no intention to get vaccinated in the future. Fully vaccinated individuals were found to have lower levels of anxiety, higher MANSA scores and lower subjective anxiety about being infected with COVID-19 than those awaiting vaccination or those with an incomplete vaccination regimen (one dose). Those who are not willing to get vaccinated have the lowest sense of anxiety and fear of being infected and they have the lowest adherence to government recommendations limiting SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Conclusions: COVID-19 vaccination reduces the level of anxiety about being infected and anxiety due to COVID-19 disease in people from the immediate environment. Those who are not willing to get vaccinated have extreme attitudes that negate the pandemic as a whole, including the need for COVID-19 vaccination. Fully vaccinated individuals still adhere to the SARS-CoV-2 prevention policies in place.

Determination of anxiety levels of Turkish University students and affecting factors in COVID-19 pandemic: sample of a private university

Introduction: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its consequences have created anxiety in various segments of society. In particular, the transition to online education brought by this process has made the education process of university students difficult. Therefore, in the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to examine the anxiety levels of university students and their relationship with somatic symptoms. Objective: To examine the level of generalised anxiety disorder and to reveal the relationship between somatic symptoms and the generalised anxiety disorder level of Turkish university students. Methods: Empirical research. Participants in the research constituted a total of 605 students studying at a private university in İstanbul. The Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) was used to collect data. Data were analysed using the chi-square test and Pearson correlation analysis. Results: It was found that, among the participants, 193 (31.90%) of the students had mild anxiety, 149 (24.63%) had moderate anxiety and 121 (20.00%) had severe anxiety. The study revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between the number of somatic symptoms and generalised anxiety disorder scores of university students. Conclusion: Most of the university students are affected by anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic and this effect is correlated with the frequency of somatic symptoms. In this context, it would be beneficial for universities to plan for acute and long-term psychological services and to cooperate with the government to provide timely crisis-oriented psychological services.

ROLE OF BHRAMARI PRANAYAMA IN GENERALISED ANXIETY DISORDER

Pranayama is a Yogic technique which ensure homeostasis between physical and mental health. Bhramari is one of the 8 types of Pranayama as explained by Sage Patanjali which is considered to be effective in maintaining mental health. The following article discusses the probable use of Bhramari in Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Various publications from Pubmed, Google Scholar, Scopus etc were reviewed to reinforce the hypothesis that Bhramari can be effective in GAD. It is worthwhile known that Bhramari is effective in various stressful conditions but its efficacy against GAD is not yet proven. Since GAD is one of the most common mental disorders, it is hypothesised that Bhramari acts good against GAD too. Hence, it can be concluded that it would be beneficial to conduct larger studies on GAD patients to ascertain the efficacy of Bhramari in their population.

Acceptance and commitment therapy for older people with treatment-resistant generalised anxiety disorder: the FACTOID feasibility study

Background Generalised anxiety disorder, characterised by excessive anxiety and worry, is the most common anxiety disorder among older people. It is a condition that may persist for decades and is associated with numerous negative outcomes. Front-line treatments include pharmacological and psychological therapy, but many older people do not find these treatments effective. Guidance on managing treatment-resistant generalised anxiety disorder in older people is lacking. Objectives To assess whether or not a study to examine the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy for older people with treatment-resistant generalised anxiety disorder is feasible, we developed an intervention based on acceptance and commitment therapy for this population, assessed its acceptability and feasibility in an uncontrolled feasibility study and clarified key study design parameters. Design Phase 1 involved qualitative interviews to develop and optimise an intervention as well as a survey of service users and clinicians to clarify usual care. Phase 2 involved an uncontrolled feasibility study and qualitative interviews to refine the intervention. Setting Participants were recruited from general practices, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services, Community Mental Health Teams and the community. Participants Participants were people aged ≥ 65 years with treatment-resistant generalised anxiety disorder. Intervention Participants received up to 16 one-to-one sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy, adapted for older people with treatment-resistant generalised anxiety disorder, in addition to usual care. Sessions were delivered by therapists based in primary and secondary care services, either in the clinic or at participants’ homes. Sessions were weekly for the first 14 sessions and fortnightly thereafter. Main outcome measures The co-primary outcome measures for phase 2 were acceptability (session attendance and satisfaction with therapy) and feasibility (recruitment and retention). Secondary outcome measures included additional measures of acceptability and feasibility and self-reported measures of anxiety, worry, depression and psychological flexibility. Self-reported outcomes were assessed at 0 weeks (baseline) and 20 weeks (follow-up). Health economic outcomes included intervention and resource use costs and health-related quality of life. Results Fifteen older people with treatment-resistant generalised anxiety disorder participated in phase 1 and 37 participated in phase 2. A high level of feasibility was demonstrated by a recruitment rate of 93% and a retention rate of 81%. A high level of acceptability was found with respect to session attendance (70% of participants attended ≥ 10 sessions) and satisfaction with therapy was adequate (60% of participants scored ≥ 21 out of 30 points on the Satisfaction with Therapy subscale of the Satisfaction with Therapy and Therapist Scale-Revised, although 80% of participants had not finished receiving therapy at the time of rating). Secondary outcome measures and qualitative data further supported the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Health economic data supported the feasibility of examining cost-effectiveness in a future randomised controlled trial. Although the study was not powered to examine clinical effectiveness, there was indicative evidence of improvements in scores for anxiety, depression and psychological flexibility. Limitations Non-specific therapeutic factors were not controlled for, and recruitment in phase 2 was limited to London. Conclusions There was evidence of high levels of feasibility and acceptability and indicative evidence of improvements in symptoms of anxiety, depression and psychological flexibility. The results of this study suggest that a larger-scale randomised controlled trial would be feasible to conduct and is warranted. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN12268776. Funding This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 25, No. 54. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.