Attitudes towards vaccines and intention to vaccinate against COVID-19: a cross-sectional analysis—implications for public health communications in Australia

ObjectiveTo examine SARS-CoV-2 vaccine confidence, attitudes and intentions in Australian adults as part of the iCARE Study.Design and settingCross-sectional online survey conducted when free COVID-19 vaccinations first became available in Australia in February 2021.ParticipantsTotal of 1166 Australians from general population aged 18–90 years (mean 52, SD of 19).Main outcome measuresPrimary outcome: responses to question ‘If a vaccine for COVID-19 were available today, what is the likelihood that you would get vaccinated?’.Secondary outcome: analyses of putative drivers of uptake, including vaccine confidence, socioeconomic status and sources of trust, derived from multiple survey questions.ResultsSeventy-eight per cent reported being likely to receive a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Higher SARS-CoV-2 vaccine intentions were associated with: increasing age (OR: 2.01 (95% CI 1.77 to 2.77)), being male (1.37 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.72)), residing in least disadvantaged area quintile (2.27 (95% CI 1.53 to 3.37)) and a self-perceived high risk of getting COVID-19 (1.52 (95% CI 1.08 to 2.14)). However, 72% did not believe they were at a high risk of getting COVID-19. Findings regarding vaccines in general were similar except there were no sex differences. For both the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and vaccines in general, there were no differences in intentions to vaccinate as a function of education level, perceived income level and rurality. Knowing that the vaccine is safe and effective and that getting vaccinated will protect others, trusting the company that made it and vaccination recommended by a doctor were reported to influence a large proportion of the study cohort to uptake the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Seventy-eight per cent reported the intent to continue engaging in virus-protecting behaviours (mask wearing, social distancing, etc) postvaccine.ConclusionsMost Australians are likely to receive a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Key influencing factors identified (eg, knowing vaccine is safe and effective, and doctor’s recommendation to get vaccinated) can inform public health messaging to enhance vaccination rates.

Neighbourhood Socio-Economic Circumstances, Place of Residence and Obesity amongst Australian Adults: A Longitudinal Regression Analysis Using 14 Annual Waves of the HILDA Cohort

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is rising dramatically worldwide, including in Australia. Therefore, the necessity of identifying the risk factors of overweight and obesity is pivotal. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of neighbourhood socio-economic circumstances and place of residence on obesity amongst Australian adults. This study has used nationally representative panel data on 183,183 person-year observations from 26,032 unique Australian adults from the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA). Random-effects logistic regression technique was employed to examine the relationships. The prevalence of overweight and obesity has been found at approximately 34% and 24%, respectively. The most striking result to emerge from the analyses is that adults living in the most socio-economic disadvantaged area were 2.04 times (AOR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.57–2.65) and adults from regional cities of Australia were 1.71 times (AOR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.34–2.19) more prone to be obese compared to their healthy counterparts. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is very high among Australian adults, especially those living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods and the regional cities. Unhealthy levels of BMI have costly impacts on the individual, the economy, and the health care system. Therefore, this study emphasises effective weight control strategies that can potentially tackle the obesity epidemic in Australia.

Developing and evaluating non-invasive healthcare technologies for a group of female participants from a socioeconomically disadvantaged area

When compared to the general population, socioeconomically disadvantaged communities frequently experience compromised health. Monitoring the divide is challenging since standardized biomedical tests are linguistically and culturally inappropriate. The aim of this study was to develop and test a unique mobile biomedical testbed based on non-invasive analysis, as well as to explore the relationships between the objective health measures and subjective health outcomes, as evaluated with the World Health Organization Quality of Life survey. The testbed was evaluated in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in Malmö, which has been listed as one of the twelve most vulnerable districts in Sweden. The study revealed that compared to conventional protocols the less intrusive biomedical approach was highly appreciated by the participants. Surprisingly, the collected biomedical data illustrated that the apparent health of the participants from the ethnically diverse low-income neighborhood was comparable to the general Swedish population. Statistically significant correlations between perceived health and biomedical data were disclosed, even though the dependences found were complex, and recognition of the manifest complexity needs to be included in further research. Our results validate the potential of non-invasive technologies in combination with advanced statistical analysis, especially when combined with linguistically and culturally appropriate healthcare methodologies, allowing participants to appreciate the significance of the different parameters to evaluate and monitor aspects of health.

Multiple Means of Engagement Strategies for Maximising the Learning of Mathematics in Pandemic-regulated Classrooms

Many learners find mathematics learning challenging. In response to that actuality, this paper highlights mathematics teachers’ experiences of, and insights into how they adopted and implemented the principle of “Multiple Means of Engagement” (MME) to maximise learning in pandemic-regulated classrooms (in the context of the study, characterised by alternative weeks of attendance, social distancing and wearing of masks). The MME principle is one of the three universal design for learning (UDL) key principles, which guides on how diverse groups of learners can be effectively catered for. The empirical processes, premised on a phenomenological case study, commenced with focus group discussions with 8 high school mathematics teachers from a previously disadvantaged area, who have prior-training in MME. A free attitude interview (FAI) technique was used, to afford the teachers the opportunity to share their insights into the application of MME in their pandemic-regulated classrooms. The content analysis of the teachers’ reflections revealed the following aspects: clear instructions, step-by-step guides, checklists to enhance self-regulation, varying demand and resources to meet challenges, fostering collaboration, providing corrective feedback to sustain effort and persistence, addressing mathematical vocabulary and using real-life situations to recruit interest. These strategies were found not only essential in maximising learning in mathematics under normal circumstances, but also indispensable during the prevailing conditions of the pandemic. The findings therefore suggest MME as a suitable mathematical approach during this Covid19 period.

Natural Products From Madagascar, Socio-Cultural Usage, and Potential Applications in Advanced Biomedicine: A Concise Review

Natural products endowed of biological activity represent a primary source of commodities ranging from nutrition to therapeutic agents, as well as cosmetic tools, and recreational principles. These natural means have been used by mankind since centuries if not millennia. They are commonly used all over the world and socio-economical contexts but are particularly attractive in disadvantaged area or economically emerging situations all over the world. This is very likely due to the relatively easy recovery of these bioactive principles from the environment, to the low if any cost as well as ease of administration and to the general popular compliance concerning their consumption/ingestion. In this concise review, we focus on some popular bioactive principles of botanical origin which find a wide use in the Madagascan populations. But, due to space limitations only some most common and largely diffused principles in this country are considered. Finally, a possible nanotechnological administration is discussed in the case where a potential therapeutic usage is envisaged.

Examining the overlap of young people’s early contact with the police as a person of interest and victim or witness

There is known to be considerable overlap among the victims and perpetrators of crime. However, the extent of this overlap early in life among children and young adolescents is not clear. We examined the sociodemographic profiles of young people who had early contact with police regarding a criminal incident as a person of interest, victim and/or witness, as well as the patterns of multiple police contact types from birth to 13 years of age. Data were drawn from a longitudinal, population-based sample of 91,631 young people from New South Wales, Australia. Among the 10.6% (n = 9677) of young people who had contact with police, 14.4% (n = 1393) had contact as a person of interest and as a victim and/or witness on two or more separate occasions. The most common first contact type was as a victim/witness, but those children with a first contact as a person of interest were most likely to have at least one further contact. Young people with both types of police contact were younger at first police contact, were more likely to reside in a socioeconomically disadvantaged area, and to be recorded as having an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background. Our findings demonstrate that, by 13 years of age, 1 in 10 young people had been in early contact with police and that a minority have contact with the police as both a person of interest and a victim/witness. These young people may represent a particularly disadvantaged group in the community who are likely to be at risk of future adversity, including repeated contact with the criminal justice system.

Differential effects of the 2015 American Cancer Society guidelines on screening mammography exams based on socioeconomic status.

10539 Background: Guidelines for screening mammography have changed several times since initiation of regular screening mammography in the 1970’s. Most recently, in 2015, the American Cancer Society (ACS) revised their screening guidelines, recommending that a patient discuss screening mammography with her primary care doctor (PCP) between the ages of 40-44 and should begin yearly screening at age 45; after age 54, ACS recommended screening every other year. Prior to this, from 2003-2015, ACS had recommended screening mammography every year beginning at the age of 40. We hypothesized that these guidelines were adopted to varying degrees in different patient populations and may have disproportionately reduced screening mammography utilization in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Methods: Here, we analyzed monthly screening mammography rates over time in two large New York City hospitals, one in a socioeconomically advantaged area and the other in a socioeconomically disadvantaged area. Using our radiology records query system, we searched for monthly screening mammography numbers for women by decade from 2012 to 2018. We performed statistical analysis to evaluate changes in number of exams over time. Student’s t-tests were used to evaluate for significant differences. Results: In both groups of 40-49 year old patients, monthly mammograms increased from 2012-2016. In the socioeconomically advantaged group, this increase continued until 2018 resulting in an overall 400% increase in screening mammograms over time. The change in ACS screening guidelines had no effect on the rate of screening mammography in this group. Conversely, after the revision of the ACS guidelines in 2015, there was a marked decline in screening mammography in the 40-49 year old group in the socioeconomically disadvantaged population. By 2018, there was a statistically significant difference in women screened in all age groups (40-49, p<.0001; 50-59, p<.0001; 60-69, p<.01; 70-79, p<.0001; 80+, p<.0001) between these two patient populations. Conclusions: These data suggest that implementation of the 2015 ACS screening guidelines had a disproportionate effect on patients from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas and that these effects have led to significant disparities in screening mammography trends over time. We postulate that lower levels of health literacy may have contributed to misunderstanding of the screening guidelines. More research is needed to elucidate the underlying etiology of these disparities and ensure that women from all socioeconomic backgrounds receive appropriate screening mammography. Over time, this may result in disproportionate breast cancer morbidity and mortality in populations not receiving appropriate screening.

Differences in tobacco smoking status in segments of the Australian population

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify correlates of tobacco smoking behaviour across various socio-demographic segments of the Australian population.Design/methodology/approachData from two nationally representative, probability samples of persons 18 and over, surveyed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2001 and 2017–2018 were analysed using multinomial logistic regression.FindingsOverall, the prevalence of current smokers declined from 24.3 to 15%. More than half of the population had never smoked. The prevalence of ex-smokers increased slightly to 30%. Prevalence of current smoking was higher among older age groups and among those with lower educational achievement, lower income, living in a disadvantaged area and experiencing increasing stress. Females were more likely than males to be never-smokers. Males were more likely than females to be current smokers.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are based on two cross-sectional surveys conducted 17 years apart. It is not possible to draw any conclusions about the actual trajectories of the changes in the values reported or any correlations between those trajectories. Nor is it possible to make any meaningful forecasts about likely future trends in smoking status in these various segments based on these data sets. The classifications used in the surveys generate some heterogeneous groups, which can obscure important differences among respondents within groups. Data are all self-reported, and there is no validation of the self-reported smoking status. This might lead to under-reporting, especially in a community where tobacco smoking is no longer a majority or even a popular habit. Because the surveys are so large, virtually, all the findings are statistically significant. However, the increasing preponderance of never-smokers in many categories might mean that never-smokers could come to dominate the data.Practical implicationsThe findings from this paper will help tobacco-control policy-makers to augment whole-of-community initiatives with individual campaigns designed to be more effective with particular socio-demographic segments. They will also assist in ensuring better alignment between initiatives addressing mental health and tobacco smoking problems facing the community.Originality/valueThe examination of smoking behaviour among individual population sub-groups, chosen by the authors, is commonplace in the literature. This paper uses data from two large surveys to model the whole, heterogeneous population, measured at two different points in time.

Model Of Acceleration Of Economic Development Of Disadvantaged Areas In East Java Province

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of the leading sectors and their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to economic development in disadvantaged areas using the LQ, Shift-share, Klasen Typology, SWOT analysis methods. The results of this study conclude: 1) the economic structure of each region (Sampang, Bangkalan, Situbondo, and Bondowoso) is dominated by the agricultural sector, this is supported by abundant natural resource potential, such as the extent of agricultural land; 3) from the demographic aspect, the people in each disadvantaged area, most of whom work in the agricultural sector, either as farmers or as farm laborers; and 4) based on the discussion above, the resulting strategy is based on the development of the agricultural sector, including: a) optimizing management, utilization of natural resources potential, and investor interest in increasing employment; b) improving the quality of human resources for farmers and fishermen, PPL personnel and information networks by utilizing technology in order to increase production capacity; c) improving facilities and infrastructure, as well as improving technology to increase investment, especially in leading sectors; and d) strengthening regional institutions, trade institutions and management of leading sectors in facing competition between regions.

Developing and Evaluating Non-invasive Healthcare Technologies for a Group of Female Participants from a Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Area

Background When compared to the general population, socioeconomically disadvantaged communities frequently experience compromised health. Monitoring the divide is challenging since in general, standardized biomedical tests are linguistically and culturally inappropriate. The aim of this study was to develop a novel healthcare technology for its usage in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.Methods A unique mobile biomedical testbed based on non-invasive analysis, accompanied with the World Health Organization Quality of Life survey, was developed. This healthcare approach was used in Lindängen, a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in Malmö, which has been listed as one of the twelve most vulnerable neighborhoods in Sweden. Results The less intrusive biomedical approach, compared to conventional setups used, e.g., wrist blood pressure monitoring, bioimpedance analysis and cardiovascular diagnostics, non-invasive determination of blood bioanalytes, was highly appreciated by the participants, i.e., 39 female volunteers of Middle Eastern origin. Surprisingly, the collected biomedical data illustrated that the apparent health of the participants from Lindängen was comparable to the general Swedish population. The Quality of Life-BREF survey, used to gather information regarding subjective health perceptions within the cohort, combined with advanced statistical data analysis, revealed statistically significant correlations between perceived health and biomedical data. Even though the dependences found were complex, the recognition of which is essential in further research. Conclusions Our results validate the potential of non-invasive technologies in combination with advanced statistical analysis, especially when combined with linguistically and culturally appropriate healthcare methodologies, allowing participants to appreciate the significance of the different parameters to evaluate and monitor aspects of health.