Impact of Military Service in Vietnam on Coping and Health Behaviors of Aging Veterans During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Many Vietnam War veterans who experienced military trauma still exhibit PTSD symptomatology. Little is known about how new stressful situations, like the COVID-19 pandemic, affect previously traumatized people or whether they will react differently to them. We explore whether military combat experiences in Vietnam affect veterans' perceived abilities to cope with COVID-19 and whether current PTSD symptoms and later-adulthood reengagement with trauma memories are related to coping. We examine the extent that current PTSD symptoms and trauma reengagement relate to preventive practices. Participants were part of a randomly sampled cohort of American Legionnaires who responded to two previous surveys (1984, 1998), were born 1945-1953 and deployed to Vietnam 1963-1973, thus representing an aging veteran population. A survey supplement assessed coping with the pandemic and adherence to public health guidelines. The response rate was 74% (N = 507); 422 (61.6%) completed the COVID-19 supplement. Military experiences were found to affect coping with 41.4% reporting they affected ability to cope with COVID-19. Medium- and high-combat veterans were more likely to report that military experience affected coping than low-combat (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.51–3.96; 2.6, 95% CI 1.41–4.61, respectively). Those with high PTSD scores had 7.7-fold (95% CI 4.3–13.17) increased likelihood of reporting that their coping was affected, compared to low-PTSD scorers. Few adopted social distancing (4%), staying at home (17%), or ceasing usual activities (32%); high-combat veterans were least likely to stay home. Veterans who practiced handwashing, sanitizer use, mask-wearing, and surface disinfection had significantly higher PTSD scores than those who did not. Veterans with higher scores on the LOSS-SF scale associated more reengagement with trauma memories and were more likely to engage in personal preventive strategies. Analysis of open-ended responses supported these findings. We conclude that fifty years after returning from Vietnam, PTSD scores were high for high-combat veterans, suggestive of PTSD diagnosis. Military experiences affected coping with COVID both positively and negatively, and may have helped instill useful personal health behaviors. Veterans, especially those with PTSD symptomatology, may have special needs during stressful times, like the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting compliance with recommended practices, as well as their overall health and well-being.

Factors That Prevent Mosquito-Borne Diseases among Migrant Workers in Taiwan: Application of the Health Belief Model in a Church-Based Health Promotion Study

Background: Southeast Asian countries have long been considered epidemic areas for mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs), and most imported cases of infectious diseases in Taiwan are from these areas. Taiwanese migrant workers are mainly of Southeast Asian nationality, and of these, 22% are Filipino. Migrant workers’ knowledge of MBDs and self-protection behaviors are beneficial to disease prevention and treatment. This study aims to understand the effectiveness of a health education intervention (HEI) for Filipino migrant workers in Taiwan and explores the factors affecting preventive practices. Methods: The study was conducted between May to September 2018. Participants were recruited from two Catholic churches in Taichung City. A professional delivered a 30 min HEI in person, and a structured questionnaire was used to acquire and assess participants’ knowledge, health beliefs, and preventive behaviors for MBDs before and after the intervention. Results: A total of 291 participants were recruited. The intervention program showed a positive impact on the migrant worker’s knowledge and the perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and preventive practices. Knowledge, perceived severity, and perceived barriers were factors influencing preventive practices in Filipino migrant workers. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated that we can direct our efforts towards three areas: improving foreign migrant workers’ awareness of diseases, emphasizing the severity of the disease, and eliminating possible hindrances in the future. As one example, migrant workers could be proactively provided with routine medical examinations and multilingual health education lectures to improve knowledge and preventive practices to contain the spread MBDs.

A literature review on osteoporosis risk factors and prevention: the importance of an early approach

Osteoporosis is a condition characterized by deterioration of bone microarchitecture resulting in loss of total bone mass, decreased tissue resistance and increased susceptibility to fractures. The study in question aimed to analyze and debate the risk factors and the effectiveness of forms of prevention related to osteoporosis, given their implication for the general population and the need to disseminate safe and effective forms of behavioral management that can contribute to the decrease in the condition, mainly in the most susceptible individual. For this, 42 articles indexed in Bireme, PubMed, Scielo and UpToDate platforms were selected for discussion of the topic. Thus, it was concluded that the need for active investigation of risk factors by health professionals, as well as the encouragement of preventive practices, especially in the population with higher incidence of the disease.

Severity of COVID-19 reinfection and associated risk factors: findings of a cross-sectional study in Bangladesh

Background: COVID-19 reinfected patients suffer from diverse health consequences. Information on the severity of COVID-19 reinfection is scarce. The current study aimed to determine the proportion of COVID-19 reinfection and risk factors associated with its severity. Methods: This cross-sectional study targeted all COVID-19 patients reported in May 2021 at the Health Information Unit (HIU) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) of Bangladesh. We identified 473 (1.14%) reinfected patients out of 41408 diagnosed cases by reviewing their medical records. Considering the selection criteria and informed consent, we enrolled 404 reinfected patients. Data were collected through telephone interviews and reviewing medical records using a semi-structured questionnaire and a checklist. Results: The majority of the reinfected patients were urban residents (98.0%). Around 13.0% of reinfected patients had <90% oxygen saturation, and 64.0% had an interval of 3-6 months between two attacks. The severity of reinfection included asymptomatic (12.9%), mild (8.9%), moderate (66.3%), and severe (11.9%) forms of infection. An interval of 3-6 months between two attacks had less chance of having mild (AOR=0.031, ρ=0.000), moderate (AOR=0.132, ρ=0.017), and severe (AOR=0.059, ρ=0.002) infections. Patients who maintained physical distance had less chance of moderate-intensity reinfection (AOR=0.137, ρ=0.013), while the vaccinated patients had a higher chance of moderate (AOR=16.127, ρ=0.001) and severe (AOR=3.894, ρ=0.047) intensity reinfection. Conclusion: To avert COVID-19 reinfection and its severity, patients should be vigilant about preventive practices even after recovery. The study suggests vibrant interventions aligned with exposure, physical distancing, vaccination, and comorbidities for mitigating reinfection.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices towards Lightning in Bangladesh

Despite the significant number of fatalities and injuries, there is currently a lack of data on public knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding lightning in Bangladesh. This study aims to assess the public’s knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) towards lightning in the country. A total of 1641 individuals participated in an online KAP survey. Where appropriate, the Kruskal–Wallis or Mann–Whitney U test, Spearman’s rank correlation, and logistic regression models were performed. About 65% of the survey population reported frequent lightning; most (72.64%) did not receive any warning messages, and small proportions (22.12%) had lightning safety precautions. Individuals with numerous lightning experiences perceived considerably unsafe places against lightning compared to infrequent lightning experiences (p < 0.05). Respondents reported good knowledge (56.06%), positive attitudes (82.27%), and good preventive practices (72.33%). The logistic regression demonstrated that having good knowledge and positive attitudes can help people practice lightning safety. Females demonstrated better lightning attitudes and practices compared to males. In comparison to urban residents, rural residents had poor practices. In addition, individuals’ educational levels might also play a crucial role in preparing them for lightning. Overall, extensive lightning campaign activities combined with effective education are required for the behavioral changes in this lightning-vulnerable society.

Knowledge, perception and preventive practices of COVID-19 among Primary Health Care workers in Ogun State, Nigeria

Objective: This study was carried out to determine the COVID-19 knowledge, perception, and preventive practices among primary health care workers in Ogun state. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 339 primary health care workers in Ogun state using self-administered questionnaires. Knowledge of COVID-19 was graded as good with a minimum score of 75% while perception was graded as good with a score greater than the mean scores. Preventive practices were categorized as good with minimum scores of 75%. Associations between knowledge, practice, and categorical variables were assessed using the chi-square test with the level of significance set at p < 0.05 Results: The mean age of respondents was 42.30 ± 8.73 years. The major source of information on COVID-19 was health training (99.7%). A total of 50.7% had good knowledge of COVID-19 while 42.8% had a good perception of COVID-19. The majority (92.9%) had good COVID-19 preventive practices. Length of years in service was significantly associated (p=0.024) with knowledge of COVID-19. Conclusion: About half of the health care workers had good knowledge of COVID-19 while the perception of COVID-19 was poor. However, preventive practices carried out among the healthcare workers were good. Efforts should be made to further improve the knowledge and perception of primary health care workers as they play a vital role in the delivery of health care services in the state.