Discover Social Science and Health最新文献

{"title":"Compliance with wearing facemasks by university teaching staff during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic: a cross sectional study.","authors":"Mostafa Yosef, Fatma Amr Gamil Mokhtar, Wafaa Mohamed Hussein","doi":"10.1007/s44155-022-00011-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s44155-022-00011-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>We aimed to explore compliance with and barriers to wearing facemasks at the workplace among university teaching staff in Egypt.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An online survey was shared with teaching staff members at 11 public and 12 private Egyptian universities and high institutes, and 218 responses were received. All participants were asked about beliefs related to wearing facemasks. For participants who taught in-person classes, compliance with and barriers to wearing facemasks at the workplace were assessed. Compliance level was classified into: Non-compliance, inadequate and adequate, based on the degree of adherence to having facemasks on and not taking them off at five main work settings. We compared demographic characteristics, beliefs, and barriers scores across compliance levels.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Most participants (81.7%) believed that facemasks reduce infection risk to others and 74.3% believed facemasks can reduce risk to the wearer. Around 80% of the respondents who taught in-person classes wore facemasks, but only 37.8% met the criteria of adequate compliance. Difficulty breathing and impaired communication were cited as major barriers by 42.2% and 30.3% of in-person class tutors respectively. The risk of reporting COVID-19 like symptoms among non-compliant participants was double the risk among those with adequate compliance (45.9% vs 25.7% respectively). Adequate compliance was significantly associated with higher positive beliefs scores and lower barriers scores.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Adequate compliance with wearing facemasks at the workplace was low. Addressing negative beliefs may improve compliance. Difficulty breathing, and impaired communication were important barriers, therefore we recommend replacing in-person interactions with online classes whenever applicable.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s44155-022-00011-3.</p>","PeriodicalId":29972,"journal":{"name":"Discover Social Science and Health","volume":" ","pages":"8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9207867/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40400287","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Perceived Corona virus exposure as a function of interpersonal distance and time of a conversation.","authors":"Ola Svenson","doi":"10.1007/s44155-022-00027-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s44155-022-00027-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>During the COVID-19 pandemic people were asked to keep interpersonal distance, wash their hands and avoid gatherings of people. But, do people understand how much a change of the distance to a virus infected person means for the exposure to that person's virus? To answer this question, we studied how people perceive virus exposure from an infected person at different distances and lengths of a conversation.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>An online questionnaire was distributed to 101 participants drawn from the general US population. Participants judged perceived virus exposure at different interpersonal distances to an infected person in a face to face conversation of different lengths of time. A model based on empirical and theoretical studies of dispersion of particles in the air was used to estimate a person's objective virus exposure during different times and distances from a virus source. The model and empirical data show that exposure changes with the square of the distance and linearly with time.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A majority (78%) of the participants underestimated the effects on virus exposure following a change of interpersonal distance. The dominating bias was assuming that exposure varies linearly with distance. To illustrate, an approach to a virus source from 6 to 2 feet was judged to give a 3 times higher exposure but, objectively it is 9 times. By way of contrast, perceptions of exposure as a function of the duration of a conversation were unbiased. The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV2 virus is likely to be followed by other pandemics also caused by airborne Corona or other viruses. Therefore, the results are important for administrators when designing risk communications to the general public and workers in the health care sector about social distancing and infection risks.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>People quite drastically underestimate the increase in virus exposure following an approach to a virus infected person. They also overestimate exposure after a move away from an infected person. For public health reasons, the correct function connecting distance with virus exposure should be communicated to the general public to avoid deliberate violations of recommended interpersonal distances.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s44155-022-00027-9.</p>","PeriodicalId":29972,"journal":{"name":"Discover Social Science and Health","volume":"2 1","pages":"24"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9734792/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10595583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Global COVID-19 case fatality rates influenced by inequalities in human development and vaccination rates.","authors":"Kaamel Nuhu,&nbsp;Kamal Humagain,&nbsp;Genevieve Alorbi,&nbsp;Sabena Thomas,&nbsp;Alexis Blavos,&nbsp;Vierne Placide","doi":"10.1007/s44155-022-00022-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s44155-022-00022-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>COVID-19 has exerted distress on virtually every aspect of human life with disproportionate mortality burdens on older individuals and those with underlying medical conditions. Variations in COVID-19 incidence and case fatality rates (CFRs) across countries have incited a growing research interest regarding the effect of social factors on COVID-19 case-loads and fatality rates. We investigated the effect of population median age, inequalities in human development, healthcare capacity, and pandemic mitigation indicators on country-specific COVID-19 CFRs across countries and regions.</p><p><strong>Subject and methods: </strong>Using population secondary data from multiple sources, we conducted a cross-sectional study and used regional analysis to compare regional differences in COVID-19 CFRs as influenced by the selected indicators.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The analysis revealed wide variations in COVID-19 CFRs and the selected indicators across countries and regions. Mean CFR was highest for South America at 1.973% (± 0.742) and lowest for Oceania at 0.264% (± 0.107), while the Africa sub-region recorded the lowest scores for pandemic preparedness, vaccination rate, and other indicators. Population Median Age [0.073 (0.033 0.113)], Vaccination Rate [-3.3389 (-5.570.033 -1.208)], and Inequality-Adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) [-0.014 (-0.023 -0.004)] emerged as statistically significant predictors of COVID-19 CFR, with directions indicating increasing Population Median Age, higher inequalities in human development and low vaccination rate are predictive of higher fatalities from COVID-19.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Regional differences in COVID-19 CFR may be influenced by underlying differences in sociodemographic and pandemic mitigation indicators. Populations with wide social inequalities, increased population Median Age and low vaccination rates are more likely to suffer higher fatalities from COVID-19.</p>","PeriodicalId":29972,"journal":{"name":"Discover Social Science and Health","volume":" ","pages":"20"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9628401/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40670037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among undergraduates during emergency remote learning.","authors":"Chin Xuan Tan, Shu Chyi Wong, Seok Shin Tan, Seok Tyug Tan","doi":"10.1007/s44155-022-00017-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s44155-022-00017-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic paralyzes the education sector. To minimize the interruption of teaching and learning, most universities in Malaysia shifted to virtual mode during this unprecedented period of the pandemic. With an ever-increasing number of Malaysians fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the education system is expected to switch back to face-to-face mode this year. It is crucial to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of COVID-19 among emergency remote learning undergraduates before reverting to physical teaching and learning. Hence, a study was conducted with this aim in mind.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 299 Malaysian undergraduates were recruited through a snowball sampling approach. The online questionnaire encompassed three main segments: informed consent, sociodemographic information, and KAP questions on COVID-19.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The mean scores for knowledge, attitude, and practice were 4.05/6, 11.14/12, and 5.07/7, respectively. The results of the present study showed that year 1 respondents had significantly higher levels (<i>p</i> < 0.05) of KAP scores than year 4 respondents. In addition, the attitude score of science majors respondents was significantly greater (<i>p</i> < 0.05) than those of nonscience majors. The KAP scores showed no significant difference among groups with different sexes, ethnicities, and COVID-19 histories. Partial correlation analysis revealed that the overall knowledge score was positively correlated with attitude (r = 0.193, p = 0.001) and practice (r = 0.343, p < 0.001) scores whereas the total attitude score was positively correlated with the total practice score (r = 0.149, p = 0.010).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our current results suggest that COVID-19 workshops, seminars, or training programs for year 4 students could be conducted to enhance their KAP levels.</p>","PeriodicalId":29972,"journal":{"name":"Discover Social Science and Health","volume":"2 1","pages":"13"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9342596/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10259140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"COVID-19 testing in Delaware's underserved communities: demographic and social determinants of testing inequality.","authors":"Sharron Xuanren Wang,&nbsp;Nicole Bell Rogers,&nbsp;Melissa Harrington,&nbsp;Dorothy Dillard","doi":"10.1007/s44155-022-00013-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s44155-022-00013-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Health experts believe that frequent COVID-19 testing is one of the most important practices for stopping the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Demographic and social factors might play a role in whether a person gets tested for COVID. This present study aimed to investigate (1) the demographic and social factors affecting a person's likelihood of getting tested for COVID-19, and (2) the demographic and social factors related to a positive serology test (i.e., indicating likely past infection).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data were extracted from a survey conducted in Delaware's underserved communities. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire about their COVID-19 testing history, and nurses at the study site collected a serology sample from each participant.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our results indicated that Black or Hispanic individuals living in underserved communities had greater odds of having been tested previously for COVID compared to being non-Hispanic White. In addition, our study found that being female, educated, feeling safe in one's neighborhood, being vaccinated against COVID, and being an essential worker increased one's odds of having been previously tested for COVID-19. Regarding the results of the COVID-19 antibody serology tests, our findings revealed that Hispanic respondents were more likely to have a positive serology test compared to non-Hispanic White respondents, indicating that the Hispanic individuals were more likely to contract the virus. Educated individuals were less likely to have a positive serology test compared to the less-educated. Those who expressed hesitancy about getting vaccinated for COVID-19 and identified themselves as essential workers were more likely to have a positive serology test and to have previously contracted the virus.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Identifying key factors associated with COVID-19 testing may help establish novel strategies to increase testing rates among vulnerable population. Public health and policy implications are discussed in the article.</p>","PeriodicalId":29972,"journal":{"name":"Discover Social Science and Health","volume":" ","pages":"9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9236969/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40579662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"HPV and Pap testing among white, black, and hispanic women: results from a survey study","authors":"Ilana M. Ventura, Selena Zhong, I. Bilgen, David Dutwin, J. L. Delgado","doi":"10.1007/s44155-021-00003-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s44155-021-00003-9","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":29972,"journal":{"name":"Discover Social Science and Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48549060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Welcome to Discover Social Science and Health","authors":"M. Shanahan","doi":"10.1007/s44155-021-00002-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s44155-021-00002-w","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":29972,"journal":{"name":"Discover Social Science and Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1007/s44155-021-00002-w","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41676532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}