Dataset Information

Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain: Large-Scale, Online, Self-Reported Population Survey.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Spain has been one of the countries most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the first confirmed case was reported on January 31, 2020, there have been over 405,000 cases and 28,000 deaths in Spain. The economic and social impact is without precedent. Thus, it is important to quickly assess the situation and perception of the population. Large-scale online surveys have been shown to be an effective tool for this purpose. OBJECTIVE:We aim to assess the situation and perception of the Spanish population in four key areas related to the COVID-19 pandemic: social contact behavior during confinement, personal economic impact, labor situation, and health status. METHODS:We obtained a large sample using an online survey with 24 questions related to COVID-19 in the week of March 28-April 2, 2020, during the peak of the first wave of COVID-19 in Spain. The self-selection online survey method of nonprobability sampling was used to recruit 156,614 participants via social media posts that targeted the general adult population (age >18 years). Given such a large sample, the 95% CI was ±0.843 for all reported proportions. RESULTS:Regarding social behavior during confinement, participants mainly left their homes to satisfy basic needs. We found several statistically significant differences in social behavior across genders and age groups. The population's willingness to comply with the confinement measures is evident. From the survey answers, we identified a significant adverse economic impact of the pandemic on those working in small businesses and a negative correlation between economic damage and willingness to stay in confinement. The survey revealed that close contacts play an important role in the transmission of the disease, and 28% of the participants lacked the necessary resources to properly isolate themselves. We also identified a significant lack of testing, with only 1% of the population tested and 6% of respondents unable to be tested despite their doctor's recommendation. We developed a generalized linear model to identify the variables that were correlated with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result. Using this model, we estimated an average of 5% for SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in the Spanish population during the time of the study. A seroprevalence study carried out later by the Spanish Ministry of Health reported a similar level of disease prevalence (5%). CONCLUSIONS:Large-scale online population surveys, distributed via social media and online messaging platforms, can be an effective, cheap, and fast tool to assess the impact and prevalence of an infectious disease in the context of a pandemic, particularly when there is a scarcity of official data and limited testing capacity.

SUBMITTER: Oliver N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7485997 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain: Large-Scale, Online, Self-Reported Population Survey.

Oliver Nuria N Barber Xavier X Roomp Kirsten K Roomp Kristof K

Journal of medical Internet research 20200910 9

<h4>Background</h4>Spain has been one of the countries most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the first confirmed case was reported on January 31, 2020, there have been over 405,000 cases and 28,000 deaths in Spain. The economic and social impact is without precedent. Thus, it is important to quickly assess the situation and perception of the population. Large-scale online surveys have been shown to be an effective tool for this purpose.<h4>Objective</h4>We aim to assess the situation and ...[more]

PMID: 32870159

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Project description:Population confinements have been one of the most widely adopted non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented by governments across the globe to help contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While confinement measures have been proven to be effective to reduce the number of infections, they entail significant economic and social costs. Thus, different policy makers and social groups have exhibited varying levels of acceptance of this type of measures. In this context, understanding the factors that determine the willingness of individuals to be confined during a pandemic is of paramount importance, particularly, to policy and decision-makers. In this paper, we study the factors that influence the unwillingness to be confined during the COVID-19 pandemic by the means of a large-scale, online population survey deployed in Spain. We perform two types of analyses (logistic regression and automatic pattern discovery) and consider socio-demographic, economic and psychological factors, together with the 14-day cumulative incidence per 100,000 inhabitants. Our analysis of 109,515 answers to the survey covers data spanning over a 5-month time period to shed light on the impact of the passage of time. We find evidence of pandemic fatigue as the percentage of those who report an unwillingness to be in confinement increases over time; we identify significant gender differences, with women being generally less likely than men to be able to sustain long-term confinement of at least 6 months; we uncover that the psychological impact was the most important factor to determine the willingness to be in confinement at the beginning of the pandemic, to be replaced by the economic impact as the most important variable towards the end of our period of study. Our results highlight the need to design gender and age specific public policies, to implement psychological and economic support programs and to address the evident pandemic fatigue as the success of potential future confinements will depend on the population's willingness to comply with them.

Project description:BackgroundPandemic fatigue is defined as feelings of demotivation to follow preventive measures against COVID-19, together with decreased trust in government and frequency of information-seeking behaviors.ObjectiveThis study aims to analyze the psychometric properties of the COVID-19-specific pandemic fatigue scale according to classical test theory (CTT) and Rasch model approaches in the general Spanish population.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study in a representative sample of 1018 adults who completed an online survey in November 2020 in the framework of the COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring (COSMO)-Spain project. The assessments included the 6-item COVID-19 Pandemic Fatigue Scale (CPFS) and other COVID-19-related variables: COVID-19 infection, adherence to preventive behaviors, information-seeking behavior, self-efficacy, worry, and cognitive and affective risk perception. Data quality, acceptability, reliability, and validity were analyzed according to CTT, and the fit to the Rasch model, unidimensionality, appropriateness of the response scale, item local independency, reliability (person-separation index [PSI]), and item-person distribution were also calculated.ResultsThe mean CPFS score was 17.06 (SD 5.04, range 6-30), with higher scores for women, younger participants, participants who never seek information on COVID-19, those who think they would contract a mild disease in case of infection, those with higher level of worry about coronavirus/COVID-19, and those who felt depressed or felt the coronavirus/COVID-19 is spreading slowly (all P<.01). The Cronbach alpha for the CPFS was 0.74. In the confirmatory factor analysis, one factor was identified (root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA]=.02; comparative fit index [CFI]=.99; χ25=8.06, P=.15). The CPFS showed good fit to the Rasch model (χ 224=42.025, P=.01, PSI=.642), unidimensionality (binomial 95% CI -.005 to .045), and item local independency.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the CPFS has moderate reliability and internal consistency and it is composed of a single dimension. It is a useful tool to ascertain the level of pandemic fatigue in the general population, which may help to guide the communication and information strategies to face the COVID-19 pandemic.

Project description:BackgroundCountry level comparisons of HIV prevalence among men having sex with men (MSM) is challenging for a variety of reasons, including differences in the definition and measurement of the denominator group, recruitment strategies and the HIV detection methods. To assess their comparability, self-reported data on HIV diagnoses in a 2010 pan-European MSM internet survey (EMIS) were compared with pre-existing estimates of HIV prevalence in MSM from a variety of European countries.MethodsThe first pan-European survey of MSM recruited more than 180,000 men from 38 countries across Europe and included questions on the year and result of last HIV test. HIV prevalence as measured in EMIS was compared with national estimates of HIV prevalence based on studies using biological measurements or modelling approaches to explore the degree of agreement between different methods. Existing estimates were taken from Dublin Declaration Monitoring Reports or UNAIDS country fact sheets, and were verified by contacting the nominated contact points for HIV surveillance in EU/EEA countries.ResultsThe EMIS self-reported measurements of HIV prevalence were strongly correlated with existing estimates based on biological measurement and modelling studies using surveillance data (R(2)=0.70 resp. 0.72). In most countries HIV positive MSM appeared disproportionately likely to participate in EMIS, and prevalences as measured in EMIS are approximately twice the estimates based on existing estimates.ConclusionsComparison of diagnosed HIV prevalence as measured in EMIS with pre-existing estimates based on biological measurements using varied sampling frames (e.g. Respondent Driven Sampling, Time and Location Sampling) demonstrates a high correlation and suggests similar selection biases from both types of studies. For comparison with modelled estimates the self-selection bias of the Internet survey with increased participation of men diagnosed with HIV has to be taken into account. For most countries self-reported EMIS prevalence is higher than measured prevalence, which is likely due to a combination of different time points of measurement, measurement errors for small sample sizes, different sampling methods, and an indicator-inherent overestimate of prevalence among the untested fraction of MSM.

Dataset Information

Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain: Large-Scale, Online, Self-Reported Population Survey.

Publications

Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain: Large-Scale, Online, Self-Reported Population Survey.

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