The COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors Index: Development and Validation in Two Samples From the United Kingdom.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Breakwell GM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8164547 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Preventive behaviors are crucial to prevent the spread of the coronavirus causing COVID-19. We adopted a complex psychological systems approach to obtain a descriptive account of the network of attitudes and behaviors related to COVID-19. A survey study (N = 1,022) was conducted with subsamples from the United Kingdom (n = 502) and the Netherlands (n = 520). The results highlight the importance of people’s support for, and perceived efficacy of, the measures and preventive behaviors. This also applies to the perceived norm of family and friends adopting these behaviors. The networks in both countries were largely similar but also showed notable differences. The interplay of psychological factors in the networks is also highlighted, resulting in our appeal to policy makers to take complexity and mutual dependence of psychological factors into account. Future research should study the effects of interventions aimed at these factors, including effects on the network, to make causal inferences.
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Project description:BackgroundGiven the public health responses to previous respiratory disease pandemics, and in the absence of treatments and vaccines, the mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic relies on population engagement in nonpharmaceutical interventions. This engagement is largely driven by risk perception, anxiety levels, and knowledge, as well as by historical exposure to disease outbreaks, government responses, and cultural factors.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to compare psychobehavioral responses in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsComparable cross-sectional surveys were administered to adults in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom during the early phase of the epidemic in each setting. Explanatory variables included demographics, risk perception, knowledge of COVID-19, anxiety level, and preventive behaviors. Responses were weighted according to census data. Logistic regression models, including effect modification to quantify setting differences, were used to assess the association between the explanatory variables and the adoption of social distancing measures.ResultsData from 3431 complete responses (Hong Kong, 1663; United Kingdom, 1768) were analyzed. Perceived severity of symptoms differed by setting, with weighted percentages of 96.8% for Hong Kong (1621/1663) and 19.9% for the United Kingdom (366/1768). A large proportion of respondents were abnormally or borderline anxious (Hong Kong: 1077/1603, 60.0%; United Kingdom: 812/1768, 46.5%) and regarded direct contact with infected individuals as the transmission route of COVID-19 (Hong Kong: 94.0%-98.5%; United Kingdom: 69.2%-93.5%; all percentages weighted), with Hong Kong identifying additional routes. Hong Kong reported high levels of adoption of various social distancing measures (Hong Kong: 32.6%-93.7%; United Kingdom: 17.6%-59.0%) and mask-wearing (Hong Kong: 98.8% (1647/1663); United Kingdom: 3.1% (53/1768)). The impact of perceived severity of symptoms and perceived ease of transmission of COVID-19 on the adoption of social distancing measures varied by setting. In Hong Kong, these factors had no impact, whereas in the United Kingdom, those who perceived their symptom severity as "high" were more likely to adopt social distancing (adjusted odds ratios [aORs] 1.58-3.01), and those who perceived transmission as "easy" were prone to adopt both general social distancing (aOR 2.00, 95% CI 1.57-2.55) and contact avoidance (aOR 1.80, 95% CI 1.41-2.30). The impact of anxiety on adopting social distancing did not vary by setting.ConclusionsOur results suggest that health officials should ascertain baseline levels of risk perception and knowledge in populations, as well as prior sensitization to infectious disease outbreaks, during the development of mitigation strategies. Risk should be communicated through suitable media channels-and trust should be maintained-while early intervention remains the cornerstone of effective outbreak response.
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Project description:The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in December 2019, presumed from the city of Wuhan, Hubei province in China, and the subsequent declaration of the disease as a pandemic by the World Health Organization as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in March 2020, had a significant impact on health care systems globally. Each country responded to this disease in different ways, however this was done broadly by fortifying and prioritizing health care provision as well as introducing social lockdown aiming to contain the infection and minimizing the risk of transmission. In the United Kingdom, a lockdown was introduced by the government on March 23, 2020 and all health care services were focussed to challenge the impact of COVID-19. To do so, the United Kingdom National Health Service had to undergo widespread service reconfigurations and the so-called "Nightingale Hospitals" were created de novo to bolster bed provision, and industries were asked to direct efforts to the production of ventilators. A government-led public health campaign was publicized under the slogan of: "Stay home, Protect the NHS (National Health Service), Save lives." The approach had a significant impact on the delivery of all surgical services but particularly cardiac surgery with its inherent critical care bed capacity. This paper describes the impact on provision for elective and emergency cardiac surgery in the United Kingdom, with a focus on aortovascular disease. We describe our aortovascular activity and outcomes during the period of UK lockdown and present a patient survey of attitudes to aortic surgery during COVID-19 pandemic.
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Project description:ObjectivesTo identify the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on UK herbal medicine practice and how herbal medicine practitioners are supporting people with COVID-19.DesignMixed-methods e-survey.MethodsThe survey link was distributed through professional associations and social media. Quantitative data were descriptively summarised and qualitative data were analysed using content analysis.ResultsResults from 59 responses indicated a profound effect of the pandemic on herbal medicine practice, with a move to remote working and a reduction in client numbers. Practitioners reported prescribing a wide range of medicinal plants, chiefly Glycyrrhiza glabra L. and Echinacea spp. alongside providing information and advice. Few reported inter-professional collaboration.ConclusionsHerbal practitioners need to build on current collaborations, research and experience to develop consistent approaches to support people with mild-moderate COVID-19 symptoms. More systematic exploration of herbal medicine practice during and as a consequence of the pandemic is needed.What is already known about the topic• The COVID-19 pandemic has had a large impact on all types of healthcare• The impact on herbal medicine practice is unclear.What this paper adds• The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially affected UK herbal medicine practice• A wide range of medicinal plants are currently used by herbal practitioners to support people with COVID-19• Herbal practitioners need to develop consistent holistic approaches to support people with mild-moderate symptoms of COVID-19.
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Project description:Background and purposeThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has potentially caused indirect harm to patients with other conditions via reduced access to health care services. We aimed to describe the impact of the initial wave of the pandemic on admissions, care quality, and outcomes in patients with acute stroke in the United Kingdom.MethodsRegistry-based cohort study of patients with acute stroke admitted to hospital in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland between October 1, 2019, and April 30, 2020, and equivalent periods in the 3 prior years.ResultsOne hundred fourteen hospitals provided data for a study cohort of 184 017 patients. During the lockdown period (March 23 to April 30), there was a 12% reduction (6923 versus 7902) in the number of admissions compared with the same period in the 3 previous years. Admissions fell more for ischemic than hemorrhagic stroke, for older patients, and for patients with less severe strokes. Quality of care was preserved for all measures and in some domains improved during lockdown (direct access to stroke unit care, 1-hour brain imaging, and swallow screening). Although there was no change in the proportion of patients discharged with good outcome (modified Rankin Scale score, ≤2; 48% versus 48%), 7-day inpatient case fatality increased from 6.9% to 9.4% (P<0.001) and was 22.0% in patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 (adjusted rate ratio, 1.41 [1.11-1.80]).ConclusionsAssuming that the true incidence of acute stroke did not change markedly during the pandemic, hospital avoidance may have created a cohort of untreated stroke patients at risk of poorer outcomes or recurrent events. Unanticipated improvements in stroke care quality should be used as an opportunity for quality improvement and to learn about how to develop resilient health care systems.
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