The Impact of COVID-19 on Smoking Behaviours and Support for Smoke-Free Zones in Saudi Arabia.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Tobaiqy M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8297188 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:Background: COVID-19 virus has been reported as a pandemic in March 2020 by the WHO. Having a balanced and healthy diet routine can help boost the immune system, which is essential in fighting viruses. Public Health officials enforced lockdown for residents resulting in dietary habits change to combat sudden changes. Design and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the eating habits, quality and quantity of food intake among adults in Saudi Arabia. SPSS version 24 was used to analyze the data. Comparison between general dietary habits before and during COVID-19 for ordinal variables was performed by Wilcoxon Signed Rank test, while McNemar test was performed for nominal variables. The paired samples t-test was used to compare the total scores for food quality and quantity before and during COVID-19 periods. Results: 2706 adults residing in Riyadh completed the survey. The majority (85.6%) of the respondents reported eating homecooked meals on a daily basis during COVID-19 as compared to 35.6% before (p<0.001). The mean score for the quality of food intake was slightly higher (p=0.002) before the COVID-19 period (16.46±2.84) as compared to the during period (16.39±2.79). The quantity of food mean score was higher (p<0.001) during the COVID-19 period (15.70±2.66) as compared to the before period (14.62±2.71). Conclusion: Dietary habits have changed significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic among Riyadh residents. Although some good habits increased, the quality and the quantity of the food was compromised. Public Health officials must focus on increased awareness on healthy eating during pandemics to avoid negative consequences. Future research is recommended to better understand the change in dietary habits during pandemics using a detailed food frequency questionnaire. Significance for public health Since pandemics come unannounced affecting public’s safety, it is important to understand the changes that occur in a community. This study focuses on the dietary habits’ changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Coronavirus has been a threatening matter on a global level. It is tremendously crucial to consider various aspects of human health during pandemics including dietary habits, food quality and quantity as such factors play an important role in improving the immune system and overall health. Increasing the community’s awareness on the importance of healthy food intake during COVID-19 pandemic is extremely necessary. Public health’s role is to understand people’s reactions during pandemics and establish guidelines to improve health and prevent diseases. Dietary habits change during COVID-19 is a major health threat that needs immediate Public Health Officials’ attention. Maximizing awareness about healthy eating habits during quarantine requires attention to improve the overall health of the population.
| S-EPMC7512943 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundOur study aims to provide information about workplace smoke-free (SF) policy coverage in mainland China and to assess the relationship between workplace SF policies and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure, current smoking, smoking harm awareness and quitting intention among smokers.MethodData from the 2018 Asia Best Workplace Mainland China programme were used to address these aims. This cross-sectional study included 14,195 employees from the 2018 survey and 14,953 employees from the 2019 survey. Logistic regression with year-fixed effects was applied to these data. The dependent variables were SHS exposure, smoking or smoking harm awareness. The explanatory variable was the SF workplace policy.ResultsA total of 21,275 participants (73.0%) reported working under SF policies. The overall prevalence of smoking and SHS exposure were 20.3% and 52.5%, respectively. The workplace SF policy was significantly associated with lower SHS exposure (OR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.45-0.51), lower current smoking employees (OR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.76-0.87) and higher awareness of smoking harm (OR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.61-1.91). However, workplace SF policy was not significantly associated with quitting intention (OR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.84-1.16).ConclusionOur study identified that although most companies had established workplace SF policies, the overall prevalence of SHS exposure remained very high. Workplace SF policy is associated with lower SHS exposure, lower overall current smoking and higher awareness of smoking harm. These findings provide valuable evidence to promote such policies in all workplaces.
| S-EPMC8686617 | biostudies-literature
Project description:AimsTo explore the impact of the coronavirus disease lockdown on diabetes patients living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in terms of their compliance with medication intake and lifestyle habits, and quality of life.MethodsIn this cross-sectional, qualitative prospective study, a questionnaire was administered over the telephone to diabetes patients who had attended National Guard primary care centers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The survey included questions on demographic data, type of diabetes, medications used, comorbidities, medication compliance, and daily habits before and after the lockdown, and those assessing patients' psychological parameters during the past month by using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Data analysis was performed using SPSS program version 26.ResultsTotally, 394 patients participated. All of them had type 2 diabetes, and 37.6% had only one comorbidity. Antidiabetic monotherapy was used in 76.4% of the patients, while combination therapy was used in 23.6%. The compliance score before the lockdown was significantly higher (18.49 ± 3.05) than that after it (17.40 ± 3.25) (p-value <0.001). The average psychological assessment score was 9.78 ± 4.14 (range 8-35). Male participants and smokers had a significantly better psychological status than female participants (p-value = 0.002) and non-smokers (p value < 0.001), respectively.ConclusionsThe patients' levels of compliance with medications and healthy lifestyle habits were significantly reduced after the lockdown. These findings highlight the need for healthcare professionals to encourage diabetes patients to adhere to healthy lifestyle habits and use telemedicine during lockdowns to ensure optimal blood glucose control and reduce the incidence of complications.
| S-EPMC7422800 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundSmoke-free ordinances (SFO) have been shown to be effective public health interventions, but there is limited data on the impact SFO on lung cancer outcomes. We explored the effect of county-level SFO strength with smoking prevalence and lung cancer incidence in Indiana.MethodsWe obtained county-level lung cancer incidence from the Indiana State Cancer Registry and county-level characteristics from the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Commission's policy database between 1995 and 2016. Using generalized estimating equations, we performed multivariable analyses of smoking prevalence and age-adjusted lung cancer rates with respect to the strength of smoke-free ordinances at the county level over time.ResultsOf Indiana's 92 counties, 24 had a SFO by 2011. In 2012, Indiana enacted a state-wide SFO enforcing at least moderate level SFO protection. Mean age-adjusted lung cancer incidence per year was 76.8 per 100,000 population and mean smoking prevalence per year was 25% during the study period. Counties with comprehensive or moderate SFO had a smoking prevalence 1.2% (95% CI [-1.88, -0.52]) lower compared with counties with weak or no SFO. Counties that had comprehensive or moderate SFO also had an 8.4 (95% CI [-11.5, -5.3]) decrease in new lung cancer diagnosis per 100,000 population per year compared with counties that had weak or no SFO.ConclusionCounties with stronger smoke-free air ordinances were associated with decreased smoking prevalence and fewer new lung cancer cases per year. Strengthening SFO is paramount to decreasing lung cancer incidence.
| S-EPMC8051804 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging infection causing a widely spread pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The current COVID-2019 pandemic is prompting fear of falling sick, dying, helplessness and stigma, urgent and timely understanding of mental health status is needed to help the community. Our investigation designed to survey the general population in Saudi Arabia to assess the degree of psychological impact during the pandemic. METHODS:During the early stage of the outbreak, we conducted an online-based survey using a snowballing sample technique. The surveys collected data about several aspects of participant sociodemographic, knowledge, concerns, psychological impact, and mental health status. We assessed the psychological impact and mental health status using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). RESULTS:Our survey recruited 1160 respondents of the general public of Saudi Arabia. Of them, 23.6% reported moderate or severe psychological impact of the outbreak, 28.3%,24%, and 22.3% reported moderate to severe depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms, respectively. Females reported IES-R (B: 5.46, 95% CI: 3.61 to 7.31) and DASS subscales B coefficient ranged from 1.65 to 2.63, along with high-school students, working in the medical field, and poor self-reported health status was significantly associated with a high level of IES-R and DASS scales (p < .05). Experiencing breathing difficulty and dizziness showed a stronger association with higher IES-R and DASS subscales than other somatic symptoms (e.g., headache and fever);(p < .001). Respondents who practiced specific preventative measures (e.g., hand washing, social distancing) demonstrated a protective effect against stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms. Social distancing appeared to be protective on stress and anxiety subscales (B: -1.49, 95% CI: -2.79 to -0.19),(B: -1.53, 95% CI: -2.50 to -0.57),respectively; and hand hygiene on depression subscale (B: -2.43, 95% CI: -4.44 to -0.42). CONCLUSION:Throughout the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia, the results showed that nearly one-fourth of the sampled general population experienced moderate to severe psychological impact. Following specific precautionary measures appeared to have a protective effect on the individual's mental health. Our findings can be used to construct psychological interventions directed toward vulnerable populations and to implement public mental health strategies in the early stages of the outbreak.
| S-EPMC7354380 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionThe hand hygiene practice (HHP) is the most effective and simplest preventive measure to reduce the risk of infection. HHP is more relevant among pediatric physicians in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic since, children are more vulnerable to infection. Therefore, assessment of the COVID-19 impact on HHP could be useful in minimizing lethal virus transmission from pediatric physicians to patients and vice versa.MethodThe present cross-sectional, electronically self-administered supplement based survey study was conducted among different professional levels of pediatric physicians involving consultants, specialists, and residents. The supplement includes information related to demography, knowledge, awareness, preventive measures, demonstration and practice of HHP. The information was collected and summarized on a Microsoft excel sheet before being imported to SPSS for statistical analysis.ResultsOf the total (N = 404) pediatric physicians, 56.68% male, 43.06% belongs to 25-35 years, 42.32% were consultants, 98.01% respondents were familiar with five moments of HHP. Further, HHP immediately before touching patients (99.26%), clean/aseptic procedure (95.04%), after body fluid exposure (72.28%), after touching patients (98.01%), after touching surrounding of patients (74.75%) may prevent germ transmission to patients whereas HHP after touching patients (98.27%), before clean/aseptic procedure (67.57%), after exposure to immediate surroundings of patients (97.02%) may prevent germ transmission to pediatric physicians. Rubbing hands is preferred before palpation of abdomen (74.25%), before giving injection (56.68%), after removing gloves (61.88%), after making a patient's bed (47.80%), while washing of hands preferred after emptying bedpan (67.82%) and after visible exposure to blood (84.40%), 92.57% believed gloves can't replace HHP, posters display at point of care as reminders (95.30%), received frequent HHP education (82.92%), 50.49% do not need HHP reminder, 51.73% preferred alcohol based sanitizer, 53.46% facilitate daily morning huddle, HHP >10 times per day before COVID-19 (24.62%) while in COIVID-19 (56.44%). HPP is the most effective way to prevent the spread (98.01%) of microbes because it kills germs (90.35%), health care associated infections is the major (38.06%) cause of germ transmission, 86.88% will be remains committed to HHP even after pandemic. In comparison to residents and specialists, consultants gave more importance (p = 0.02) to HHP and were more adherent during (p = 0.007) and even after (p = 0.001) COVID-19 pandemic.ConclusionAssessing knowledge of pediatric physician, awareness, and adherence to hand hygiene measures could be helpful to reduce the contact transmission of lethal viruses to patients and vice versa. Further increase in the awareness, knowledge and education of HHP are required in order to maximize its utilization.
| S-EPMC9444314 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Countries around the world have implemented a series of interventions to contain the pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and significant lessons can be drawn from the study of the full transmission dynamics of the disease caused by-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-in the Eastern, Madinah, Makkah, and Riyadh regions of Saudi Arabia, where robust non-pharmaceutical interventions effectively suppressed the local outbreak of this disease. On the basis of 333732 laboratory-confirmed cases, we used mathematical modelling to reconstruct the complete spectrum dynamics of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia between 2 March and 25 September 2020 over 5 periods characterised by events and interventions. Our model account for asymptomatic and presymptomatic infectiousness, time-varying ascertainable infection rate, and transmission rates. Our results indicate that non-pharmaceutical interventions were effective in containing the epidemic, with reproduction numbers decreasing on average to 0.29 (0.19-0.66) in the Eastern, Madinah, Makkah, and Riyadh region. The chance of resurgence after the lifting of all interventions after 30 consecutive days with no symptomatic cases is also examined and emphasizes the danger presented by largely hidden infections while switching control strategies. These findings have major significance for evaluating methods for maintaining monitoring and interventions to eventually reduce outbreaks of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia in the future.
| S-EPMC9842221 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The aim of this study was to assess the effect of a creating a smoke-free home (SFH) on cessation and reduction of cigarette smoking on low-income smokers. This secondary data analysis uses data from study participants who were originally recruited through 2-1-1 information and referral call centers in Atlanta (Georgia, 2013), North Carolina (2014) and the Texas Gulf Coast (2015) across three randomized controlled trials testing an intervention aimed at creating SFHs, pooling data from 941 smokers. Participants who reported adopting a SFH were more likely to report quitting smoking than those who did not adopt a SFH. This was true at 3-month follow-up and even more pronounced at 6-month follow-up and persisted when considering only those who consistently reported no smoking at 3 and 6 months. Among those who did not stop smoking, the number of cigarettes per day declined significantly more and quit attempts were more frequent for those who created a SFH compared with those who did not. Findings suggest that creating a SFH facilitates cessation, reduces cigarette consumption and increases quit attempts. Future studies should assess the long-term impact of SFHs on sustaining cessation.
| S-EPMC6658707 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionWaterpipe smoking has gained global popularity among adolescents and young adults. This study aimed to identify the predictors of waterpipe smoking among university students in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted using a pre-tested, validated, and self-administered questionnaire to identify the predictors of waterpipe smoking among university students aged >18 years in the Qassim region.ResultsOf the 1158 questionnaires distributed, 928 were returned with complete responses. Of these 928 participants, 820 were men (88.7%) and the majority were unmarried (95.6%). The risk of waterpipe smoking was significantly higher in students aged >26 years (OR=3.39; 95% CI: 1.30- 8.80), those who had a brother who smoked (OR=1.78; 95% CI: 1.13-2.79), and those who were married (OR=3.21; 95% CI: 1.36-7.59). Furthermore, participants who had smoked cigarettes (OR=3.18; 95% CI: 1.89-5.34) or other tobacco products (OR=6.39; 95% CI: 3.69-11.07) within the past 30 days, and students who believed that waterpipe smoking was less harmful than cigarette smoking (OR=2.61; 95% CI: 1.54-4.41) had a higher risk of engaging in waterpipe smoking. However, the risk was lower among students receiving a monthly financial aid of more than US$264 (OR=0.34; 95% CI: 0.13-0.89).ConclusionsThis study revealed that higher age, being male, being married, low student financial aid, waterpipe smoker sibling, cigarette and other types of tobacco smoking in the past 30 days, and believing waterpipe smoking to be less harmful than cigarette smoking, were significant predictors of waterpipe smoking. Educational programs targeted at improving awareness of the adverse effects of waterpipe smoking should be considered for early prevention in young adults.
| S-EPMC8404266 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background People who smoke with serious mental illness carry disproportionate costs from smoking, including poor health and premature death from tobacco-related illnesses. Hospitals in New Zealand are ostensibly smoke-free; however, some mental health wards have resisted implementing this policy. Aim This study explored smoking in acute metal health wards using data emerging from a large sociological study on modern acute psychiatric units. Methods Eighty-five in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff and service users from four units. Data were analysed using a social constructionist problem representation approach. Results Although high-level smoke-free policies were mandatory, most participants disregarded these policies and smoking occurred in internal courtyards. Staff reasoned that acute admissions were not the time to quit smoking, citing the sceptres of distress and possibly violence; further, they found smoking challenging to combat. Inconsistent enforcement of smoke-free policies was common and problematic. Many service users also rejected smoke-free policies; they considered smoking facilitated social connections, alleviated boredom, and helped them feel calm in a distressing environment – some started or increased smoking following admission. A minority viewed smoking as a problem; a fire hazard, or pollutant. No one mentioned its health risks. Conclusion Psychiatric wards remain overlooked corners where hospital smoke-free policies are inconsistently applied or ignored. Well-meaning staff hold strong but anachronistic views about smoking. To neglect smoking cessation support for people with serious mental illness is discriminatory and perpetuates health and socioeconomic inequities. However, blanket applications of generic policy are unlikely to succeed. Solutions may include myth-busting education for service users and staff, local champions, and strong managerial support and leadership, with additional resourcing during transition phases. Smoke-free policies need consistent application with non-judgemental NRT and, potentially, other treatments. Smoking cessation would be supported by better designed facilities with more options for alleviating boredom, expressing autonomy, facilitating social connections, and reducing distress.
| S-EPMC8592473 | biostudies-literature