Dataset Information

Differences and similarities in the conceptualization of COVID-19 and other diseases in the first Italian lockdown.

ABSTRACT: Several studies have highlighted the flexible character of our conceptual system. However, less is known about the construction of meaning and the impact of novel concepts on the structuring of our conceptual space. We addressed these questions by collecting free listing data from Italian participants on a newly-and yet nowadays critical-introduced concept, i.e., COVID-19, during the first Italian lockdown. We also collected data for other five illness-related concepts. Our results show that COVID-19's representation is mostly couched in the emotional sphere, predominantly evoking fear-linked to both possible health-related concerns and social-emotional ones. In contrast with initial public debates we found that participants did not assimilate COVID-19 neither completely to severe illnesses (e.g., tumor) nor completely to mild illnesses (e.g., flu). Moreover, we also found that COVID-19 has shaped conceptual relations of other concepts in the illness domain, making certain features and associations more salient (e.g., flu-fear; disease-mask). Overall, our results show for the first time how a novel, real concept molds existing conceptual relations, testifying the malleability of our conceptual system.

SUBMITTER: Mazzuca C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8443562 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundOn December 12th 2019, a new coronavirus (SARS-Cov2) emerged in Wuhan, China, sparking a pandemic of acute respiratory syndrome in humans (COVID-19). On the 24th of April 2020, the number of COVID-19 deaths in the world, according to the COVID-Case Tracker by Johns Hopkins University, was 195,313, and the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases was 2,783,512. The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive impact on human health, causing sudden lifestyle changes, through social distancing and isolation at home, with social and economic consequences. Optimizing public health during this pandemic requires not only knowledge from the medical and biological sciences, but also of all human sciences related to lifestyle, social and behavioural studies, including dietary habits and lifestyle.MethodsOur study aimed to investigate the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating habits and lifestyle changes among the Italian population aged ≥ 12 years. The study comprised a structured questionnaire packet that inquired demographic information (age, gender, place of residence, current employment); anthropometric data (reported weight and height); dietary habits information (adherence to the Mediterranean diet, daily intake of certain foods, food frequency, and number of meals/day); lifestyle habits information (grocery shopping, habit of smoking, sleep quality and physical activity). The survey was conducted from the 5th to the 24th of April 2020.ResultsA total of 3533 respondents have been included in the study, aged between 12 and 86 years (76.1% females). The perception of weight gain was observed in 48.6% of the population; 3.3% of smokers decided to quit smoking; a slight increased physical activity has been reported, especially for bodyweight training, in 38.3% of respondents; the population group aged 18-30 years resulted in having a higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet when compared to the younger and the elderly population (p < 0.001; p < 0.001, respectively); 15% of respondents turned to farmers or organic, purchasing fruits and vegetables, especially in the North and Center of Italy, where BMI values were lower.ConclusionsIn this study, we have provided for the first time data on the Italian population lifestyle, eating habits and adherence to the Mediterranean Diet pattern during the COVID-19 lockdown. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing, our data need to be confirmed and investigated in future more extensive population studies.

Project description:Stringent lockdown measures implemented in Italy to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 are generating unprecedented economic impacts. However, the environmental consequences associated with the temporary shutdown and recovery of industrial and commercial activities are still not fully understood. Using the well-known carbon footprint (CF) indicator, this paper provides a comprehensive estimation of environmental effects due to the COVID-19 outbreak lockdown measures in Italy. Our aim was to quantify the CF associated with the consumption of energy by any economic activity and region in Italy during the lockdown, and then compare these environmental burdens with the CF calculated for analogous periods from 2015 to 2019 (~March and April). Complementarily, we also conducted a scenario analysis to estimate the post-lockdown CF impact in Italy. A consumption-based approach was applied according to the principles of the established Life Cycle Assessment method. The CF was therefore quantified as a sum of direct and indirect greenhouse gases (GHGs) released from domestically produced and imported energy metabolism flows, excluding the exports. Our findings indicate that the CF in the lockdown period is ~-20% lower than the mean CF calculated for the past. This means avoided GHGs in between ~5.6 and ~10.6 Mt CO2e. Results further suggest that a tendency occurs towards higher impact savings in the Northern regions, on average ~230 kt CO2e of GHGs avoided by province (against ~110-130 kt CO2e in central and Southern provinces). Not surprisingly, these are the utmost industrialized areas of Italy and have been the ones mostly affected by the outbreak. Despite our CF estimates are not free of uncertainties, our research offers quantitative insights to start understanding the magnitude generated by such an exceptional lockdown event in Italy on climate change, and to complement current scientific efforts investigating the relationships between air pollution and the spread of COVID-19.

Dataset Information

Differences and similarities in the conceptualization of COVID-19 and other diseases in the first Italian lockdown.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets