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Ravenhurst J, Snyder T, Wallace K, Pennell S, Goff SL, Lover AA. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding COVID-19 among university students and employees in Massachusetts, USA: A qualitative study. JOURNAL OF AMERICAN COLLEGE HEALTH : J OF ACH 2023:1-13. [PMID: 37463499 DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2023.2225626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To explore the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding COVID-19 in university affiliates to inform future COVID-19 policies and practices. PARTICIPANTS Undergraduate students, graduate students and university employees at a large public university. METHODS Semi-structured focus groups and interviews were conducted between December 2020 and January 2021. Data were analyzed via inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS Analysis of data from the 36 participants generated five themes: COVID-19 knowledge, stress and coping, trust, decision-making, and institutional feedback. Misunderstanding of COVID-19 preventive behaviors was common, which appeared to compound high levels of stress and presented an educational opportunity. University investment in an asymptomatic testing program was reported to increase perceived safety. CONCLUSIONS Participants' experiences with a large university's COVID-19 response suggest a desire for consistent and transparent communication and an opportunity for institutions to examine the effectiveness of their communication strategies, public health protocols, and mechanisms for assessing and mitigating stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Ravenhurst
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Teah Snyder
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kate Wallace
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sheila Pennell
- Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sarah L Goff
- Department of Health Promotion and Policy, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Andrew A Lover
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
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Santome-Pariona J, Briceño-Vergel G, Córdova-Limaylla N, Ladera-Castañeda M, Huamani-Echaccaya J, Tolmos-Valdivia R, Huamani-Cantoral J, Solís-Dante F, Cervantes-Ganoza L, Cayo-Rojas C. Factors Associated with the Level of Knowledge about Biosafety against COVID-19 in Peruvian Dental Students: A Cross-Sectional Study under a Multivariable Regression Model. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:5938. [PMID: 37297542 PMCID: PMC10252526 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20115938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
AIM Biosafety is a set of preventive measures aimed at controlling risk factors arising from biological, physical, and/or chemical agents. This topic is particularly important in the dental field since saliva is the main biological agent of the transmission of coronavirus. The present study aimed to determine the factors associated with the level of knowledge about biosafety against COVID-19 in Peruvian dentistry students. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present observational, cross-sectional, and analytical study evaluated 312 Peruvian dentistry students. A validated 20-question questionnaire was used to measure the level of knowledge. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare levels of knowledge between categories of each variable. A logit model was used to evaluate associated factors such as sex, age, marital status, place of origin, academic year of study, being in the academic upper third, history of COVID-19, and living with vulnerable family members. A significance level of p < 0.05 was considered. RESULTS 36.2%, 31.4%, and 32.4% presented poor, fair, and good knowledge levels, respectively. Students under 25 years of age were 64% less likely to pass the biosafety against COVID-19 questionnaire than students 25 years of age and older (OR = 0.36; CI: 0.20-0.66). Students in the academic upper third were nine times more likely to pass the test than other students (OR = 9.38; CI: 4.61-19.07). Finally, third-year students were 52% less likely to pass the exam than fifth-year students (OR = 0.48; CI: 0.28-0.83). CONCLUSION Only a minority of dentistry students had a good level of knowledge about biosafety against COVID-19. Younger and less educated students were more likely to fail the questionnaire. On the other hand, those students with outstanding academic performance were more likely to pass the questionnaire.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Santome-Pariona
- School of Stomatology, Universidad Privada San Juan Bautista, Ica 11002, Peru; (J.S.-P.); (G.B.-V.); (N.C.-L.); (J.H.-E.); (R.T.-V.); (J.H.-C.)
| | - Gissela Briceño-Vergel
- School of Stomatology, Universidad Privada San Juan Bautista, Ica 11002, Peru; (J.S.-P.); (G.B.-V.); (N.C.-L.); (J.H.-E.); (R.T.-V.); (J.H.-C.)
| | - Nancy Córdova-Limaylla
- School of Stomatology, Universidad Privada San Juan Bautista, Ica 11002, Peru; (J.S.-P.); (G.B.-V.); (N.C.-L.); (J.H.-E.); (R.T.-V.); (J.H.-C.)
| | - Marysela Ladera-Castañeda
- Research Team “Salud Pública–Salud Integral”, Faculty of Dentistry and Postgraduate School, Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal, Lima 15001, Peru;
| | - José Huamani-Echaccaya
- School of Stomatology, Universidad Privada San Juan Bautista, Ica 11002, Peru; (J.S.-P.); (G.B.-V.); (N.C.-L.); (J.H.-E.); (R.T.-V.); (J.H.-C.)
| | - Rita Tolmos-Valdivia
- School of Stomatology, Universidad Privada San Juan Bautista, Ica 11002, Peru; (J.S.-P.); (G.B.-V.); (N.C.-L.); (J.H.-E.); (R.T.-V.); (J.H.-C.)
| | - Juan Huamani-Cantoral
- School of Stomatology, Universidad Privada San Juan Bautista, Ica 11002, Peru; (J.S.-P.); (G.B.-V.); (N.C.-L.); (J.H.-E.); (R.T.-V.); (J.H.-C.)
| | | | | | - César Cayo-Rojas
- School of Stomatology, Universidad Privada San Juan Bautista, Ica 11002, Peru; (J.S.-P.); (G.B.-V.); (N.C.-L.); (J.H.-E.); (R.T.-V.); (J.H.-C.)
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Yenit MK, Kolbe-Alexander TL, Gelaye KA, Gezie LD, Tesema GA, Abebe SM, Azale T, Shitu K, Gyawali P. An Evaluation of Community Health Workers' Knowledge, Attitude and Personal Lifestyle Behaviour in Non-Communicable Disease Health Promotion and Their Association with Self-Efficacy and NCD-Risk Perception. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:ijerph20095642. [PMID: 37174162 PMCID: PMC10178727 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20095642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Community health workers, also known as health extension workers (HEWs), play an important role in health promotion. This study evaluates HEWs' knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy for non-communicable diseases (NCD) health promotion. HEWs (n = 203) completed a structured questionnaire on knowledge, attitude, behaviour, self-efficacy and NCD risk perception. Regression analysis was used to determine the association between self-efficacy and NCD risk perception with knowledge (high, medium, low), attitude (favourable/unfavourable) and physical activity (sufficient/insufficient). HEWs with higher self-efficacy were more likely to have high NCD knowledge (AOR: 2.21; 95% CI: 1.21. 4.07), favourable attitude towards NCD health promotion (AOR: 6.27; 95% CI: 3.11. 12.61) and were more physically active (AOR: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.08. 4.74) than those with lower self-efficacy. HEWs with higher NCD susceptibility (AOR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.04. 3.47) and perceived severity (AOR: 2.69; 95% CI: 1.46, 4.93) had higher odds of NCD knowledge than their counterparts. Moreover, sufficient physical activity was influenced by HEWs' perceived NCD susceptibility and perceived benefits of lifestyle change. Therefore, HEWs need to adopt healthy lifestyle choices to become effective role models for the community. Our findings highlight the need to include a healthy lifestyle when training HEWs, which might increase self-efficacy for NCD health promotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melaku Kindie Yenit
- School of Health and Medical Sciences, Centre for Health Research, University of Southern Queensland, Ipswich, QLD 4305, Australia
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar P.O. Box 196, Ethiopia
| | - Tracy L Kolbe-Alexander
- School of Health and Medical Sciences, Centre for Health Research, University of Southern Queensland, Ipswich, QLD 4305, Australia
- Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
| | - Kassahun Alemu Gelaye
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar P.O. Box 196, Ethiopia
| | - Lemma Derseh Gezie
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar P.O. Box 196, Ethiopia
| | - Getayeneh Antehunegn Tesema
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar P.O. Box 196, Ethiopia
| | - Solomon Mekonnen Abebe
- Department of Human Nutrition, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar P.O. Box 196, Ethiopia
| | - Telake Azale
- Department of Health Promotion and Health Behavior, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar P.O. Box 196, Ethiopia
| | - Kegnie Shitu
- Department of Health Promotion and Health Behavior, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar P.O. Box 196, Ethiopia
| | - Prajwal Gyawali
- Centre for Health Research, School of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia
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Association of University Students' COVID-19 Vaccination Intention with Behaviors toward Protection and Perceptions Regarding the Pandemic. MEDICINA (KAUNAS, LITHUANIA) 2022; 58:medicina58101438. [PMID: 36295598 PMCID: PMC9612282 DOI: 10.3390/medicina58101438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global health problem. Vaccination is suggested to be one of the most efficacious precautionary measures, in combination with other protective behaviors. The purpose of this study was to explore the association of students’ intention to get vaccinated about COVID-19 with protection behaviors and perceptions about the pandemic. Material and Methods: The study sample included 1920 university students who electronically completed two validated questionnaires anonymously and voluntarily from December 2020 to January 2021. Results: Results of the multiple linear regression analysis showed that as the perceived general risk was getting lower, the number of protective behaviors significantly diminished (p < 0.001). Additionally, respondents who believed that they had minor or no personal risk had undertaken significantly fewer preventing behaviors in comparison with participants who thought they had major personal risk (p = 0.006). However, the experience of respondents with people having COVID-19 had statistically significant association with undertaking more preventing behaviors (p = 0.004). Lower general perception of risk had statistically significant association with lower determination to obtain the vaccines of COVID-19 (p < 0.001). Personally knowing someone who had the coronavirus and undertaking more behavioral changes due to the coronavirus situation were significantly related to greater determination to obtain the vaccines of COVID-19 (p = 0.005 and p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: The results of this study can provide universities with the appropriate information about the improvement of COVID-19 vaccination strategies.
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