Using social media for health information on COVID-19 risk perceptions and mental health: An online survey of 4,580 pregnant women in China

Perinatal depression and its associated risk factors during the COVID-19 pandemic in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE

Perinatal depression significantly impacts maternal and child health, with further complexities arising during the COVID-19 pandemic. This review is the first to comprehensively synthesize evidence on the prevalence of perinatal depression and its associated risk factors in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) during the pandemic period.

METHODS

The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022326991). This review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guideline for prevalence studies. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in six databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycInfo, CINAHL, and ProQuest. Pooled prevalence estimates were computed for both prenatal and postnatal depression. Identified risk factors were summarized narratively.

RESULTS

A total of 5169 studies were screened, out of which 58 were included in the narrative review and 48 [prenatal (n = 36) and postnatal (n = 17)] were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled depression prevalence for prenatal women was 23% (95% CI: 19-27%), and for the postnatal women was 23% (95% CI: 18-30%). Maternal age, education, perceived fear of COVID-19 infection, week of pregnancy, pregnancy complications, and social and family support were identified as associated risk factors for depression.

CONCLUSIONS

Our review demonstrates an increased prevalence of perinatal depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in LMICs. It sheds light on the significant burden faced by pregnant and postnatal women and emphasizes the necessity for targeted interventions during the ongoing and potential future crisis.

The impact of attitude toward COVID-19 vaccine on intention to receive influenza vaccination: a multi-group comparison based on the influence of presumed influence model and spillover effects

Introduction

Influenza vaccination is one of the most important strategies for preventing influenza. However, the influenza vaccination rate in China remains low. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people held different attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine. In the post-pandemic era, do the varying attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine affect the intention to receive influenza vaccination?

Methods

Based on the influence of presumed influence (IPI) model and spillover effects, this study employed structural equation modeling for multi-group comparison to analyze questionnaires from 613 participants, using instruments such as the Perceived Media Influence on Others Scale (PMIO), the Susceptibility to Influenza Scale (SI), and the Attitude toward Influenza Vaccine Scale (AIV).

Results

The key findings are as follows: (1) Information exposure to the influenza vaccine significantly influences perceived media influence on others. (2) Perceived media influence on others does not directly impact the intention to receive influenza vaccination but rather affects it through attitude toward the influenza vaccine. (3) Moreover, multi-group analyses revealed differences in the IPI model among audiences with different attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine. These differences demonstrated that prior attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine can influence attitudes toward similar influenza vaccines, thus demonstrating the existence of spillover effects.

Conclusion

Attitude toward the COVID-19 vaccine can influence the intention to receive the influenza vaccination. Those with a negative attitude toward the COVID-19 vaccine are significantly influenced by susceptibility to influenza. Perceived media influence affects the intention to receive the influenza vaccination among those with a positive attitude toward the COVID-19 vaccine.

Sociodemographic and clinical predictors for COVID-19 preventive measures compliance among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia: a multicenter study

OBJECTIVE

To assess the levels of adherence among pregnant women to the basic COVID-19 preventive measures, and to analyze the effect of risk perception and sociodemographic and clinical factors on adherence.

METHOD

A multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted at the obstetrics clinics of 50 primary care centers selected using a multistage sampling method. An online-administered, structured questionnaire was used to collect self-reported levels of adherence to four basic preventive measures against COVID-19, along with perceived COVID-19 severity, infectiousness, and harmfulness to the baby, besides sociodemographic and clinical data including obstetrical and other medical history.

RESULTS

A total of 2460 pregnant women were included with a mean (SD) age of 30.21 (6.11) years. Levels of self-reported compliance were highest for hand hygiene (95.7%), followed by social distancing (92.3%), masking (90.0%), and avoidance of contact with a COVID-19 infected person (70.3%). Perceived COVID-19 severity and infectiousness, and harmfulness to the baby were observed in 89.2%, 70.7%, and 85.0% of the participants, respectively, and were variably associated with compliance to preventive measures. Analysis of sociodemographic factors highlighted the significance of education and economic status in determining adherence to preventive measures, which represents a potential inequity in the risk of COVID-19 infection.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the importance of patients' education to enable functional perception of COVID-19 that promotes self-efficacy, besides investigating the specific social determinants of health to tackle inequalities in terms of prevention efficiency and the subsequent health outcomes.

Impact of Social Media Usage on Users' COVID-19 Protective Behavior: Survey Study in Indonesia

BACKGROUND

Social media have become the source of choice for many users to search for health information on COVID-19 despite possible detrimental consequences. Several studies have analyzed the association between health information-searching behavior and mental health. Some of these studies examined users' intentions in searching health information on social media and the impact of social media use on mental health in Indonesia.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigates both active and passive participation in social media, shedding light on cofounding effects from these different forms of engagement. In addition, this study analyses the role of trust in social media platforms and its effect on public health outcomes. Thus, the purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of social media usage on COVID-19 protective behavior in Indonesia. The most commonly used social media platforms are Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter.

METHODS

We used primary data from an online survey. We processed 414 answers to a structured questionnaire to evaluate the relationship between these users' active and passive participation in social media, trust in social media, anxiety, self-efficacy, and protective behavior to COVID-19. We modeled the data using partial least square structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

This study reveals that social media trust is a crucial antecedent, where trust in social media is positively associated with active contribution and passive consumption of COVID-19 content in social media, users' anxiety, self-efficacy, and protective behavior. This study found that active contribution of content related to COVID-19 on social media is positively correlated with anxiety, while passive participation increases self-efficacy and, in turn, protective behavior. This study also found that active participation is associated with negative health outcomes, while passive participation has the opposite effects. The results of this study can potentially be used for other infectious diseases, for example, dengue fever and diseases that can be transmitted through the air and have handling protocols similar to that of COVID-19.

CONCLUSIONS

Public health campaigns can use social media for health promotion. Public health campaigns should post positive messages and distil the received information parsimoniously to avoid unnecessary and possibly counterproductive increased anxiety of the users.

Social Media, Anxiety and COVID-19 Lockdown Measurement Compliance

The aim of the present research was to analyze the effect of anxiety levels during the COVID-19 pandemic in the use of social media and compliance with lockdown measures during the confinement. A total of 1723 participants (32.1% males and 77.9% females; 32.6 ± 9.2 years) were interviewed by a Spanish version of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. From the results obtained, the sample was divided into two 50th percentile groups, a high anxiety group (HAG) and a low anxiety group (LAG). We found how the LAG had lower use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter during confinement. Also, this group presented a higher rate of leaving home during the confinement and higher values in people with whom they had lived with during confinement than high anxiety group. Regardless of the lack of results in the remaining variables, the present study nuances the high levels of anxiety experienced during COVID-19 confinement. The multifactorial analysis of factors related to the perception of anxiety during COVID-19 confinement may be a useful tool to measure multiple social behaviors when examining mental health factors. Thus, explaining and preventing the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The present knowledge could be used to determine key intervention factors for reducing the perception of fear and anxiety.

Navigating through motherhood in pregnancy and postpartum periods during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis

AIM

The aim of this work is to critically appraise and synthesize the qualitative studies on the experiences, perspectives, and consequences of pregnant women experiencing motherhood during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a threat to the health of pregnant women. Such a pandemic disrupted their routine care, as well as normal daily life. However, little is known about their coping strategies to the changes brought by COVID-19.

EVALUATION

A qualitative systematic review was conducted according to the Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research (ENTREQ) checklist. A meta-aggregative approach rooted in pragmatism and Husserlian transcendental phenomenology was used to synthesize the findings. Dependability and credibility of both study findings and synthesized findings were appraised by Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) ConQual process.

KEY ISSUES

Key issues include (a) pregnant women experienced changes in routine care, (b) pregnant women used a range of strategies to cope with the consequence of the pandemic, (c) pregnant women struggled to embrace motherhood, and (d) pregnant women received different levels of social support.

CONCLUSION

Facing challenges caused by the pandemic, pregnant women used a variety of strategies to cope with and adapt to the changes, but sometimes the adaption is limited. Emotional, instrumental, and informational support should be provided to them in an accessible way.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

As an essential part of policymakers, nursing managers should consider the balance between restriction and the accessibility of maternity care. It is also crucial for them to consider how to provide necessary support in an accessible way.

Association between ethnicity and health knowledge among the floating population in China

Background

Health equity remains a priority concerns by central government in China. This study aimed to explore ethnic gaps in access to health knowledge categories and sources based on the survey data from a publicly available dataset.

Methods

Data were from 2015 China Migrants Dynamic Survey issued by The National Health Commission in China. Descriptive analyses were performed to reflect geodemographic differences in the floating population of ethnic minority (EMFP) and Han majority (HMFP) with Chi-square test. Ethnic gaps in access to health knowledge categories and sources were explored with Poisson regressions, logistic regressions, and bivariate ordered probit regressions.

Results

In the sample, most of participants had inadequate health information literacy. There were significant differences regarding geodemographic factors between EMFP and HMFP. Illiterate EMFP had likelihood to obtain less health knowledge categories (IRR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.77–0.84) and sources (IRR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.80–0.86) as compared to illiterate HMFP. Most of correlations between health knowledge categories and sources were weak in the samples of EMFP and HMFP.

Conclusion

Ethnic disparities in access to health knowledge categories and sources among the floating population in China were confirmed. Further effective efforts should be provided to reduce ethnic disparities in access to health knowledge under the ethnicity-orientated support of public health resource.