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Ke GN, Gow A, Wong RMM, Raman S, Mohammad Z, De-Lima N, Khairudin R, Lau WY, Kamal KA, Lee SC, Grajfoner D. Perceptions of risk and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic among women and older adults. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301009. [PMID: 38630742 PMCID: PMC11023439 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The world's health, economic, and social systems have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With lockdown measures being a common response strategy in most countries, many individuals were faced with financial and mental health challenges. The current study explored the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological well-being, perception of risk factors and coping strategies of two vulnerable groups in Malaysia, namely women and older adults from low-income households (USD592). A purposive sample of 30 women and 30 older adults was interviewed via telephone during Malaysia's Movement Control Order (MCO) regarding the challenges they faced throughout the pandemic. Thematic analysis was subsequently conducted to identify key themes. The themes identified from the thematic analysis indicated a degree of overlap between both groups. For women, seven themes emerged: 1) Psychological challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic, 2) Family violence, 3) Finance and employment related stress and anxiety, 4) Women's inequality and prejudice, 5) Coping strategies, 6) Professional support, and 7) Women's empowerment. Similarly, there were six themes for the older adults: 1) Adverse emotional experiences from COVID-19, 2) Threats to health security, 3) Loss of social connections, 4) Government aid to improve older adults' psychological well-being, 5) Psychological support from family members and pets, and 6) Self-reliance, religion, and spirituality. The findings provide valuable information on the specific burdens faced by these groups, and support psychological interventions and mitigations that would be appropriate to improve well-being during the recovery phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guek Nee Ke
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Putrajaya, Malaysia
- Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Putrajaya, Malaysia
| | - Alan Gow
- Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Putrajaya, Malaysia
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Rachel Mei Ming Wong
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Putrajaya, Malaysia
| | - Shahirah Raman
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Putrajaya, Malaysia
| | - Zulaikha Mohammad
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Putrajaya, Malaysia
| | - Nicole De-Lima
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Putrajaya, Malaysia
| | | | - Wee Yeap Lau
- Faculty of Economics and Administration, Department of Applied Statistics, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | | | - Shen Chiang Lee
- Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Dasha Grajfoner
- Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Putrajaya, Malaysia
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- DOBA Business School, Maribor, Slovenia
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Chang PY, Shih FY, Lee MB, Lin CF, Lyu SY. Risk Perceptions, Level of Government Trust, and Psychological Distress During COVID-19 Pandemic in Taiwan. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2022; 15:3313-3327. [PMID: 36411861 PMCID: PMC9675398 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s375722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is spreading worldwide, causing mental health concerns among people. People's perceptions of the disease affect their psychological adaptation and health outcomes. In this study, we present people's perceptions of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), level of government trust, and their psychological distress during the pandemic for examining the impact of peoples' COVID-19 perceptions on their mental health. PATIENTS AND METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted through a telephone survey in Taiwan in April 2020. Participants were randomly selected for telephone screening using a computer-assisted telephone interviewer system. A total of 1098 participants aged more than 20 years participated in the survey. RESULTS The mean age of participants was 47.7 ± 16.4 years. After controlling for covariates, participants who were worried about contracting COVID-19, those who believed that they had a chance of being infected with COVID-19, those who were reluctant to visit the hospital for fear of contracting the virus, those who felt that the pandemic had affected their daily life, and those with low levels of trust in the government's capacity to manage the pandemic had anxiety, hostility, depression, interpersonal sensitivity/inferiority, and psychological symptoms. CONCLUSION People's perception of COVID-19 and public's trust in the government's ability to respond to the pandemic are related to psychological distress. Although the Taiwanese government may have undertaken effective epidemic control measures to address with the COVID-19 pandemic, this crisis may have still caused mental health problems in the general population. Health professionals and policy makers should pay more attention to high-risk groups among those at risk for developing mental health problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Po-Ya Chang
- Department of Leisure Industry and Health Promotion, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Fuh-Yuan Shih
- Department of Emergency Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Been Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Feng Lin
- Keelung Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Keelung, Taiwan
- Department of Health Care Management, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan
- School of Health Care Administration, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Shu-Yu Lyu
- Department of Leisure Industry and Health Promotion, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan
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Affiliation(s)
- Chee Tao Chang
- Clinical Research Centre, Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Ipoh, Malaysia
| | - Chern Choong Thum
- Department of Psychiatry, Universiti Putra Malaysia Teaching Hospital, Serdang, Malaysia
| | - Xin Jie Lim
- Clinical Research Centre, Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Ipoh, Malaysia
| | - Chii Chii Chew
- Clinical Research Centre, Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Ipoh, Malaysia
| | - Philip Rajan
- Clinical Research Centre, Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Ipoh, Malaysia
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