Exploring individuals’ adoption of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps: a mixed-methods approach

PurposeDuring the challenging time of lockdown and isolation due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), contact-tracing apps have played a critical role in health communication and preventive healthcare. This study proposed and tested an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) with key health factors (i.e. health risk perception from COVID-19, health information orientation to COVID-19 and health consciousness) to understand individuals' adoption of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps.Design/methodology/approachA two-stage online survey was conducted to collect data on US individuals’ intention and actual use of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps. The sample comprises 288 valid responses. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy set/qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) were employed as the complementary approaches.FindingsThe findings from PLS-SEM revealed that health risk perception, health information orientation and perceived usefulness have positive net effects on behavioral intention, which, in turn, affects actual use. The results from fsQCA highlighted the explanatory power of the extended TAM to COVID-19 contact-tracing app adoption.Originality/valueAlthough TAM is considerably effective in measuring technology acceptance, the phenomenon is highly context-driven. How technological and health factors simultaneously motivate the use of contact-tracing apps has not been well documented. The present study offers some implications for practitioners concerned about fostering the adoption of mobile health services in the time of COVID-19. Methodologically, this study is among the first to blend PLS-SEM and fsQCA to measure the explanatory power of a structural model.

The Effect of Advertising and Price Discounts on the Interest of Tourists to Stay at Hotel (Staycation) During the Covid-19 Pandemic with Health Risk Perception as Moderating Variable

This study aims to analyze and determine the significance of the effect of advertising and price discounts on interest in staying at hotels (staycation) during the Covid-19 pandemic, and to determine the role of health risk perception in moderating the relationship between advertising and price discounts on interest of tourist in staying at hotels in Lombok Island. The type of research used is causal research. The population in this study is the people of the island of Lombok aged between 20 to 60 years old and above. The number of sample taken was as many as 131 people. Purposive sampling technique was adapted to determine the sample, and data was analyzed using SEM-PLS (Structural Equation Model – Partial Least Square) analysis on the SmartPLS version 2.0 application. The results showed that advertising and price discounts had a significant effect on people's interest to stay at hotels in Lombok, however health risk perceptions did not moderate the effect of advertising and price discounts on interest in staying. Therefore, future researchers can conduct further research on the subject by considering various factors and also on different research areas.

ADHERENCE TO VACCINATION AND PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 RISK AMONG POPULAITON IN THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

Our research goal was to examine health risk perception and adherence to vaccination against COVID-19 among various social and demographic population groups in Belarus. To achieve this goal, a cross-sectional study was accomplished via using an online poll. The obtained results reveal that perception of health risks caused by COVID-19 is quite significant among people living in Belarus since only 9.9 % of the questioned do not consider COVID-19 a dangerous disease. Higher levels of risk perception have been detected among medical personnel, older age groups, and people with chronic pathologies. Most respondents believe vaccination is among the most efficient anti-COVID-19 measures; however, people are rather poorly aware about provided opportunities to get vaccinated. 33.6 % among respondents who are not vaccinated don’t plan to do it with; their basic reasons for this refusal are lack of trust, both in vaccines being safe and efficient and overall trust in preparations suggested for vaccination. Having analyzed answers given by respondents who were medical workers we revealed that a greater share of them were vaccinated but reasons for refusing from vaccination were the same. 20.1 % respondents from all groups and 21.2 % medical workers who took part in the questioning stated that they needed additional information about vaccination. When developing communication strategies aimed at raising awareness among population, we should bear in mind that lower perception of COVID-19-related health risks and refusal from vaccination are more widely spread among people younger than 40; people who don’t have higher education; people with minor children in their families. Prevalence of lower COVID-19-related health risk perception is also greater among men; people who don’t live in the capital; people with eld- erly relatives in their families. Internet resources, data provided by the WHO and Public Healthcare Ministry, and medical personnel are considered the most reliable sources of information by population in Belarus.

ADHERENCE TO VACCINATION AND PERCEPTION OF COVID-19 RISK AMONG POPULAITON IN THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

Our research goal was to examine health risk perception and adherence to vaccination against COVID-19 among various social and demographic population groups in Belarus. To achieve this goal, a cross-sectional study was accomplished via using an online poll. The obtained results reveal that perception of health risks caused by COVID-19 is quite significant among people living in Belarus since only 9.9 % of the questioned do not consider COVID-19 a dangerous disease. Higher levels of risk perception have been detected among medical personnel, older age groups, and people with chronic pathologies. Most respondents believe vaccination is among the most efficient anti-COVID-19 measures; however, people are rather poorly aware about provided opportunities to get vaccinated. 33.6 % among respondents who are not vaccinated don’t plan to do it with; their basic reasons for this refusal are lack of trust, both in vaccines being safe and efficient and overall trust in preparations suggested for vaccination. Having analyzed answers given by respondents who were medical workers we revealed that a greater share of them were vaccinated but reasons for refusing from vaccination were the same. 20.1 % respondents from all groups and 21.2 % medical workers who took part in the questioning stated that they needed additional information about vaccination. When developing communication strategies aimed at raising awareness among population, we should bear in mind that lower perception of COVID-19-related health risks and refusal from vaccination are more widely spread among people younger than 40; people who don’t have higher education; people with minor children in their families. Prevalence of lower COVID-19-related health risk perception is also greater among men; people who don’t live in the capital; people with eld- erly relatives in their families. Internet resources, data provided by the WHO and Public Healthcare Ministry, and medical personnel are considered the most reliable sources of information by population in Belarus.

إدراك الخطر الصحي وعلاقته بالشعور بالمسؤولية لدى الطلاب الوافدين بجامعة إفريقيا العالمية في ظل جائحة كورونا

This study aimed at revealing the relationship between health risk perception and sense of responsibility among international students at International University of Africa in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and determining the level of health risk perception and differences according to variables of gender, age, specialization, and continent. The study followed descriptive correlational method, and a sample of (n = 149) students were selected through purposive sampling. Two scales were designed and used to measure health risk perception and sense of responsibility. The study reached the following results: The level of health risk perception among the international students was high. There was a weak positive correlation between health risk perception and sense of responsibility among the international students. There was statistically significant difference with a medium effect size in level of health risk perception among the international students according to the gender variable. There was statistically significant difference with a small effect size in level of health risk perception according to the specialization variable. There were no statistically significant differences in level of health risk perception according to the variables of age and continent. The study concluded with a number of recommendations and some suggestion for future research.

Environmental Health Risk Perception: Adaptation of a Population-Based Questionnaire from Latin America

BACKGROUND: Environmental risk assessments and interventions to mitigate environmental risks are essential to protect public health. While the objective measurement of environmental hazards is important, it is also critical to address the subjective perception of health risks. A population’s perception of environmental health hazards is a powerful driving force for action and engagement in safety and health behaviors and can also inform the development of effective and more sustainable environmental health policies. To date, no instruments are available to assess risk perception of environmental health hazards in South America even though there are many concerning issues in the region, including mining. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to adapt and validate an environmental health risk perception questionnaire in a Chilean population affected by mining activity among other risks frequently reported in Latin American countries and included the collection of information on trust on public information sources. METHODS: We adapted an Australian risk perception questionnaire for validation in an adult population from a Chilean mining community. This adaptation included two blinded translations (direct, inverse), a pre-test study (n = 20) and a review by environmental health experts. Principal Component Analyses (PCA) was used to identify factors within major domains of interest. The Bartlett test of sphericity, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure and the Cronbach α test were used to assess the instrument’s validity and reliability. The instrument was pilot tested in 205 adults from a mining community in Chañaral. RESULTS: The final adapted questionnaire proved to be a good instrument to measure risk perception in a community chronically exposed to mining waste. For community risks, four factors explained 59.4% of the variance. “Global Issues” (30.2%) included air pollution, contamination of mining, ozone layer depletion and vector diseases. For personal risks, the first two components explained 59.5% of the variance, the main factor (36.7%) was “unhealthy behaviors within the household”. For trust in information, the first factor (36.2%) included as main sources “Media and authorities”. The Cronbach α ranged between 0.68 and 0.75; and the KMO test between 0.7 to 0.79 for community and personal risks and trust. CONCLUSIONS: The final questionnaire is a simple, reliable and useful instrument that can assist in evaluating environmental health risk perceptions in Latin American countries.

Investigating the Links Between Vaccination Against COVID-19 and Public Attitudes Toward Protective Countermeasures: Implications for Public Health

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is spreading globally at an unprecedented rate. To protect the world against this devastating catastrophe, vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 have been produced following consistent clinical trials. However, the durability of a protective immune response due to vaccination has not been confirmed. Moreover, COVID-19 vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 is not 100% guaranteed, as new variants arise due to mutations. Consequently, health officials are pleading with the public to take extra precautions against the virus and continue wearing masks, wash hands, and observe physical distancing even after vaccination. The current research collected data from 4,540 participants (1,825 vaccinated and 2,715 not vaccinated) in China to analyze this phenomenon empirically. The propensity score matching (PSM) model is employed to analyze the impact of vaccination against COVID-19 on participants' attitudes toward protective countermeasures. The findings showed that gender, age, education level, occupation risk, individual health risk perception, public health risk perception, social responsibility, peer effect, and government supervision are the main drivers for participants to be vaccinated with COVID-19's vaccines. The results further show that vaccination lessened participants' frequency of hand washing by 1.75 times and their compliance frequency intensity of observing physical distancing by 1.24 times. However, the rate of mask-wearing did not reduce significantly, implying that China's main countermeasure of effective mask-wearing effectively controls COVID-19. Moreover, the findings indicate that a reduction in the frequency of hand washing and observing physical distance could cause a resurgence of COVID-19. In conclusion, factors leading to the eradication of SARS-CoV-2 from the world are complex to be achieved, so the exploration of COVID-19 vaccination and people's attitude toward protective countermeasures may provide insights for policymakers to encourage vaccinated people to follow protective health measures and help in completely defeating the COVID-19 from the globe.

Risk Perception and Coping Behavior of Construction Workers on Occupational Health Risks—A Case Study of Nanjing, China

To reduce harm caused by occupational health risks of construction workers exposed to working environments, especially those for interior decoration, it is crucial for them to actively recognize and prevent these risks. Therefore, how to improve their occupational health risks perception and regulate their coping behaviors should be of great concern. However, most prior studies target construction worker safety, and little research focuses on risk analysis from the psychological level of workers. Hence, construction workers’ occupational health risk perception level and coping behavior level in Nanjing and the influencing factors were analyzed through statistical analysis with 341 valid questionnaires. Bootstrapping was applied to test the mediating effects of risk perception on the proposed factors and coping behaviors. This study revealed that construction workers have a high-level of occupational health risk perception, yet low-level coping behavior. Gender, age, education level, and unit qualification cause differences in individual risk perception level. Personal knowledge and group effects significantly affect the level of risk perception, which subsequently affect coping behavior. Education level, monthly income, and personal knowledge influence the coping behavior through risk perception. Recommendations were put forward for risk perception and coping behavior improvement from the perspectives of construction workers themselves, enterprises, and governments. This study sheds new light for research areas of occupational health and risk management and provides beneficial practice for improving construction workers’ responses to occupational health risks.