Government Health Authorities Research Articles

Assessment of fear factors and practice related modifications in response to COVID-19 pandemic outbreak among dental practitioners in Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala

Dentists are more vulnerable to the SARS-CoV-2 virus infection as they work close to the patient and viral transmission by saliva has proven to be the commonest source of disease transmission. In this scenario, it is natural for dental practitioners to be afraid of getting infected with COVID-19. As a strategy to continue dental practice in the pandemic, it is also pertinent to assess the dentist’s knowledge of practice modifications in the dental setting. A cross-sectional study was conducted among dental practitioners registered with the Indian Dental Association local branch to assess the fear, anxiety, and knowledge regarding practice modifications. Data collection was done through google forms and commenced after obtaining informed consent from the study participants. Eight factors each corresponding to fear and knowledge on practice modifications pretested and validated were administered to the dental practitioners. Anxiety was assessed using the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS).: Nearly 46 percent of dental practitioners presented with moderate fear. Fear related to transmitting the infection to family (84.4%), treating patients with symptoms (76.6%), and getting infected from patients or co-workers (53.1%) were the common fear factors reported by the dental practitioners. Increased fear was significantly associated with females, specialist dentists, and those working in the government sector. CAS score >9 was reported only by 1.3% of dental practitioners, indicative of probable dysfunctional corona-related anxiety. Good knowledge of practice-related modifications in COVID times was reported by 47.4% of dental practitioners. The study highlighted a considerable amount of fear among dental practitioners. Psychological support mechanisms to facilitate the mental health of dental practitioners such as regular counseling sessions till the wane of the pandemic, followed by a few years post-pandemic, and implementing periodic mental health screening need to be implemented by the Government and concerned health authorities.

Mainstreaming NUDGES in public health behavioural sciences in Saudi Arabia – seven steps to success

Introduction: Nudging by government health and welfare authorities has increased in popularity given the potential to add-value to the current arsenal of behavioural research tools and approaches. A needs assessment was conducted for the Health NUDGE Team, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with the intention of mainstreaming and institutionalizing NUDGES within the behavioural sciences in the Gulf State and the region. Needs assessment aims included identifying global progress, impact and lessons learned for continuous improvement. Method: A rapid evidence literature review was implemented, and standardised discussion agenda developed for consultations with sixteen stakeholders from leading global NUDGE Units from 9 country programs. Data was analysed with NVivo 2020 qualitative software. Results: The Benchmarking and SWOT analysis identified a number of challenges and opportunities for NUDGE Units in their infancy to consider. “Seven Steps to Success” are proposed. Discussion: Important considerations are provided for fine-tuning NUDGE organisational, functional and technical capacities, leveraging of activities, and advocacy and promotion of best-practice approaches. The steps can assist in optimising NUDGE performance as the strategy evolves in Saudi Arabia and the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Benchmarking with other providers plays an important part in continuous improvement as well as flexibility to adapt behavioural science processes and approaches to better reflect the needs of country and regional stakeholders.

Designing a Scalable Nutrition Education Package to Improve Diets of Adolescent Girls Through Primary Schools in Ethiopia

ObjectivesImproving adolescent girls’ nutrition is a high priority for the government of Ethiopia due to its immediate benefits for girls’ education and foundational role in protecting the productive and reproductive lives of women. Alive and Thrive (A&T) aimed to develop and implement an effective nutrition education package for scaling up by government education and health authorities. MethodsWe applied the socio-ecological model of social behavior change to systematically develop and test contextualized nutrition interventions in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ (agrarian) and Somali (pastoralist) regions. Using multiple sources of data and information we identified gaps in dietary practices, barriers, motivations; influential persons; and channels of communication for reaching adolescent girls in primary schools and influential persons, at high coverage and with frequent contacts. Region specific interventions, protocols, tools, and materials were field tested and tailored to fit the contact points and capacity of schools. ResultsThree dietary practices were selected based on evidence of gaps and potential benefits, 1) dietary diversity through promotion of locally available foods and food groups missing from adolescent girls’ diets by region, 2) frequency of meals and 3) reducing the consumption of unhealthy foods. Teachers, parents and peers were found to have the greatest influence on adolescent girls’ dietary practices. Community leaders (including religious leaders in Somali) and health extension workers were influential among parents, and school principals and supervisors were important for motivating teachers. ConclusionsSystematically targeting priority behaviors, engaging key influential persons, achieving high coverage and frequency through existing multiple contact points, and utilizing communication channels available through in-classroom and other activities were critical for developing a feasible and scalable package of school-based nutrition education interventions. Using data to design interventions and streamline implementation strategies facilitated the scale up of an effective intervention package for schools. Funding SourcesBill & Melinda Gates Foundation, through A&T, managed by FHI Solutions.

A Mapping Review on the Uptake of the COVID-19 Vaccine among Adults in Africa Using the 5A's Vaccine Taxonomy.

ABSTRACT.Uptake of a vaccine is complete if individuals are aware of the associated risks of the vaccine, accept the vaccine, and respond positively to the nudges (activation) to increase the uptake, and respond when the vaccine is made accessible and affordable. We mapped systematically the existing literature concerning the 5As—acceptability, accessibility, affordability, awareness, and activation—of COVID-19 vaccination among adults and, specifically, older adults (55 years and older) in Africa. We searched multiple databases from 2020 to December 2021. Using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, two reviewers screened citations, conducted title and abstract screening, and extracted data independently. We included 68 articles conducted in 33 African countries, primarily cross-sectional studies (n = 49, 72%). None of the articles focused on older adults only, but 22 articles (32%) included at least one older adult (55 years and older) in their sample size. Acceptance (n = 58, 85%) was the most commonly researched aspect of vaccine uptake, followed by accessibility (n = 17, 25%), awareness (n = 13, 19%), and affordability (n = 5, 7.0%). We found only one report on activation. Factors affecting acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in Africa were grouped into sociodemographic factors; knowledge-, attitude-, and belief-related factors; a COVID-19 vaccine efficacy and safety concern factor; and trust in government and public health authorities. The governments of African nations should focus on strategies to influence the modifiable factors identified in this review. More studies are needed to evaluate the impact of nudges (activation) to improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake in African nations.

Perceived Effectiveness of Government Preventive Measures as Predictor of Attitude and Acceptance toward COVID-19 Vaccines

A positive attitude toward the COVID-19 vaccine and increased vaccination uptake made the institutions behind these efforts realize their goal of creating an immune community. This research would provide crucial information on how the government can establish a desirable attitude of people toward COVID-19 vaccines through their responses to the adversities of the pandemic. This study assessed government preventive influence measures 'perceived effectiveness on the citizens' attitudes and acceptance toward the COVID-19 vaccines. The researchers used descriptive-correlational quantitative design and simple regression analysis as research methods. The study was conducted in the City of Panabo, with 384 samples chosen randomly and surveyed through an adapted instrument. The findings of this study revealed that both the levels of perceived effectiveness of government preventive measures and attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine were high, while acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine was only average. The perceived effectiveness of government preventive measures and attitudes and acceptance toward the COVID-19 vaccine have a positive, high and significant relationship. It further revealed a significant influence manifested between the variables of the study. The effectiveness of government preventive measures is an essential factor in influencing citizens' attitudes and acceptance toward the COVID-19 vaccines. When the government implements preventive measures more influential, the higher the confidence in manifesting a positive attitude and good acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccines. Government and local health authorities will be served with assistance in promoting vaccination in the country and strengthening the preventive protocols implemented to control the rapid spread of the COVID-19 disease.

Assessing public knowledge, attitudes and determinants of third COVID-19 vaccine booster dose acceptance: current scenario and future perspectives

BackgroundPeople with weakened immune systems may not develop adequate protection after taking two doses of the mRNA-combined COVID-19 vaccine. The additional dose may improve the level of protection against Covid-19.ObjectivesCurrent study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and determents of third COVID-19 vaccine booster dose acceptance among population in the UAE.Methods and materialsThis is online descriptive cross-sectional community-based study conducted among the students and faculty of Ajman University from 25 August to 20 October 2021. The questionnaire, which was in the English language, encompassed two sections containing 22 items. Section one gathered the demographic details of the respondents, while Section two used 13 questions to evaluate the respondents’ knowledge of and attitude to the third COVID-19 vaccine booster dose.Results614 respondents participated in this study. The average knowledge score was 44.6% with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of [41%, 49%]. Better knowledge scores were observed in postgraduates (OR 4.29; 95% CI 2.28–8.11), employees in the healthcare sector (OR 1.62; 95% CI 1.05–2.51), participants who had relatives infected with the Covid-19 (OR 1.46; 95% CI 1.05–2.02), participants who had infected with Covid-19 (OR 2.21; 95% CI 1.43–3.43) and participants who had received first two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine (OR 2.08; 95% CI 1.40–3.11). The average attitude score was 70.2% with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of [69.2%, 71.2%].ConclusionNecessary steps should be taken by the government and public health authorities, in line with the local culture, to increase vaccination acceptance and foster positive attitudes towards the vaccine. A suitable approach to this would be to develop an educational framework that could demonstrate the risks of vaccine avoidance or delay to the general population. Moreover, health authorities should pay more attention to the false information being disseminated across the internet, especially social media. Also, healthcare workers should be trained in vaccinology and virology to make sure that they are able to understand important developments in these fields and convey the findings to their patients.

Azithromycin Misuse During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study from Jordan.

ObjectiveSince coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) became a global pandemic, repurposing known drugs was the quickest way to combat the disease. The initial screening revealed that azithromycin (AZM) might have potential against COVID-19. Although clinical trials did not prove such efficacy, many countries have put AZM within their guidelines for treating COVID-19. Therefore, the present study was designed to assess the misuse of AZM in Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods and ResultsA cross-sectional study was conducted among community pharmacies in Jordan from March 27 to May 8, 2021, and 184 pharmacies data were collected from the Google forms. During COVID-19, 42.9% of pharmacies sold more than 20 packs of prescribed AZM per month compared to 46.7% of pharmacies used to sell 0–5 packs AZM prescriptions per month before the pandemic. During COVID-19, pharmacists significantly dispensed AZM with and without prescriptions 107% and 127%, respectively, more than before the pandemic (p < 0.0001). Overall, pharmacists stocked 121% more AZM packs during COVID-19 than before the pandemic (p < 0.0001). Additionally, most pharmacists (59.7%) believed that AZM could cure COVID-19 patients. However, using multinomial logistic regression analysis, low-experienced pharmacists were unsure if AZM could positively affect COVID-19 patients (p < 0.05, OR = 3.76, 95% CI = 1.23–11.52). Furthermore, low-experienced pharmacists believed that increased use of AZM for the treatment of viral infections could lead to negative consequences (p < 0.001, OR = 0.161, 95% CI 0.063–0.414).ConclusionThis study demonstrated that AZM is misused by physicians, pharmacists, and the public in Jordan. Since AZM efficacy on SARS-CoV-2 is scarce, there is a need for new guidelines by governmental health authorities to implement strict enforcement of AZM dispensing during COVID-19 to avoid negative consequences of bacterial resistance.

E-Health as a result of AI, a “Pandora’s Box” for privacy?

In a growing, worldwide increase of aging population and a fundamental lack of suitable medical personal Ehealth can be a considerable help to support the flaws in care and medical support. Ehealth is the next step in medical industry and medical communication on every level, from lifestyle advice to surgery and communication of medical data between professionals as well as between patients or governmental health authorities. In this respect it will be necessary to look into the ethical and legal acceptability of AI in the health discipline, considering the requirements of privacy, ethics and the protection of sensitive data as regulated in the GDPR.

Public Perception and Preparedness to Fight Against the Third Wave of COVID-19 in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The avalanche of Corona Virus 2019 (COVID-19) cases has placed an unprecedented load on Afghanistan’s government and public health authorities, putting the country in jeopardy. The primary goal of this research was to shed light on the country’s capital, Kabul, and to examine the existing preparedness and perceptions of its population in the midst of COVID-19’s third wave, which could result in decentralization and fragmentation of the already overburdened health-care system. An online, cross-sectional survey was conducted by the lecturers of the Kabul University of Medical Sciences between April 15, 2021 and April 25, 2021, to evaluate the preparedness of the Kabul citizens amidst the third wave of COVID-19. About 1736 citizens from Kabul participated in the survey. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. All categorical variables were reported using frequencies and percentages. The findings revealed that the most common source of COVID-19-related information was social media (74.8%). In addition, 34.4% of subjects had previously been infected with COVID-19. It was reassuring to see that 78.4% of residents said they knew more about COVID-19 than they did about prior COVID-19 waves. A majority (81.5%) expressed willingness to resist the third wave, but 89.4% said that the country’s government would be unable to develop an effective COVID-19 vaccine within the next 6 months. The findings of this present study indicates that citizens of Kabul are active in obtaining accurate information and disseminating it in the community. The citizens also reported sufficient COVID-19 related knowledge; however, they were more motivated to fight against the third wave of COVID-19. In regards to vaccination, they believed that the government could not vaccinate the public anytime soon. Hence, the enactment of non-pharmaceutical measures is important in the fight against the pandemic.

Knowledge, perception, and acceptance of vasectomy among male teachers in secondary schools in chikun local government area of Kaduna State, Nigeria

Background: Family planning programs have historically been focused on women. This has reinforced the misconception that family planning is largely a woman's responsibility, with the man playing a peripheral role. Vasectomies are a safe, effective, permanent, and cost-effective modern method of contraception which has poor global uptake in spite of its many benefits. Aim: This study aims to assess the knowledge, perception, and acceptance of vasectomy among male teachers in secondary schools in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out using a pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire. A total of 178 male teachers were selected using a multistage random sampling technique. Data were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 23, and the results were presented using tables. Chi-square test of proportion was used to test for association. Fisher's exact test was used where conditions for Chi-square test were not met. The level of statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 37 ± 7.4 years. Only a small proportion of teachers (6.7%) had good knowledge on vasectomy. Only 5.6% of the teachers had a positive perception about vasectomy, and majority (92.1%) were unwilling to accept to carry out the procedure. The age of the teachers and number of children they had were found to have a statistically significant association with their acceptance of vasectomy (P = 0.004 and P < 0.0001, respectively). Conclusion: Majority of the respondents had poor knowledge and negative perception toward vasectomy with a lot of misconceptions. Acceptance of vasectomy was also poor. Intermittent awareness campaigns on family planning methods should be carried out in the community by the local government health authority, and vasectomy should be discussed in detail to improve awareness and dispel misconceptions.

Homeopathy in Brazil: inquiry into its academic production

Background: according to the WHO, there is an increasing demand for traditional medicines (TM) that must be answered by governmental health authorities. Although homeopathy is the modality of TM best institutionalized in Brazil, it still faces some obstacles among which the controversial results of meta-analyses of homeopathic clinical trials. Aims: to map out the state of clinical research in homeopathy in the Brazilian university milieu as reflected in doctoral and master dissertations. Methods: specialized databases were searched seeking for doctoral and master dissertations related to homeopathy produced in Brazil between 1985 and 2006. Dissertations were analyzed according to institution; year; research area; type of production; regional distribution and research subject. Dissertations dealing with evaluation of the efficacy/effectiveness of homeopathic treatment were further evaluated as to their aims, methods and results. Results: in the 20 years between 1985 and 2006, 161 dissertations were defended related to homeopathy. Most academic productions dated from the 2000s, particularly 2005-6; 77% were related to master degrees; there was a dramatic concentration (92%) in the Southern and South-Eastern regions of Brazil; they covered 10 different areas, the maximum being physical-biological research (20.4%) and the minimum, clinical research (3.7%); from 6 dissertations dealing with the evaluation of the efficacy/effectiveness of homeopathic treatment, 3 employed qualitative methods; 1 employed quantitative methods but was in the stage of project; 1 was a standard RCT which evinced positive results of homeopathic treatment in gastroesophageal reflux not related to hiatal hernia; the sixth study was a meta-analysis of the methodological quality of 132 RCTs of homeopathy in infectious disease. Conclusions: The number of projects related to the efficacy/effectiveness of homeopathic treatment is insignificant and their methods are chiefly qualitative. This suggests that researchers might believe that standard quantitative studies are improper or insufficient to assess the efficacy/effectiveness of homeopathic treatment or to grasp its dimension of integrality.

INCIDENCE AND LETHALITY OF COVID-19 CLUSTERS IN BRAZIL VIA CIRCULAR SCAN METHOD

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread rapidly around the world in a frightening way. In Brazil, the third country with the highest number of infected and deaths from the disease, it is important for government health authorities to identify the federation units that stand out in cases and deaths from this disease to target resources. The circular scan statistic proposed by Martin Kulldorff allows to identify with some statistical significance the units of the federation that stand out in relation to the number of cases and deaths of COVID-19 in Brazil. Such units of federation are known as clusters. Once these clusters were identified, we used the coefficients of incidence and lethality to better describe the behavior of these clusters during three phases of the pandemic: the initial phase, the peak phase, and also the stability and fall phase. We observed changes in the location of the clusters identified in these three phases and used the R software and also the SaTScan software to obtain the maps and results, which were consistent with what was reported by the Brazilian media.

The management of infants, children, and youth at risk for hepatitis C virus infection.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects 0.5% to 1.0% of the Canadian population. Most paediatric HCV infections are a consequence of vertical transmission or, among youth and young adults, the result of engaging in high-risk behaviours, such as injection drug use and unprotected sexual activity. It is now recommended that all infants, children, and youth with one or more risk factors be screened for HCV infection. Treating chronic HCV infection with direct-acting antivirals has been shown to achieve sustained virologic suppression in 97% to 100% of children as young as 3 years old. Paediatricians and family physicians have an important role in educating youth regarding HCV infection risks and prevention, and in advocating to government and public health authorities for comprehensive harm reduction interventions targeting at-risk youth, accessible treatments, and routine prenatal screening for HCV.

Quality Analysis of YouTube Videos Presenting Pelvic Floor Exercises after Prostatectomy Surgery

Background: Prostate cancer (PC) is a major cause of disease and mortality among men. Surgical treatment involving the removal of the prostate may result in temporary or permanent erectile dysfunction (ED) and urinary incontinence (UI), with considerable impact on quality of life. Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is one of the recommended techniques for the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of postoperative complications. The aim of this observational study was to assess the quality of YouTube videos—accessible to any patient—related to exercises after prostatectomy surgery. Methods: A systematic search was performed on YouTube on 24 September 2020. One hundred and fifty videos were selected and analyzed. Two statistical analyses were conducted based on machine-learning techniques, and videos were classified as ‘Relevant’ or ‘Non-Relevant’ using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) models. Two reviewers conducted independent analyses. Inter-observer agreement and individual correlations of video data were evaluated with the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Information quality, reliability, and accuracy were measured using the DISCERN Scale and Global Quality Score (GQS), while video popularity was evaluated using the Video Power Index (VPI). Results: DISCERN scored a mean of 3.35 and GQS scored 3.38. Average number of views was 124,354, mean duration was 14:42 min, mean days online was 1777, mean view ratio was 138.30, mean Likes was 1082, mean Dislikes was 68.58, and mean VPI was 92.28. Conclusions: The quality of the videos available on YouTube regarding the recommended pelvic floor exercises in PC surgery, according to the scores obtained, is High. Educational and health institutions, health professionals, government health authorities, and policy makers need to be involved in the proper development of policies to improve the information available on the web in order to have a positive impact on the healthy behavior of the population.

Understanding perception and acceptance of Sinopharm vaccine and vaccination against COVID\u201319 in the UAE

BackgroundIn the current COVID-19 pandemic, the world has reached an important milestone where vaccinations are discovered and are proven to be effective against SARS-COV-2 infections. Though vaccines against COVID-19 are now available, around the globe there is some hesitancy in getting the vaccine. This hesitancy to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is a complex phenomenon with various factors playing a role. This study aims at understanding the perception and expectations of the people about COVID-19 vaccine and the factors influencing the vaccine acceptance. This information is crucial to challenge vaccine hesitancy and to win the combat against the COVID-19 Pandemic through voluntary vaccine efforts.MethodsA cross-sectional survey among the residents of the UAE to understand the expectations and perception on vaccination against COVID-19. The survey was conducted online, and the survey design included participant samples to be representative of UAE’s demographics. The results of the survey were analysed with various demographical variables of interest.ResultsThe survey showed that people were more likely to get vaccinated when vaccines are (i) endorsed by trusted government health authorities, (ii) recommended by physicians and family doctors, and (iii) the merits are effectively communicated through government websites and trusted news channels. Availability of vaccines at multiple sites and providing vaccines free of charges are likely to improve the rate of vaccination. The perceptions, expectations and the motivational factors needed for people to get vaccinated differed with age, gender, marital status, income level, and employment status.ConclusionTo attain herd immunity against COVID-19, a large proportion of the population needs to be vaccinated and to achieve this the vaccination campaigns should target on specific expectations and motivational factors pertaining to each target group to successfully overcome the challenge of vaccine hesitancy.

Managing COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis: The Case of Greece

This qualitative study analyzes the Greek government’s crisis management practice and public communication efforts during two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Integrating both crisis management theories and the World Health Organization’s pandemic control plans, discourse analysis and case study approaches were taken to analyze how Greek’s key government and public health authorities communicated with the public using different frames and crisis response strategies. Evaluations were conducted to assess the Greek government’s crisis communication procedures and the effectiveness of different rhetorical strategies used as evidenced in public briefings and public speeches.

The effect of COVID19 pandemic restrictions on an urban rodent population

Shortly after the enactment of restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19, various local government and public health authorities around the world reported an increased sighting of rats. Such reports have yet to be empirically validated. Here we combined data from multi-catch rodent stations (providing data on rodent captures), rodent bait stations (providing data on rodent activity) and residents’ complaints to explore the effects of a six week lockdown period on rodent populations within the City of Sydney, Australia. The sampling interval encompassed October 2019 to July 2020 with lockdown defined as the interval from April 1st to May 15th, 2020. Rodent captures and activity (visits to bait stations) were stable prior to lockdown. Captures showed a rapid increase and then decline during the lockdown, while rodent visits to bait stations declined throughout this period. There were no changes in the frequency of complaints during lockdown relative to before and after lockdown. There was a non-directional change in the geographical distribution of indices of rodent abundance suggesting that rodents redistributed in response to resource scarcity. We hypothesize that lockdown measures initially resulted in increased rodent captures due to sudden shortage of human-derived food resources. Rodent visits to bait stations might not show this pattern due to the nature of the binary data collected, namely the presence or absence of a visit. Relocation of bait stations driven by pest management goals may also have affected the detection of any directional spatial effect. We conclude that the onset of COVID-19 may have disrupted commensal rodent populations, with possible implications for the future management of these ubiquitous urban indicator species.

A knowledge-based self-pre-diagnosis system to predict Covid-19 in smartphone users using personal data and observed symptoms.

Covid‐19 is an acute respiratory infection and presents various clinical features ranging from no symptoms to severe pneumonia and death. Medical expert systems, especially in diagnosis and monitoring stages, can give positive consequences in the struggle against Covid‐19. In this study, a rule‐based expert system is designed as a predictive tool in self‐pre‐diagnosis of Covid‐19. The potential users are smartphone users, healthcare experts and government health authorities. The system does not only share the data gathered from the users with experts, but also analyzes the symptom data as a diagnostic assistant to predict possible Covid‐19 risk. To do this, a user needs to fill out a patient examination card that conducts an online Covid‐19 diagnostic test, to receive an unconfirmed online test prediction result and a set of precautionary and supportive action suggestions. The system was tested for 169 positive cases. The results produced by the system were compared with the real PCR test results for the same cases. For patients with certain symptomatic findings, there was no significant difference found between the results of the system and the confirmed test results with PCR test. Furthermore, a set of suitable suggestions produced by the system were compared with the written suggestions of a collaborated health expert. The suggestions deduced and the written suggestions of the health expert were similar and the system suggestions in line with suggestions of the expert. The system can be suitable for diagnosing and monitoring of positive cases in the areas other than clinics and hospitals during the Covid‐19 pandemic. The results of the case studies are promising, and it demonstrates the applicability, effectiveness, and efficiency of the proposed approach in all communities.

Public health awareness: knowledge, attitude and behaviors of the public on health risks during COVID-19 pandemic in sultanate of Oman

PurposeThis study aims to measure the level of public awareness about the threat of the emerging coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic among the Omani population. It also aims to investigate the mediating effect of the Omanis’ attitudes and behaviors with underlying conditions of COVID-19.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data via an online survey of Omani citizens and residents from various geographic areas in Oman, 305 responses were received. SPSS and partial least square-structural equation modeling were used for data analysis.FindingsThe study revealed that public awareness regarding the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly influenced by people’s perceived risk, information source and health-related knowledge. Further, preventive behavior during the disease spread has a significant direct and indirect impact on their awareness. However, an insignificant mediation effect of public attitude was found between the source of information and public awareness.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited by the scarcity of related literature in the Omani context. It is recommended that future research complete an in-depth study of public awareness regarding COVID-19, using other constructs and/or other data collection techniques.Practical implicationsThis research will provide governmental health authorities and policymakers with a guideline to establish more efficient pandemic containment strategies to control public behavior toward the COVID-19 pandemic and curb viral prevalence.Social implicationsThis research will help in improving prevention measures against COVID-19 are recommended to be more educated through a more effective mechanism to raise public attitude regarding pandemic prevalence positively.Originality/valueThe originality of this research can be drawn from key findings that indicate that people overall gained knowledge about how to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and the accuracy of information significantly impacts public awareness.

Fight against covid-19 and setting new research tasks

The SARS-CoV-19 (COVID-19) coronavirus pandemic poses a threat to all of humanity, and this threat is currently growing as new and more aggressive strains of it emerge. Therefore, the fight against it is an important and urgent task. The traditional ways of solving it by vaccination, disinfection and quartzing have problems and significant drawbacks, which are limited by the time and conditions of action, and most importantly, they require large expenditures of intellectual, labor and technical-economic resources. At the same time, vaccination is still acting in catch-up with new strains, which leads to local periods of lack of immune protection, in which the only method of protection is used - this is the introduction of restrictions. The main goal of the work performed is to find other effective ways to combat COVID-19. The initial research methods are biophysical. Scientific novelty and the results of the work. The analysis showed that destruction of viruses this can be achieved by the by inducing resonant frequencies created by an external electromagnetic field. On this basis, the first task was formulated - the search for the range of such resonant frequencies, as well as the second task - the search for the range of frequencies that activate the virus in order to exclude the appearance of such range in the developments of systems and devices surrounding people. These tasks are presented for wide discussion by the scientific community, government and non-government health authorities of all world countries in this work. It’s of would create the basis for their quick solution.