Psychosocial impacts, preventive behaviours, and concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic for pregnant and non-pregnant women: A matched analysis from the International iCARE Study.

BACKGROUND:  The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected physical and psychological health worldwide. Pregnant women were likely more vulnerable to mental health difficulties due to the significant social, psychological, and hormonal changes they experience. During the pandemic, higher rates of antenatal depression and anxiety were observed compared to pre-pandemic rates. Increased mental health symptoms in pregnancy have been associated with adverse outcomes for child development. Understanding pandemic-specific preventive behaviours (i.e., mask use, physical distancing) and concerns may also be linked to maternal psychological well-being. PURPOSE: To compare matched pregnant and non-pregnant women (N = 474) to assess COVID-19 psychosocial impacts, preventive behaviours, and concerns. METHODS: This study used a matched analysis of data collected by the International COVID-19 Awareness and Responses Evaluation (iCARE) Study. Participants were matched on several demographic factors and analyses were adjusted for chronic illness and psychiatric disorder. RESULTS: Linear regression analyses indicated that pregnant women did not significantly differ from matched non-pregnant women for psychosocial impacts (B = 0.11, SE = 0.08, p = 0.178). Those who reported a chronic illness (B=-0.19, SE = 0.09, p = 0.036) or a psychiatric disorder (B=-0.28, SE = 0.09, p = 0.003) were more likely to report more significant psychosocial impacts. Logistic regression analyses indicated that pregnant women were more likely to report staying at home rather than going to work (OR = 2.01, 95% CI 1.31-3.08, p = 0.002) and being concerned about being infected (OR = 1.61, 95% CI 1.05-2.46, p = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the need to consider interventions targeting women, with chronic illnesses or psychiatric disorders, as they are often the most vulnerable.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Towards COVID-19 Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women in Rural Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward COVID-19 among pregnant and postpartum women in rural Bangladesh, and to assess any association with antenatal care attendance (ANC). METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Northern Bangladesh's Sherpur district with a sample of pregnant and post-partum women enrolled in 'Poriborton', a community-based cluster Randomised Controlled Trial. Knowledge, attitude, and practices toward COVID-19, and any association with antenatal care practices were assessed through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. Composite measures for knowledge, attitude, and practices of COVID-19 were generated. Specific knowledge on COVID-19 and the association of antenatal care were presented as descriptive statistics. An adjusted odds ratio was used to examine the association between categorical variables. RESULTS: Out of 4835 women, 34.0% correctly identified five or more COVID-19 symptoms, 31.8% knew three or more modes of coronavirus transmission, and 57.0% knew five or more preventive measures. Most (90.1%) had a "more positive attitude to testing" and 65.1% reported adequate practice of preventive measures. Women with adequate knowledge of COVID-19 were more likely to report both a positive attitude to testing (OR:2.96; 95% CI: 1.38-6.37) and adopt adequate practices of preventive measures (OR: 4.30;95% CI: 2.90-6.36). Education and being employed influenced KAP related to COVID-19. Only 14.9% were satisfied with their knowledge of COVID-19. Television was the main source of COVID-19-related specific information. CONCLUSIONS: We found that improved knowledge was associated with positive attitudes and behaviours that lead to the adoption of preventive measures. There was no association with ANC practices as attendance was very low in this region. The findings could be utilised to develop communication strategies for future public health emergencies in similar settings.

Fostering Stay at Work After a Period of Disability: A Scoping Review of Occupational Rehabilitation Strategies to Support Workers in the Adoption of Preventive Behaviours.

PURPOSE: Based on the theoretical framework of the Model of Preventive Behaviours at Work, the aim of this study was to describe the the occupational rehabilitation strategies the literature reports that support workers who have suffered an occupational injury in adopting preventive behaviours. METHODS: To conduct this scoping review, we used a systematic methodology in 7 steps : (1) definition of the research question and inclusion/exclusion criteria; (2) scientific and gray literature search; (3) determination of manuscripts' eligibility; (4) extraction and charting of information; (5) quality assessment; (6) interpretation; and (7) knowledge synthesis. RESULTS: We selected 46 manuscripts of various types (e.g. randomized trials, qualitative studies, governmental documents). Manuscripts were mainly of good or high quality according to our quality assessment. The strategies for coaching, engaging, educating and collaborating were mostly reported in the literature to support the development of the six preventive behaviours during occupational rehabilitation. The results also suggest that heterogeneity exists regarding the specificity of the strategies reported in the literature, which may have hindered our ability to provide rich and detailed descriptions. Literature also mainly describes individually oriented behaviours and reports strategies requiring a low level of worker involvement, which represent issues to adress in future researh projects. CONCLUSION: The strategies described in this article reprensent concrete levers that occupational rehabilitation professionals can use to support workers in the adoption of preventive behaviours at work on return from having suffered an occupational injury.

Online information acquisition affects food risk prevention behaviours: the roles of topic concern, information credibility and risk perception.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has not only brought great challenges to the global health system but also bred numerous rumours about food safety. Food safety issues have once again attracted public attention. METHODS: The data were drawn from the fifth wave of the first Taiwan Communication Survey database. The respondents were selected via multistage stratified random sampling. The sampling units were townships/districts, villages/neighbourhoods and households. The sample consisted of 2098 respondents. This study first used propensity value matching to analyse the direct impact of online food safety information acquisition on preventive behaviours and examined the heterogeneous impact caused by the difference in the degree of topic attention through value matching. Hayes' PROCESS macro model 6 was applied to confirm the mediating effect and the serial mediating effect. RESULTS: The research results show that an increase in the frequency of the acquisition of online food safety information significantly increases individuals' food risk prevention behaviour. However, only users with high concern about the issue are affected. The food risk prevention behaviour of users with low concern about this issue is not affected by the acquisition of online food safety information. Further analysis shows that risk perception and information credibility both play mediating roles in the impact of online food safety information acquisition on food risk prevention behaviour. Moreover, the transmission and united effects of information credibility and risk perception play a distal mediating role. CONCLUSIONS: Food risk prevention behaviours are an important topic for personal health as well as government management. Our study's findings can provide empirical evidence for risk managers and decision-makers to reevaluate the role of the internet in food risk management.

The moderating influence of celebrity endorsement on intention to engage in infection prevention behaviours.

Although the use of celebrities for communication within social marketing to influence voluntary behaviour change has received significant attention, its application to promote infection preventive behaviours, such as frequent handwashing with soap, has received limited attention. Using the health belief model (HBM), the study examined the moderating effect of celebrity endorsement (CE) on the relationship between the predictors of HBM such as perceived severity, susceptibility, benefits, barriers, self-efficacy and target audiences' intention to avoid handshaking, frequently wash hands with soap and cover mouth with an elbow when coughing. Data from 562 respondents were analysed using PLS-SEM. The result shows that CE significantly moderate the relationship between target audiences' perception of severity, susceptibility, self-efficacy and cues to action and intention to perform the recommended infection preventive behaviours. Thus, when a celebrity is employed as a conduit for delivering a social marketing message, particularly about infection preventive behaviour, target audiences are more likely to take action to perform the recommended behaviour. Theoretically, the study shows that although the HBM has been extensively applied to explain health-related behaviours, using celebrities to endorse the various constructs of the HBM significantly enhances the predictive ability of the model.

Hospital workforce mental reaction to the pandemic in a low COVID-19 burden setting: a cross-sectional clinical study.

Τhe COVID-19 pandemic has mental health implications for both healthcare workforces and general population, particularly in regions heavily hit by the crisis. Τhe study aimed (i) to investigate anxiety- and depression severity differences between staff of a COVID-19 treatment unit (N = 84) and a hospital without such a unit (N = 55) in comparison to participants of a convenience general population online survey (N = 240) and (ii) to explore relations between such symptoms and hospital staff reaction to COVID-19 in a low COVID-19 burden setting. Anxiety was studied with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item in hospital workforces and with the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) in online survey participants. Depression symptoms were assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 in hospital employees and the HADS in the online survey sample. Symptoms were classified as absent/minimal, borderline abnormal or indicating clinical caseness. Staff reaction to COVID-19 was tapped with a 9-item-questionnaire and the 22-item Impact of Event Scale-revised (IES-R). Proper tests for differences and stepwise ordered logistic regression models were employed. Anxiety- and depression severity was higher in hospital workforces than in online survey participants (P < 0.05). Anxiety was more severe in frontline- compared to backstage employees (P < 0.001) was inversely correlated with age (P = 0.011) and positively with avoidance (P = 0.028). Both anxiety and depression symptoms related to intrusion symptoms (P < 0.001). Regarding the relatively long data collection period, an inverse association between crisis duration and depression symptoms was detected (P = 0.025). These observations point to the urgent need for distress-mitigating interventions for hospital workforces even in low COVID-19 burden settings.

Compliance with COVID-19-preventive behaviours among employees returning to work in the post-epidemic period.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of behaviours such as social distancing in controlling pandemics. Currently, the epidemic is under control in China and production has resumed in various industries. This study investigates the behavioural compliance and related factors for COVID-19 prevention among employees returning to the workplace and provide strategic recommendations for improving individual-level preventive behaviour to prevent a new outbreak. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was used. Data were gathered from returning employees in China using an online questionnaire survey, from March to May, 2020. The questionnaire covered participants' COVID-19-related knowledge, compliance with recommended preventive behaviours, and levels of depression and anxiety. Univariate and multi-factor methods were used to analyse the data and identify factors influencing behaviour compliance. RESULTS: Of the 1300 participants completing the full survey, more than half were male (71.92%) and 61% were aged between 31 and 50 years. Six hundred and ninety-eight (53.7%) participants showed high compliance, while 602 (46.3%) showed low compliance. In models adjusted for demographic and socio-economic factors, high education level (odds ratio [OR] = 0.23, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.07-0.70), office staff (OR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.33-0.78), higher knowledge of COVID-19 (OR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.67-0.81), and quarantining (OR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.57-0.96) predicted better compliance with preventive behaviours (P <  0.05), while high anxiety levels (OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.10-2.18) predicted lower compliance with preventive behaviours (P <  0.05). CONCLUSION: For employees returning to work during the post-COVID-19-epidemic period, compliance with recommended preventive behaviours requires improvement. Consequently, comprehensive intervention measures, including the provision of health education and psychological counselling, as well as the continuance of a strict isolation policy, could enhance such compliance.

Determinants of adherence to personal preventive behaviours based on the health belief model: a cross-sectional study in South Korea during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Along with the rapid transmission of COVID-19, adherence to preventive behaviours plays a crucial role with respect to the control of COVID-19. However, different individuals' psychological characteristics and risk perception result in various forms of response to preventive behaviours. Based on the Health Belief Model, this study identifies the factors associated with preventive behaviours towards COVID-19 in South Korea during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2020 through an anonymous online survey. A total of 1207 people in the age bracket of 20-59 years participated in the survey. Single and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to identify the determinants of preventive behaviours against COVID-19. RESULTS: The following factors were associated with preventive behaviours towards COVID-19: female gender (ß = .124, p < 0.001), has a master's degree or above (ß = 0.065, p = 0.010), perceived susceptibility (ß = .197, p < 0.001), self-efficacy (ß = .404, p < 0.001), trust in radio (ß = -.080, p = .006), trust in official government website (ß = .057, p = .045), trust in social networks (ß = .054, p = .033), and trust in family and friends (ß = .068, p = .009), with an explanatory power of 41.5% (R2 = 0.415). CONCLUSIONS: To flatten the epidemic curve, it is important to understand the public's risk perception and the motivation behind behavioural responses that aim to promote preventive behaviours among the public. Thus, this study calls for the provision of accessible and credible information sources and demonstrates a public health campaign that encourages the public's engagement in preventive behaviours towards COVID-19.

Predictors of COVID-19 preventive behaviours in a sample of the Turkish population.

AIM: This research aimed to determine predictors of COVID-19 preventive behaviours in a sample of the Turkish population. METHODS: The study was conducted with 575 individuals. COVID-19 preventive behaviours were evaluated with a 19-item scale scored from 19 to 95. Knowledge on COVID-19 was evaluated with a 22-item scale scored from 0 to 22. General health literacy was evaluated with the Turkey Health Literacy Scale (THLS), which was scored from 0 to 50. RESULTS: The average COVID-19 preventive behaviours score was moderately high in this sample of the Turkish population. Being female, having a higher level of education, better economic status, being a non-smoker, having a higher level of COVID-19 knowledge and better general health literacy score were significant predictors of COVID-19 preventive behaviours (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of COVID-19 and general health literacy are crucial in preventing COVID-19 infections in a sample of the Turkish population.

Exploring the associations between resilience, dispositional hope, preventive behaviours, subjective well-being, and psychological health among adults during early stage of COVID-19.

During the pandemic, people may experience various mental health problems. Psychological strengths may help them to cope with emerging challenges and foster mental health and well-being. This study examined the associations between resilience, dispositional hope, preventive behaviours, subjective well-being, and psychological health among adults during early stage of COVID-19. A total of 220 participants from general public participated this study completing a battery of measures (134 men [M age = 42.36 years, SD = 8.99, range = 18 to 60] and 86 women [M age = 36.73 years, SD = 7.44, range = 18 to 51]). This cross-section study indicated that resilience mediated the relationship between hope and psychological health and subjective well-being. Results also showed that hope, and resilience had significant direct effects on psychological health, and subjective well-being while preventive behaviours did not manifest a significant effect on these two variables except on resilience. Preventive behaviours mediated the relationship between hope and resilience. The results suggest that we should more pay attention to hope and resilience for the development and improvement of well-being and psychological health during the times of crisis.

Non-adherence to preventive behaviours during the COVID-19 epidemic: findings from a community study.

BACKGROUNDS: Preventive behaviours are an essential way to slow down and eliminate the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The aim of this study was to estimate adherence to preventive behaviors and to identify whether any subgroups were not adopting these behaviours and for whom greater engagement in these approaches was indicated. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we obtained data from a random sample of a panel representing men and women of adult age residing in Hungary (N = 5254). The survey included questions about the frequencies of preventive behaviours, perceived susceptibility and severity of COVID-19. RESULTS: We found four factors of preventive behaviours: using physical barriers (mask and gloves), avoidance of close contacts, personal hygiene, and preparation. We identified two broadly adherent groups (36.8 and 45.3%) and two non-adherent groups (13.1 and 4.8%). Being male and being aged between 18 and 29 years were the strongest predictors of non-adherence. Concern about the severity of COVID-19 was a predictor of adherence. CONCLUSIONS: To ensure maximal adherence to preventive behaviours for COVID-19, additional strategies should focus on their adoption by men and young adults.

The impacts of vulnerability, perceived risk, and fear on preventive behaviours against COVID-19.

The world has been under the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic for the last few months. While people may take many preventive behaviours to minimize the risk, very little is known about the factors that can increase preventive behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examined the effects of vulnerability, perceived risk, and fear on preventive behaviours of COVID-19. The study used a sample of 4,536 Turkish adults (M = 30.33 ± 10.95 years) recruited from 17 March through 1 April 2020. Vulnerability, perceived risk, fear, and preventive behaviours were measured with self-rating scales. Participants mostly engaged in avoidance of public transportation and frequent handwashing as preventive behaviours. Women had a significantly higher vulnerability to, perceived risk, and fear of new coronavirus compared to men. Correlation results indicated that age, gender, education level, vulnerability, perceived risk, and fear were related to preventive behaviours. Regression results demonstrated that vulnerability, perceived risk, and fear accounted for a significant amount of variance in preventive behaviours over and above the effects of demographic variables. The results suggest that vulnerability, perceived risk, and fear can significantly increase engagement in preventive behaviours during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The results have important implications for research and practice.

Knowledge, attitudes, anxiety, and preventive behaviours towards COVID-19 among health care providers in Yemen: an online cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: The growing incidence of coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to cause fear, anxiety, and panic amongst the community, especially for healthcare providers (HCPs), as the most vulnerable group at risk of contracting this new SARS-CoV-2 infection. To protect and enhance the ability of HCPs to perform their role in responding to COVID-19, healthcare authorities must help to alleviate the level of stress and anxiety amongst HCPs and the community. This will improve the knowledge, attitude and practice towards COVID-19, especially for HCPs. In addition, authorities need to comply in treating this virus by implementing control measures and other precautions. This study explores the knowledge, attitude, anxiety, and preventive behaviours among Yemeni HCPs towards COVID-19. METHODS: A descriptive, web-based-cross-sectional study was conducted among 1231 Yemeni HCPs. The COVID-19 related questionnaire was designed using Google forms where the responses were coded and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software package (IBM SPSS), version 22.0. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation coefficient test were also employed in this study. A p-value of < 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval was considered as statistically significant. The data collection phase commenced on 22nd April 2020, at 6 pm and finished on 26th April 2020 at 11 am. RESULTS: The results indicated that from the 1231 HCPs participating in this study, 61.6% were male, and 67% were aged between 20 and 30 years with a mean age of 29.29 ± 6.75. Most (86%) held a bachelor's degree or above having at least 10 years of work experience or less (88.1%). However, while 57.1% of the respondents obtained their information via social networks and news media, a further 60.0% had never attended lectures/discussions about COVID-19. The results further revealed that the majority of respondents had adequate knowledge, optimistic attitude, moderate level of anxiety, and high-performance in preventive behaviours, 69.8, 85.10%, 51.0 and 87.70%, respectively, towards COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Although the Yemeni HCPs exhibited an adequate level of knowledge, optimistic attitude, moderate level of anxiety, and high-performance in preventive behaviours toward COVID-19, the results highlighted gaps, particularly in their knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19.

Preventive health behaviour differences across racial groups during the early stages of COVID-19.

Background: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the practice of preventative health behaviours had been used disparately across different racial groups. This study seeks to identify any differences in preventative health behaviours across racial groups, controlling for other socio-demographic factors. Methods: A US national survey study was electronically conducted from July through November 2020, to measure racial/ethnic differences in health preventive behaviours about COVID-19. We performed 2-part regression models to assess whether preventive health behaviours differed by race and ethnicity. Specifically, we employed generalized logistic regressions for investigating the predictors of the use of complementary or alternative medicine (CAM), or stay-at-home strategy, then performed ordinal logistic regression to examine the predictors of social distancing, face mask wearing, and hand hygiene strategy practice. Results: The results show that non-White respondents were more likely to practice social distancing, mask wearing, and hand hygiene strategy to prevent COVID-19, compared to their White counterparts. Additionally, the findings indicate that individuals who experienced COVID-19-related racial abuse or depression had a higher likelihood of practicing preventive health behaviours. Discussion: We found ethnicity can be a predictor of health preventive behaviours, in accordance with previous research. The causes of these disparities will require further investigation in order to be addressed.

Risk perception of healthcare workers in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

Objectives: To validate the items of the Emotional Impact Questionnaire coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) related to risk perception, estimating its degree, among healthcare workers in the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic, identifying possible associated factors.Methods: cross-sectional study in 1872 healthcare workers of Brazil. The population was characterized by sociodemographic and occupational information, knowledge about COVID-19, quality of information received, risk perception and preventive measures about the disease, and sense of coherence. Results: Being divorced, having a chronic disease, spending more than 1 h per day getting informed about COVID-19, and always or almost always wearing a mask regardless of symptoms, as well as self-perception of health were associated with high-risk perception. An inverse association was found between risk perception, sense of coherence and not knowing if one has had occasional contact with confirmed COVID-19 cases. Conclusion: Risk perception is influenced by emotions, experiences, and knowledge. Sense of coherence and resilience have a role in reducing risk perception. Understanding risk perception is crucial for developing effective strategies to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other similar scenarios.

The strength of conspiracy beliefs versus scientific information: the case of COVID 19 preventive behaviours.

Controlling the spread of COVID-19 requires individuals to adopt preventive behaviours, but conspiracy beliefs about its origin are spreading. The aim of this paper is to better comprehend the strength of conspiracy beliefs versus objective COVID-19 information to predict people's adherence to protective behaviours (getting vaccinated, being tracked through APPs, and keeping social distance from infected people). Study 1 shows that COVID-19 implicit theories detected in the Pre-study were activated as independent factors that constitute people's interpretations of the virus origin. These beliefs were related to a lesser intention to engage in preventive behaviours and a higher level of mistrust in institutional information, although some beliefs generate positive expectations about COVID-19 consequences. In Study 2, conducted with a different sample, official COVID-19 information was included as an independent variable, but this new variable did not further explain results. Lastly, Study 3 consisting of both previous samples confirmed that conspiracy beliefs had a direct effect on a lesser willingness to engage in preventive actions, a higher mistrust, and positive expectations about COVID-19 consequences. We conclude that objective COVID-19 information did not buffer the effect of conspiracy beliefs; they interfere with actions to prevent it by taking institutions as scapegoats or complicit with secret powers.

Having a prevention regulatory focus longitudinally predicted distress and health-protective behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic.

People focussed on prevention (vs. promotion) are motivated by safety and are less inclined to take risks. We tested if having a prevention (vs. promotion) focus before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak predicted threat perceptions and health outcomes throughout the pandemic. Participants (N = 161) took part in a longitudinal study. Measures were assessed before the pandemic was declared (on November 2019, T1) and after a global pandemic was declared (on June 2020, T2). Participants who were more focussed on prevention prior to the onset of the pandemic (at T1) perceived greater risk and were more worried about contracting COVID-19, and engaged in more preventive behaviours during the pandemic (at T2). They also reported less anxiety and felt healthier later on (at T2). Exploratory analyses revealed that enacting preventive behaviours helped people cope with pandemic-related anxiety. Being motivated by security and enacting preventive behaviours seems to have helped people reduce anxiety over risk even during the pandemic.

Preventive behaviours during the pandemic: The role of collective rituals, emotional synchrony, social norms and moral obligation.

The present research focuses on the role of collective, social influence and intraindividual processes in shaping preventive behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. In two correlational studies conducted in Spain, we explored the impact of participation in the ritual of collective applause (carried out daily for over 70 days during the lockdown) and perceived social norms in fostering behavioural adherence to public health measures, as well as the mediating role of perceived emotional synchrony and a sense of moral obligation. The first study (general population, N = 528) was conducted in June 2020, just after the end of the lockdown, and the second study (students, N = 292) was carried out eight months later. The results of the structural equations modelling (SEM) consistently confirmed that active participation in collective applause was linked to more intense emotional synchrony and indirectly predicted self-reported preventive behaviour. Perceived social norms predicted self-reported behavioural compliance directly and also indirectly, via feelings of moral obligation. The discussion addresses some meaningful variations in the results and also focuses on the implications of the findings for both theory and psychosocial intervention.

Worry, Severity, Controllability, and Preventive Behaviours of COVID-19 and Their Associations with Mental Health of Turkish Healthcare Workers Working at a Pandemic Hospital.

Previous research suggests that psychological and behavioural factors such as worry, severity, controllability, and preventive behaviours are associated with mental health and well-being. Less is known about simultaneous effects of those factors in predicting mental health and well-being. This study aimed to present the prevalence of mental health problems and identify the predictors of mental health and subjective well-being of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included 245 healthcare workers (M age = 33.16 ± 7.33; 50.61% females) from a pandemic hospital in Turkey. Healthcare workers reported mild/severe depression, anxiety, and stress. Females tended to be more vulnerable to developing psychiatric symptoms. Worry, severity, and controllability significantly predicted depression, anxiety, stress, and subjective well-being while preventive behaviours only predicted subjective well-being. These findings suggest the importance of assessing healthcare workers' experiences of mental health and subjective well-being and their associated factors to assist mental health providers tailor assessments and treatment during a pandemic.

Adherence to Coronavirus Disease 2019 Preventive Measures in a Representative Sample of the Population of the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland.

Objectives: We quantified adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures and explored associated factors, after the first and during the second Swiss epidemic waves. Methods: With an observational cohort study in a representative sample of individuals aged 15 years and more, we analysed the association between self-reported adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures (respect of simple hygiene rules; respect of social distancing rules; wearing a mask) and socio-demographic factors, the existence of a chronic disease, and the existence of a previous confirmed COVID-19 episode. Results: Highest adherence was to simple hygiene rules, followed by social distancing rules and mask wearing, with a slight decrease for simple hygiene rules and a strong increase for mask wearing between visits. Men were significantly less likely to respect simple hygiene rules and wear a mask in public. Participants aged 65 years and more (versus 25-64 years) and those with at least one chronic disease (versus none) were two times more likely to respect social distancing rules and wear a mask. Conclusion: Adherence to social distancing rules and mask wearing was rather poor, especially compared to other countries.