Ibaraki's Amabie-chan usage and its association with infection prevention behavior and fear of COVID-19: a cross-sectional preliminary survey of the Tsukuba Salutogenic Occupational Cohort Study

BACKGROUND@#Ibaraki's Amabie-chan is a COVID-19 infection control system unique to Ibaraki prefecture, Japan. It requires residents to register each time they visit events, commercial facilities, and restaurants. The number of registrations has been limited, and its function alerting about people positive for COVID-19 infection seems not to be working. Nevertheless, registration with the system might have some impact on the user's behavior. In the current preliminary survey, the possible impact of Ibaraki's Amabie-chan on infection prevention behavior and fear of COVID-19 was investigated.@*METHODS@#A cross-sectional, web-based, anonymous, and self-administered survey was conducted at two workplaces in Tsukuba Science City, Ibaraki, Japan. The first survey was conducted at one of the workplaces in November 2020, and the second survey, at the other workplace in February 2021. Variables of interest were sex, age group, marital status, employment status, Ibaraki's Amabie-chan use, COVID-19 Contact-Confirming Application use, ten items of infection prevention behaviors, and fear of COVID-19. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was performed.@*RESULTS@#In both surveys, use of Ibaraki's Amabie-chan was significantly associated with COCOA use and with "physical condition management such as body temperature measurement." No association was found with other infection prevention behaviors or with fear of COVID-19.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Our findings did not provide sufficient evidence for the effectiveness of Ibaraki's Amabie-chan in regard to users' infection control behavior. Further detailed study is needed to investigate the effectiveness in terms of infection prevention and the cost-effectiveness of Ibaraki's Amabie-chan.

Association between flourishing mental health and occupational stress among workers of Tsukuba Science City, Japan: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND@#Flourishing, defined as the coexistence of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, is the most favorable end of the mental health spectrum. A growing body of evidence has demonstrated the association between flourishing mental health and favorable work-related outcomes. However, epidemiology of flourishing mental health is scarce in Japan. Moreover, the relationship between flourishing mental health and occupational stress has not been elaborated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate (1) the prevalence of flourishing mental health and (2) the association between flourishing mental health and occupational stress among Japanese workers.@*METHODS@#The present survey was conducted in from February to March 2017 via an anonymous, self-administered, and web-based questionnaire among workers in Tsukuba Science City, Japan. Mental Health Continuum Short Form was used to assess flourishing mental health. We performed binomial logistic regression analyses to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of occupational stress for flourishing mental health, controlling for sociodemographic factors.@*RESULTS@#A total of 7012 respondents (4402 men, 2610 women) were analyzed. The overall prevalence of flourishing mental health among the respondents was 12.4%. Full-time (permanent) workers were less likely to be flourishing. Reward from work (AOR = 2.34, 95% CI = 2.04-2.68), support from colleagues and superiors (AOR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.44-1.94), and workload (AOR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.05-1.36) were positively associated with flourishing mental health, whereas mental workload (AOR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.57-0.75) was inversely associated with flourishing mental health.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The findings of the present study shed light on the association between flourishing mental health and occupational stress.