Mental Health Burden of the Russian-Ukrainian War 2022 (RUW-22): Anxiety and Depression Levels among Young Adults in Central Europe.

Armed conflicts are public health emergencies that affect human lives at multiple levels. The mental health of adolescents and young adults is at high risk during crisis settings; therefore, this cross-sectional survey-based study aimed to evaluate anxiety and depressive symptoms among university students in the Czech Republic following the Russian-Ukrainian war of 2022 (RUW-22). The study used standardized screening instruments; the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) for anxiety and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depression. Of 591 students who participated in this study, 67.7% were females, 68.2% held Czech citizenship, and 63.8% were enrolled in medical or healthcare programs. The participants were highly concerned about the RUW-22 news, with a mean score of 7.17 ± 2.50 (0-10). While 34% and 40.7% of the participants in this study manifested moderate to severe levels of anxiety and depression, respectively, the mental health burden of the RUW-22 was confirmed by the positive correlation between "feeling concerned", GAD-7 (ρ = 0.454), and PHQ-9 (ρ = 0.326). Female gender, higher frequency of news following, and social media use were associated with higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms; thus, proposing them to be risk factors for psychological disorders following the RUW-22.

Student and faculty perceptions of nutrition education in medical school.

BACKGROUND & AIM: There is abundant evidence to support the beneficial role of nutrition in the prevention, management and treatment of many health conditions including non-communicable diseases and malnutrition. Despite the increasing prevalence of these conditions around the world, research over the past decades has identified that many medical schools lack adequate nutrition education and training for medical students. With the Czech Republic not represented in these findings, this qualitative study aimed to assess and describe the perceptions of nutrition education at a Czech medical school. METHODS: Thirty-six participants, including students in all grades (n = 30) and faculty members from different disciplines (n = 6), completed individual, semi-structured interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive coding and thematic analysis were used to analyze data and identify key themes. RESULTS: Participants emphasized the important and wide-ranging role of nutrition, describing it as significant and essential for both prevention and treatment of many medical conditions. The first main theme, 'Nutrition in Medical Care and Health' identified support for the important role that nutrition plays in medical care and health. Participants acknowledged that doctors have an important role to promote good nutrition and thus require sufficient education in medical school to offer general nutrition information to patients. In the second theme, 'Nutrition Education in the Current Curriculum' some participants acknowledged that while the medical school offers a good theoretical education about nutrition, and training for specific populations such as pediatrics and oncology, overall, the current education about nutrition was 'inadequate,' not emphasized like other subjects and lacked practical application in clinical practice. The third main theme 'Opportunities for Nutrition Education in Medical School' identified the students' interest in learning more about nutrition to improve their knowledge in preparation for future practice and to promote healthy eating during medical school. In addition to identifying specific topics of interest, the participants shared preferred methods of learning nutrition information. CONCLUSIONS: The participants in this study recognized the importance of nutrition in medical care and perceived that nutrition education is not emphasized consistently in medical school. Students desired additional nutrition education to include current topics, promote self-care, and improve the emphasis in clinical training.

Prevalence and Drivers of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Czech University Students: National Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: university students are believed to retain the highest levels of health literacy. They are perceived as the opinion leaders within their communities; therefore, their health-related beliefs and attitudes are deemed important for public health campaigns. This study aimed to investigate the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy drivers among university students in the Czech Republic. METHODS: a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was carried out in the weeks before the unrestricted vaccine deployment to Czech adults. The questionnaire had 21 multiple-choice items stratified in 4 categories; demographic characteristics, COVID-19-related anamnesis and influenza vaccine experience, attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination, and the possible drivers of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy suggested by the WHO-SAGE. RESULTS: out of the 1351 included students, 66.8% were females, 84.5% were Czech nationals, and 40.6% enrolled in healthcare programs. The overall COVID-19 vaccine acceptance level was 73.3%, 19.3% of participants were vaccine-resistant, and only 7.4% were vaccine-hesitant. Trust in the pharmaceutical industry, trust in healthcare providers, and perceived knowledge sufficiency predicted higher odds of vaccine acceptance. In contrast, media and social media, personal beliefs, immunity misconception, previous COVID-19 infection, and suspicions about novel vaccines and the local availability predicted higher odds of vaccine hesitancy. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study predict a fair probability to achieve community immunity (herd immunity) among the target population group. The primary prevention strategies in the Czech Republic need to be culturally sensitive and inclusive for foreign nationals. As one-quarter of the participating students are dependent on vaccine safety data, this study findings support the call for independent studies evaluating the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines.