Indoor air pollution: an Italian Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) study among the general population.

Background: Indoor air pollution negatively affects population health and the national health services in terms of socio-economic costs. The presence of indoor pollutants depends a lot on lifestyles. Study design: The aim of this work is to evaluate knowledge, daily habits and the preventive behaviors in order to contrast the effects on health caused by indoor pollutants. Methods: The study was conducted through the administration of questionnaires to the population resident in the metropolitan city of Messina (Italy), asking about sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, daily habits and preventive behaviors. Results: The questionnaire was filled by 894 subjects (46.8% M; 53.2% F). Regarding knowledge, 66.8% had heard of indoor air pollution and 94.9% knew what the most common indoor pollutants are; regarding daily habits they often aired out the house (91.9% in the morning and 71.4% after cleaning), 24.8% were smokers and 36.7 of them smoked indoors; regarding preventive behaviors, 41.6% chose the cleaning products based on habit and only 32.9% bought plants able to purify environments. Conclusions: Although the analyzed population had adequate knowledge of indoor air pollution, this did not strongly impact on the adoption of healthy lifestyles. Therefore, it becomes necessary to intervene on a social level with environmental education activities, starting from school age.

[Nutritional knowledge, attitudes and dietary behaviors of teachers and students in a medical college in Beijing and their influencing factors].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate nutritional knowledge, attitudes and dietary behaviors of teachers and students in a medical college in Beijing and their influencine factors, and to provide evidence for nutrition education and promotion. METHODS: The subjects of this study were teachers, as well as first-year and second-year graduate students, and first-year to third-year undergraduate students. The teachers and students were respectively sampled by stratified cluster sampling with equal proportion. t-test or ANOVA was used to compare the means between the groups, and multiple linear regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) score. RESULTS: The average score of nutrition knowledge was 5.7±1.5. The knowledge rate of nutrition was 57.3%. The average score of nutritional attitudes was 8.3±3.0. The mean nutritional behavior score was 5.1±2.0. The average nutritional KAP score was 19.1±4.6, with the teachers 19.9±5.2 higher than the students 18.9±4.5; the female 19.5±4.5 higher than the male 18.4±4.5; All the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The scores of nutritional attitudes, nutritional behavior and total KAP scores of doctoral students were significantly higher than those of the undergraduate and postgraduate students (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The nutrition attitudes of teachers and students is relatively correct, the nutrition knowledge needs to be further strengthened, and there are some unreasonable aspects in the nutrition behaviors. Gender, identity and degree are the main influencing factors of the nutrition score of knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. It is necessary to carry out nutritional education in schools to improve the nutrition knowledge of teachers and students, correct bad eating habits, and promote the construction of healthy China action.

Knowledge, attitudes, practices about HIV and implications in risk and stigma prevention among French Guianese and Brazilian border inhabitants : Beliefs about HIV among border inhabitants.

BACKGROUND: The border area between French Guiana and Brazil is an active HIV-transmission zone. The aim of the present study was to describe HIV knowledge, risk and the level of stigma among inhabitants of this border area. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 621 inhabitants over 18 years of age in the border cities of Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock in French Guiana and Oiapoque in Brazil. It was conducted between October 2017 and February 2018. An anonymous standardized questionnaire was filled out by culturally-trained mediators, then analyzed using STATA 12. RESULTS: Almost half (45.9%) of the individuals had a low education level. Participants whose native language was Portuguese or French demonstrated better HIV knowledge than other populations, notably native Amerindian and creole-speaking people. HIV risk behavior was more frequent in men and in younger age groups. People with good HIV knowledge reported having performed more HIV tests in the last year than participants with poor knowledge. The stigma level was high and reported in 74.8% of respondents. CONCLUSIONS: These results illustrate the need for initiatives to improve HIV prevention among autochthonous populations on both sides of this border area. Cross-border collaboration on health policies could produce common key messages adapted to the education level and multi-linguistic populations who live in this area.

Knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and practices differences regarding HIV in populations living along the Maroni river: particularities of operational interest for Amerindian and Maroon populations.

The Maroni basin, an isolated region delineating the border between Suriname and French Guiana has been affected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic 10 years after coastal French Guiana. However, the rise in HIV prevalence was sharp, exceeding 1% within 10 years. The aim of the present study is to compare, using the first quantitative data from the general population in remote villages, the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding HIV between Maroon and Amerindian populations, the two most frequent populations living along the Maroni. Data were collected in 2012 using a structured questionnaire among a random sample of 896 individuals residing in the remote villages on the Maroni river. Proportions were compared between the Maroni and the coastal general population, and between Maroon and Amerindian populations. The present study shows significant differences between territories and between communities living on the Maroni river: the multiple sexual partnerships, more common among population living on the Maroni river, were more frequently reported in Maroons than in Amerindians. Condom use was more frequently reported among men on the Maroni river than on the coast, but these findings were reversed for women. Moreover, among people living on the Maroni river, condom use was more frequently reported among Maroons than among Amerindians. Regarding genital factors that may affect transmission, penile implant seemed to have no ethnic boundaries, steam baths seemed specific to Maroon women. The present results should help to improve community-based specific interventions.

Zika virus prevention behaviors and knowledge among male partners of pregnant people and lack of condom use as a prevention behavior from the Zika en Embarazadas y Niños (ZEN) prospective cohort study, Colombia.

OBJECTIVE: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in pregnancy can cause brain and eye abnormalities and neurodevelopmental sequelae. In the absence of medical countermeasures, behavioral interventions were recommended to prevent mosquito bites and sexual transmission of ZIKV. This report uses data from the Zika en Embarazadas y Niños (ZEN) prospective cohort study in Colombia to describe the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors (KAB) related to ZIKV prevention in male partners compared to those of their pregnant partners at study enrollment during February 2017-2018. RESULTS: Most male partners reported wearing protective clothing such as long pants (97.6%) and long sleeves (72.8%), as well as covering ankles and feet (89.1%) to prevent ZIKV infection. When comparing the preventive behavior of condom use between male and pregnant partners, 26 pairs (10.0%) both responded that they performed the behavior. Overall, 25.1% of male partners and 18.9% of pregnant people reported any condom use during the three months before enrolling in ZEN. When comparing other preventive behaviors between male and pregnant partners, the behavior which was most frequently reported by both partners was wearing long pants (85.4%), and the least frequently reported by both partners was using condoms after finding out about a partner's pregnancy (3.4%).

Assessing Regional Weather's Impact on Spinal Cord Injury Survivors, Caregivers, and General Public in Miami, Florida.

(1) Background: Climate change is increasing the already frequent diverse extreme weather events (EWE) across geographic locations, directly and indirectly impacting human health. However, current ongoing research fails to address the magnitude of these indirect impacts, including healthcare access. Vulnerable populations such as persons with spinal cord injury (pSCI) face added physiologic burden such as thermoregulation or mobility challenges like closure of public transportation. Our exploratory research assessed commute and transport to healthcare facilities as well as the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors (KAB) of pSCI regarding EWE and climate change when compared to pSCI caregivers (CG) and the general public (GP). (2) Methods: A KAB survey was employed to conduct a cross-sectional assessment of pSCI, CG, and GP in Miami from October through November 2019 using snowball sampling. Descriptive and logistic regression statistical analyses were used. (3) Results: Of 65 eligible survey respondents, 27 (41.5%) were pSCI, 11 (17%) CG, and 27 (41.5%) GP. Overall, pSCI reported EWE, particularly flooding and heavy rain, affecting their daily activities including healthcare appointments, more frequently than CG or GP. The overall models for logistic regression looking at commute to and attendance of healthcare appointments were statistically significant. pSCI self-report being less vulnerable than others, and a large proportion of each group was not fully convinced climate change is happening. (4) Conclusions: This study provided insight to the KAB of 3 population subgroups in Miami, Florida. pSCI are significantly more vulnerable to the effects of regional weather events yet exhibit disproportionate self-perception of their vulnerability. Continued and more comprehensive research is needed to characterize the barriers that vulnerable populations face during weather events.