Concordance, motivations and associated factors of COVID-19 vaccination among parent-child dyads: a cross-sectional study in Caraga Region, the Philippines

Background
COVID-19 vaccination rates remain low for children aged 11 and below, and understanding the extent to which parental decisions impact their children’s vaccination status remains a challenge. This study aimed to explore the concordance and motivations for vaccination among parent–child dyads and determine the associated factors influencing their children’s vaccination status.

Design
A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 March 2023 to 30 March 2023, recruiting parents from six representative primary schools across Butuan City, the Philippines. Pilot-tested, self-administered questionnaires were used during the face-to-face surveys with parent participants. To determine the associated factors of parental decisions to vaccinate their children, mixed-effects logistic regression was used, with school districts as a random effect.

Participants
A total of 593 participating parents were included in the study, with the majority being females (n=484, 81.6%) and underserved, characterised by lacking a college degree (n=305, 51.4%) and having low to no income (n=511, 86.1%).

Results
While 80.6% (n=478) of parents reported being vaccinated against COVID-19, only 36.2% (n=215) of them chose to vaccinate their children. A significant number of parents (n=285, 48.1%) reported psychological distress, with higher levels of distress prevalent among those who are indigenous, reside in rural areas and have lower income levels. Parental education and vaccination status emerged as influential factors. Specifically, parents with advanced degrees were 48% less likely to have unvaccinated children (adj OR (AOR)=0.52; 95% CI 0.30, 0.87), while unvaccinated parents had a sixfold increase in the likelihood of having unvaccinated children (AOR 6.1; 95% CI 3.14, 12.02) compared with their counterparts.

Conclusions
Efforts to increase paediatric vaccination rates should focus more on actively engaging parents, educating them about the vaccine’s benefits and necessity, rather than solely relying on mandates to improve paediatric vaccination rates. Further research is needed to understand the reluctance of unvaccinated parents to vaccinate themselves and their children against COVID-19, identifying specific facilitators and barriers to develop more effective communication strategies and bolster vaccine acceptance.

Leggi
Novembre 2024

Accuracy of the Canadian COVID-19 Mortality Score (CCMS) to predict in-hospital mortality among vaccinated and unvaccinated patients infected with Omicron: a cohort study

Objective
The objective is to externally validate and assess the opportunity to update the Canadian COVID-19 Mortality Score (CCMS) to predict in-hospital mortality among consecutive non-palliative COVID-19 patients infected with Omicron subvariants at a time when vaccinations were widespread.

Design
This observational study validated the CCMS in an external cohort at a time when Omicron variants were dominant. We assessed the potential to update the rule and improve its performance by recalibrating and adding vaccination status in a subset of patients from provinces with access to vaccination data and created the adjusted CCMS (CCMSadj). We followed discharged patients for 30 days after their index emergency department visit or for their entire hospital stay if admitted.

Setting
External validation cohort for CCMS: 36 hospitals participating in the Canadian COVID-19 Emergency Department Rapid Response Network (CCEDRRN). Update cohort for CCMSadj: 14 hospitals in CCEDRRN in provinces with vaccination data.

Participants
Consecutive non-palliative COVID-19 patients presenting to emergency departments.

Main outcome measures
In-hospital mortality.

Results
Of 39 682 eligible patients, 1654 (4.2%) patients died. The CCMS included age, sex, residence type, arrival mode, chest pain, severe liver disease, respiratory rate and level of respiratory support and predicted in-hospital mortality with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.88 (95% CI 0.87 to 0.88) in external validation. Updating the rule by recalibrating and adding vaccination status to create the CCMSadj changed the weights for age, respiratory status and homelessness, but only marginally improved its performance, while vaccination status did not. The CCMSadj had an AUC of 0.91 (95% CI 0.89 to 0.92) in validation. CCMSadj scores of 56.8%.

Conclusions
The CCMS remained highly accurate in predicting mortality from Omicron and improved marginally through recalibration. Adding vaccination status did not improve the performance. The CCMS can be used to inform patient prognosis, goals of care conversations and guide clinical decision-making for emergency department patients with COVID-19.

Leggi
Novembre 2024

Post-traumatic growth, moral sensitivity and service behaviour among healthcare workers in the post-pandemic era of COVID-19 in mainland China: a cross-sectional study

Objectives
To investigate how post-traumatic growth (PTG) and moral sensitivity influence service behaviour among healthcare workers (HCWs) in mainland China post-COVID-19, with a focus on the mediating role of moral sensitivity.

Design
Cross- sectional survey design.

Setting
This study was conducted in 27 provinces across mainland China, from 16 March to 2 April 2023.

Participants
1,193 HCWs, including 378 physicians and 815 nurses, were selected using convenience and snowball sampling methods.

Methods
The survey included the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory-Chinese version (PTGI-C), the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire-Revised Chinese Version (MSQ-R-CV) and a service behaviour scale. Structural equation modelling was employed to analyse the data, focusing on the associations between PTG, moral sensitivity, and service behaviours.

Results
The study found significant associations between PTG and moral sensitivity (r=0.49, p

Leggi
Novembre 2024

Post-COVID in healthcare workers and its consequences on quality of life, activities, participation, need for rehabilitation and care experiences: protocol of a cohort study

Introduction
Healthcare workers (HCWs) have been of particular relevance for overcoming the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. At the same time they have been affected by SARS-CoV-2 infections with above average probability. Around 6.5% of the overall infected persons are likely to develop persistent symptoms resulting from the infection, known as long-COVID or post-COVID syndrome (PCS). The aim of this study is (1) to investigate the prevalence, course and characteristics of PCS in German HCWs, (2) to examine its effects on psychosocial variables, (3) to identify rehabilitation and healthcare needs and (4) to analyse treatment experiences.

Methods and analysis
In a cohort study with a randomised selection of participants (N=20 000) from the Employer’s Liability Insurance Association for Health and Welfare Care, the health status of HCWs, who had COVID-19 in their professional context will be examined. There will be two measurement points: baseline (T1) and a 12-month follow-up (T2). The outcome measures are the health status with a particular focus on persistent or newly occurring symptoms after a SARS-CoV-2 infection, health-related quality of life, functional capacity, the subjective need for and utilisation of healthcare services. Pre-existing conditions, the course of the acute infection and sociodemographic factors are considered as predictors. An advisory board made up of affected HCWs supports the study by contributing to the surveys’ contents.

Ethics and dissemination
The study has been approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the Center for Psychosocial Medicine at the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (LPEK-0518). For dissemination, the results will be published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at conferences and communicated to relevant stakeholders in general and rehabilitation medicine.

Trail registration number
https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00029314

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Novembre 2024

Completion and reporting of COVID-19 clinical trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov during the first 6 months of the pandemic: cohort study

Background
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous clinical trials were initiated. Although concerns were raised regarding the quality of the trials, the eventual research output yielded from the trials remains unknown. The objective of this study was to include all clinical trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov during the first 6 months of the pandemic and assess if and where their results had been reported, their completion and discontinuation rates, achieved enrolment and changes made to the primary outcome after trial registration.

Methods
We included all interventional studies related to COVID-19 first registered on ClinicalTrials.gov between 1 January 2020 and 1 July 2020. We systematically searched for trial results, reported through 15 May 2023, in scientific publications, preprints and ClinicalTrials.gov. We assessed the achieved trial enrolment, trial discontinuation (reaching

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Novembre 2024

Trajectories of functional limitations, health-related quality of life and societal costs in individuals with long COVID: a population-based longitudinal cohort study

Objectives
To examine trajectories of functional limitations, fatigue, health-related quality of life (HRQL) and societal costs of patients referred to long COVID clinics.

Design
A population-based longitudinal cohort study using real-time user data.

Setting
35 specialised long COVID clinics in the UK.

Participants
4087 adults diagnosed with long COVID in primary or secondary care deemed suitable for rehabilitation and registered in the Living With Covid Recovery (LWCR) programme between 4 August 2020 and 5 August 2022.

Main outcome measures
Generalised linear mixed models were fitted to estimate trajectories of functional limitations, using the Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS); scores of ≥20 indicate moderately severe limitations. Other outcomes included fatigue using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy–Fatigue (FACIT-F) reversed score (scores of ≥22 indicate impairment), HRQL using the EQ-5D-5L, and long COVID-related societal costs, encompassing healthcare costs and productivity losses.

Results
The mean WSAS score at 6 months after registration in the LWCR was 19.1 (95% CI 18.6, 19.6), with 46% of the participants (95% CI 40.3%, 52.4%) reporting a WSAS score above 20 (moderately severe or worse impairment). The mean change in the WSAS score over the 6-month period was –0.86 (95% CI –1.32, –0.41). The mean reversed FACIT-F score at 6 months was 29.1 (95% CI 22.7, 35.5) compared with 32.0 (95% CI 31.7, 32.3) at baseline. The mean EQ-5D-5L score remained relatively constant between baseline (0.63, 95% CI 0.62, 0.64) and 6 months (0.64, 95% CI 0.59, 0.69). The monthly societal cost per patient related to long COVID at 6 months was £931, mostly driven by the costs associated with working days lost.

Conclusions
Individuals referred to long COVID clinics in the UK reported small improvements in functional limitations, fatigue, HRQL and ability to work within 6 months of registering in the LWCR programme.

Leggi
Novembre 2024

COVID-19 Therapeutics for Nonhospitalized Older Adults

This Viewpoint summarizes the factors contributing to increased risk of severe outcomes and hospitalization associated with COVID-19 among older adults, stresses the importance of assessing COVID-19 risk before infection occurs, calls for all immunocompromised older adults to be considered for COVID-19 treatment, and details 3 recommended COVID-19 therapies.

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Novembre 2024