: The present study had a twofold objective, including the reconceptualization of medical tourists’ perceived risk in the COVID-19 pandemic and developing strategies to reduce medical tourists’ perceived risk during the pandemic. These two steps were referred to as a strategic-based approach. The first step defines medical tourists’ perceived risk as the subjective/cognitive (mind-driven) expectations and objective/actual (real-image driven) evaluation of the negative consequences/losses before/after making travel decisions to an unsafe COVID-19 destination. Following that, the associated dimensions were identified, such as psychological, financial, health, legal, performance, facility, and time risks. Finally, two main strategies (country-based and hospital-/clinic-based) were developed to create a safe COVID-19 destination. This study could make significant theoretical and practical contributions to strategic medical tourism management.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an ongoing geriatric health emergency with a substantial increase in the prevalence of medical and mental health issues, particularly among older adults living in residential care homes. The knowledge of the risk and protective factors related to the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults living in residential care homes is based on limited data. This study aimed to investigate whether loneliness mediates the effects of fear generated by a pandemic on depression. Additionally, we hypothesized that self-compassion moderates the effect of loneliness on depression. A sample comprised 323 older adults (females: n = 141, males: n = 182) with mean age = 74.98 years (standard deviation = 6.59, age 65–90) completed a survey comprising the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, De Jung Gierveld Loneliness Scale, the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire, and the Self-compassion Scale. The results revealed that the total effect of fear on depression was statistically significant, with a medium effect size (Cohen’s f 2 = . 14) and this association was partially mediated by loneliness ( β = .11 , SE = .04, P < .001 , t = 2.91, 95% CI 0.04–0.19). The self-compassion also moderated the loneliness effect on depression. The findings of this study support COVID-19 evidence, indicating that a greater level of fear generated by the pandemic is linked to depression and loneliness. The findings support the notion that self-compassion mitigates the adverse effects of stressful events in older adults. Customized self-compassion programs may be effective loneliness-mitigating interventions for older adults living in residential care homes. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11469-023-01014-0.
Introduction:The world is currently experiencing a pandemic of COVID-19. The pandemic may affect physical and mental health. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the fear of COVID-19 and study the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and preventive behaviors against COVID-19. Material and methods:We conducted a web-based cross-sectional study to evaluate the fear of COVID-19 and preventive behaviors against COVID-19 among the volunteer population in Golestan Province, Iran in May 2020 and June 2020. The online questionnaire included the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and the prevention behaviors against COVID-19, which are used to assess the fear and prevention behaviors of the population, respectively. The data were presented by mean and frequency. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with Fear of COVID-19 at a significant level of 0.05 in Stata 14.Results: A total of 734 of the 900 individuals contacted completed the survey, with a participation rate of 81.5%.The mean age of the participants was 33.97 ± 10.68 years and 375 (51.9%) were females. The mean Fear of COVID-19 score in the participants was 19.69 ± 5.96. There was a significant positive correlation between Fear of COVID-19 and preventive behaviors (r = 0.19, p < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed participants with a higher perceived threat of COVID-19, women, married participants, health workers and people with underlying diseases had higher levels of fear of COVID-19. Conclusions:The fear of COVID-19 in Iranian society is high, which indicates the need to pay attention to the mental health in pandemic conditions. Appropriate intervention action can be designed and implemented according to the factors that affect fear. In addition, it should be noted that people with less fear are less likely to observe the COVID-19's preventative behaviors.
Background: This research aims to evaluate the impact of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on the occupational stress and the anxiety of nurses. Methods: This was an experimental study with pre-test post-test design with a control group. We included all nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 in governmental hospitals in Tehran during six months of 2020. Beck’s Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Steinmetz Occupational Stress Questionnaire were used for data collection. Results: Box’s test (P=0.225) showed that the covariance-variance matrices were homogeneous. Levine’s test also indicated that the assumption of variance equality was observed. The amounts of ETA square root showed that 66.3% of the anxiety variance and 51.3% of the occupational stress variance could be predicted in the posttest through ACT. Conclusion: The rate of occupational stress and anxiety of the test group significantly decreased compared with the control group after the intervention. Therefore, ACT could decrease the occupational stress and anxiety of nurses and the therapists could use this approach for improving the mental health of nurses.
Limited research has investigated the impact of immigrants’ sense of place (SOP) attitudes on their quality of life (QOL) outcomes, especially during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aimed to fill this gap by examining the effect of SOP attitudes and health-related QOL (HQOL) on 120 Iranian citizens residing in Budapest, Hungary, during the pandemic. Using social media platforms, an online survey was conducted between March and July 2020. The findings of this study revealed that SOP elements, such as connection to sites, location identification, and location reliance, are susceptible to change and rely on QOL during the pandemic. The study also highlighted that Budapest has the potential to become a desirable destination for future immigrants. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on the relationship between SOP attitudes and QOL outcomes among immigrants during a crisis. It provides valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners to improve the SOP and QOL of immigrants living in cities affected by pandemics or other crises. This study provides insights into the influence of a sense of place on the quality of life of Iranian immigrants by presenting a model and highlighting significant results in a selected community.
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has changed the typical lifestyle of people worldwide for nearly two years. Maybe before the onset of this pandemic, no one believed that a virus could change all aspects of life. COVID-19 has had a catastrophic effect worldwide, and it has led to more than 5 million deaths. 1 Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, different factors such as emotional and exaggerated images and news, rumors, and misinformation about the origins and causes of the disease, have affected the lifestyle of the people, and many people have lost their family or friends., all leading to increased anxiety. 2 The results of studies in the previous pandemics have shown that one of the most critical domains of harm is the mental health of people and the significant point is that the mental health of infected individuals was less affected than non-infected individuals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, different studies have evaluated the mental health of people. Fear and anxiety are common feelings that are experienced by patients with or suspected of COVID-19. A study published in 2020 showed that fear of illness results in increased anxiety and stress levels in patients, healthy individuals or health workers.On the other hand, the role of sleep is clear and different studies have been done on the quality of sleep, so the importance of sleep quality and its effects on people's lives is not hidden from anyone. In both developed and developing countries, sleep problems are growing and becoming one of the emerging epidemics. Also, the relationship between sleep quality and physical and mental health is evident to all. Sleep quality has a direct relationship with a stronger immune system, better
SARS-CoV-2 spread rapidly, infecting people around the globe including the Iranian population. Among those infected, the highest percentage in infection prevalence was amongstthose aged 60 years and older. The aim of the study was to examine Covid-19 fear and health-related quality of life in older adults.This cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 205 elderly froman Iranian province.The research data were collected through an online questionnaire consisting of three parts: Personal Information Form, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCS), and the World Health Organization Life Quality Scale-Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF).An independent two-group t-test (Student's t-test), and one-way ANOVA test were used to compare the means of the respective groups. The Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to determine the level of correlation between two independent continuous variables. This data was analyzed using LISREL through confirmatory factor analysis.In total, 205 elderly people responded. Participants (n=205) were in the age range of 60-87 with an average age of 676.83 years in men and 60-92 with an average age of 666.60 in women.The mean score was obtained for FCS19.56.6, the mean score was obtained for the WHOQOL-BREF 61.219.3. The mean score of FCS in men (20.46.3) was significantly higher than the mean score in women (18.36.7) (p=0.023). It was found that there were very weak but significant inverse correlations between FCS and the WHOQOL-BREF (r = 0.22; p=0.001).In conclusion, it was found that fear of COVID-19 was below the medium level, while their WHOQOL-BREF was above the medium level.Finally, we also found that, as the score from FCS increased, the scores obtained from WHOQOL-BREF decreased.
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