Evaluation of preventive, supportive and awareness building measures among international students in China in response to COVID-19: a structural equation modeling approach

Abstract

Background Education institutions promptly implemented a set of steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among international Chinese students, such as restrictive physical exercise, mask wear, daily health reporting, etc. Success of such behavioral change campaigns largely depends on awareness building, satisfaction and trust on the authorities. The purpose of this current study is to assess the preventive, supportive and awareness-building steps taken during the COVID-19 pandemic for international students in China, that will be useful for planning such a behavioral change campaign in the potential pandemic situation in other parts of the world. Methods We conducted an online-based e-questionnaire survey among 467 international students in China through WeChat. The data collection duration was from February 20, 2020 to March 10, 2020 and we focused on their level of awareness, satisfaction, and trust in authorities regarding pandemic measures. Simple bivariate statistics was used to describe the background characteristics of the respondents along with adoption of the partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) as the final model to demonstrate the relationship between the variables. Results In our study, the leading group of the respondents were within 31 to 35 years’ age group (39.82%), male (61.88%), living single (58.24%) and doctoral level students (39.8%). The preventive and supportive measures taken by students and/or provided by the respective institution or authorities were positively related to students’ satisfaction and had an acceptable strength (β = 0.611, t = 9.679, p < 0.001). The trust gained in authorities also showed an acceptable strength (β = 0.381, t = 5.653, p < 0.001) with a positive direction. Again, the personnel awareness building related to both students’ satisfaction (β = 0.295, t = 2.719, p < 0.001) and trust gain (β = 0.131, t = 1.986, p < 0.05) in authorities had a positive and acceptable intensity. Therefore, our study clearly demonstrates the great impact of preventive and supportive measures in the development of students’ satisfaction (R2 = 0.507 indicating moderate relationship). The satisfied students possessed a strong influence which eventually helped in building sufficient trust on their institutions (R2 = 0.797 indicating above substantial relationship). Conclusions The worldwide student group is one of the most affected and vulnerable communities in this situation. So, there is a profound ground of research on how different states or authorities handle such situation. In this study, we have depicted the types and magnitude of care taken by Chinese government and educational institutions towards international students to relieve the panic of pandemic situation. Further research and such initiatives should be taken in to consideration for future emerging conditions.

Understanding Residents’ Physical Activity Intention and Behavior Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

“…In addition, the intention of PA plays an essential role in predicting PA behavior (Cheon et al, 2012). Previous studies have applied the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to study an individual's intention and behavior (Sarker et al, 2021). Ajzen (1985) suggested TPB based on the theory of rational behavior (TRA), which believed that an individual's behavioral intention (INT) and behavior would be influenced by behavioral attitude (ATT), subjective norms (SNs), and perceived behavioral control (PBC; Ajzen, 1985;Venkatesh et al, 2000).…”

Influences of Online Learning Environment on International Students’ Intrinsic Motivation and Engagement in the Chinese Learning

“…An emerging number of studies has investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education (see Ali, 2020;Patricia, 2020). However, being one of the most affected communities during the pandemic, international students were largely overlooked in literature (Sarker et al, 2021). The current study focused on international students who had been studying the Chinese language online since the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…Since the worldwide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education has primarily converted online (Ali, 2020). The international student population was one of the most affected and vulnerable communities during the pandemic (Sarker et al, 2021). Research has reported challenges and difficulties faced by international students during the pandemic.…”

Examination of Pandemic Awareness, Death Anxiety, and Spiritual Well-Being in Elderly Individuals

“…In the study, it was concluded that the pandemic awareness of elderly individuals, who were in the most important risk group during the COVID-19 pandemic, had significant effects on the perception of death anxiety and spiritual well-being and that the increase in pandemic awareness reduced death anxiety and increased spiritual well-being. It is of extreme importance to raise public awareness of the disease to decrease the rapid spread of COVID-19 and its adverse effects on health ( Sarker et al, 2021 ). Accordingly, it is believed that it is quite important for health personnel or health politicians to provide the necessary information about the pandemic to raise the awareness of elderly individuals about the disease.…”