How did we protect children against COVID-19 in Iran? Prevalence of COVID-19 and vaccination in the socio-economic context of COVID-19 epidemic

Abstract

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant risks to children worldwide. This study aimed to assess the COVID-19 protection status of children and explored the relationship between household socio-economic status and COVID-19 morbidity and preventive measures, including vaccination and mask-wearing, in two cities in Iran. Method A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted from July to October 2022 among 7 to 18-year-old children and their families in Tehran and Karaj. A total of 3,022 samples were selected using stratified multistage cluster sampling. Data were collected through interviews with children and adults, using questionnaires and was analyzed with Stata software version 14. Results The analysis focused on 2,878 children with a median age of 12. Over half (54%) reported that the pandemic negatively affected their family’s financial status, with 45% describing its impact on children’s needs as negative or very negative. Just under 50% of respondents consistently wore masks during the study period, and around 54% had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Reasons for not getting vaccinated included concerns about side effects, ineligibility for the target age group, and overcrowding at vaccination sites. The odds of not getting vaccinated were significantly lower for children aged 15–18, with boys more likely to refuse vaccination than girls. Conclusion The financial impact of the pandemic in Iran affected families’ ability to meet their children’s needs. Moreover, low vaccination acceptance rates increased children’s vulnerability to health problems and contributed to COVID-19 infections. Efforts should be made to increase vaccination acceptance, particularly among immigrant populations.

The Effect of the COVID Pandemic on Clinical Psychology Research: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…In the years examined prior to the COVID pandemic (2015 and 2018), there were nearly twice as many research articles published that examined mental health in women than in men. Although the COVID pandemic exacerbated many pre-existing disparities in other areas of society (e.g., [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 33 ]), the values in Table 1 show that the number of published research articles that examined mental health in women and men remained at an approximately two-fold difference in the years examined after the start of the COVID pandemic (2020 and 2022).…”

“…After people had experienced the virus for some time and felt the influence of it in other parts of their lives [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ], the ego network for COVID-19 in 2022 shows that COVID-related research expanded beyond anxiety , depression , and stress to include some of the more fundamental topics of Clinical Psychology for both men and women, such as eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder , and to fundamental topics found only for research in men (e.g., gay and bisexual men ) and to fundamental topics found only for research in women (e.g., pregnancy ). Further, the ego network for COVID-19 in 2022 ( Figure 6 ) shows a number of research topics that may have been exacerbated by the quarantines and lockdowns experienced in many countries around the world during the pandemic (e.g., alcohol use , substance use , intimate partner violence , loneliness , and physical activity ).…”

“…The WHO declared an end to the Public Health Emergency in May 2023 [ 2 ]. In addition to the hundreds of millions of cases of and millions of deaths from COVID-19 world-wide [ 3 ], the disease and measures to contain its spread had widespread effects on social, political, economic (e.g., labor markets and supply chains), and educational institutions in countries around the world [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. The disease and measures to contain its spread also affected various psychological and physical behaviors (e.g., eating, sleeping, and exercise) of individuals around the world [ 13 , 14 ].…”