The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the General Public in Urban and Rural Areas in Southern Japan

Abstract

Urban and rural areas are situated in contrasting physical and social settings, which influence their levels of exposure as well as their preventive behaviors in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The study investigated whether there were differences between the areas regarding the levels of difficulty and anxiety felt by the general public during the first wave of COVID-19 in April and May 2020. We conducted an online questionnaire in Fukuoka and Kumamoto Prefecture in southern Japan via a private research company and collected a total of 913 valid responses from individuals whose conditions of employment were affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Although urban areas experienced higher case rates compared to rural areas, ordinal logistic regression analysis revealed no significant differences between urban and rural respondents concerning the level of difficulty in routine life. The daily-life contents which made them feel difficult during the first wave also did not differ largely between the contrasting areas. Urban respondents appeared to have experienced a higher level of difficulty in finding an alternative job, but how respondents found one, if successful, did not differ between urban and rural areas. The area of residence played a role in explaining the level of anxiety toward being infected, especially when the anxiety-related questions involved relationships with neighbors. Rural respondents showed a significantly higher level of anxiety toward causing neighbors trouble and being criticized if infected. Respondents who were better embedded in their communities generally felt more anxious about being infected, regardless of whether they lived in urban or rural areas. Women and respondents with children were more likely affected by abnormal situations caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Our study highlights the prevailing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general public regardless of whether in urban or rural settings, as well as the potential contribution of social ties among people to protecting communities from infectious pathogens.

Preventive Behaviors and Influencing Factors among Thai Residents in Endemic Areas during the Highest Epidemic Peak of the COVID-19 Outbreak

“…From the findings, more than 42% of residents received a third dose of COVID-19 vaccination because COVID-19 campaigns encouraged residents in areas with high cases of COVID-19 infection to receive a robust dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 in order to create herd immunity, as promoted by the Thai government [29]. However, the number of infected residents was increasing in this area, and 53.2% of residents in this area had had COVID-19 infections because of a high level of exposure to the virus and the social-economic situation of dealing with the outbreak [19]. Suitable policies and campaigns to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections among residents in this area should be urgently implemented to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections in extreme situations.…”

“…However, the study of Kunno et al [34] found that the level of good (50.9%) and poor (49.1%) attitudes toward COVID-19 among healthcare workers in the urban community of Bangkok, Thailand, were approximated. The reason for this result was that urban inhabitants are presumably more exposed to COVID-19, with an increasing number of COVID cases and social activities with a high risk of viral transmission in urban areas [19]. Hence, a poor attitude toward COVID-19 among Thai residents was found in endemic locations, along with a situation of panic.…”

“…Moreover, a higher number of deaths (more than 80 people/day) occurred during this epidemic peak. The results from Sasaki and Ichinose [19] reported that the effective reproduction of a number of viruses (the average virus number of secondary cases by an individual infection) was likely to be higher in a large urban setting because of the greater number of reproduction opportunities afforded by population densities and built-up environments [20,21]. Being the center of numerous social activities may be another reason for the high risk of viral transmission in urban areas.…”

Combined Impact of Omicron Vaccination and Environmental Risk Exposure: A Thailand Case Study

“…The questionnaire as the measurement tool in this study was a modified version of a previous survey [ 38 , 39 , 40 ]. The pre-test process of the questionnaire was undertaken by 30 populations in another province for testing the validity and reliability of the measurement tool, with a 0.75 Cronbach’s alpha coefficient.…”

Sports Elite Means Vaccine Elite? Concerns and Beliefs Related to COVID-19 Vaccines among Olympians and Elite Athletes

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has had varying impacts on people from different walks of life, including sports in the sense of mass sports competitions [ 1 ]. Many major sporting events were canceled and others were postponed; those that ultimately took place, such as the Olympic Games in Tokyo, were held under a total sanitation regime and virtually without an audience [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The pandemic restrictions and the SARS-CoV-2 virus affected not only the participation of elite athletes in sporting events but also their daily training sessions, which either could not take place or occurred irregularly as a result of the closure of sports facilities and, above all, as a result of COVID-19 infections among athletes themselves, as well as their coaches and other colleagues [ 5 ].…”