Dataset Information

Community Responses during Early Phase of COVID-19 Epidemic, Hong Kong.

ABSTRACT: During the early phase of the coronavirus disease epidemic in Hong Kong, 1,715 survey respondents reported high levels of perceived risk, mild anxiety, and adoption of personal-hygiene, travel-avoidance, and social-distancing measures. Widely adopted individual precautionary measures, coupled with early government actions, might slow transmission early in the outbreak.

SUBMITTER: Kwok KO

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7323558 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Community Responses during Early Phase of COVID-19 Epidemic, Hong Kong.

Kwok Kin On KO Li Kin Kit KK Chan Henry Ho Hin HHH Yi Yuan Yuan YY Tang Arthur A Wei Wan In WI Wong Samuel Yeung Shan SYS

Emerging infectious diseases 20200621 7

During the early phase of the coronavirus disease epidemic in Hong Kong, 1,715 survey respondents reported high levels of perceived risk, mild anxiety, and adoption of personal-hygiene, travel-avoidance, and social-distancing measures. Widely adopted individual precautionary measures, coupled with early government actions, might slow transmission early in the outbreak. ...[more]

PMID: 32298227

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Project description:IntroductionChanges in tobacco use and related personal and environmental factors amid the COVID-19 pandemic can be captured by qualitative studies, but they are few in non-Western populations. We assessed the perceived links between tobacco use and COVID-19, and changes in the use of cigarettes, electronic cigarettes (ECs) and heated tobacco products (HTPs) in the early phase of the pandemic in Hong Kong, where lockdown was not implemented.MethodsSemi-structured telephone interviews were conducted from January to June 2021 in 95 participants (36 EC users, 28 HTP users, 32 exclusive cigarette users). Transcriptions were coded using deductive and inductive approaches, and factors for changes were nested in the social-ecological model.ResultsTwo-thirds of participants perceived their infection susceptibility was the same as never tobacco users, and 44.2% perceived more severe COVID-19 disease if infected. Amid the pandemic, tobacco use decreased overall but increased indoors for all three products. Increased tobacco use was mostly attributed to increased emotional distress, while decreases were attributed to various personal (health concerns) and environmental factors (e.g. COVID-19 regulations). Perceived convenience and lower costs were reasons for increased EC use. Limited access to HTPs was compensated by cigarette use.ConclusionsMany participants were unaware of the potential harm of tobacco use on COVID-19. Overall tobacco use decreased due to COVID-19 regulations, which may not be sustainable post-pandemic. Indoor consumption increased, supporting a comprehensive smoke-free policy that covers private indoor areas. Better cessation services targeting EC, HTP and cigarette use are needed.ImplicationsSmokers need better awareness of the risk of tobacco use on COVID-19. Smoking cessation services can be improved by offering brief advice, strengthening advocacy against secondhand smoke, and covering EC and HTP use, highlighting their potential harms to users and others, and their risk of addiction and relapse to cigarette use.

Dataset Information

Community Responses during Early Phase of COVID-19 Epidemic, Hong Kong.

Publications

Community Responses during Early Phase of COVID-19 Epidemic, Hong Kong.

Similar Datasets

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