Project description:PurposeTo construct a risk assessment model for forecasting the likelihood of myopia in elementary school students.DesignA cross-sectional study.MethodsThis study utilized convenient sampling and questionnaire survey to collect data from eligible elementary students and their parents during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic period from March to December 2020. The data were divided into training and testing sets in a 7:3 ratio. Lasso regression was employed to screen variables for inclusion in the model to establish a generalized linear model, with a nomogram model as the final result.ResultsThe study included 1139 elementary students, comprising 54.5 % male and 45.5 % female participants. A total of 37 variables were obtained, which were analyzed using lasso regression. Cross-validation revealed that the best lambda value was 0.04201788. Five variables affecting myopia were identified: three risk and two protective factors. The three risk factors were student age (OR = 1.32), family location (urban vs. rural, OR = 2.33), and parents' occupation (compared with farmer: worker, OR = 2.03; teacher, OR = 1.62; medical worker, OR = 5.64; self-employed, OR = 1.78; civil servant, OR = 1.65; company employee, OR = 1.45; service industries, OR = 3.38; and others, OR = 3.20). The two protective factors were eye distance score (OR = 0.83) and eye health exercise score (OR = 0.95). The model was verified and showed good accuracy with an AUC of 0.778 and Brier score of 0.122 in addition to satisfactory clinical effects.ConclusionsThe model effectively predicted the risk of myopia in elementary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using this model, high-risk groups can be identified to provide a foundation for early intervention and follow-up, thereby reducing the incidence of myopia in this population.
Project description:COVID-19 has created significant concern surrounding the impact of pandemic lockdown on mental health. While the pandemic lockdown can be distressing, times of crisis can also provide people with the opportunity to think divergently and explore different activities. Novelty seeking, where individuals explore novel and unfamiliarly stimuli and environments, may enhance the creativity of individuals to solve problems in a way that allows them to adjust their emotional responses to stressful situations. This study employs a longitudinal design to investigate changes in novelty seeking and mental health outcomes (namely, stress, anxiety, and depression) before, during, and after COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, among a group of students (final N = 173; M age = 19.81; SD age = 0.98; 135 females and 38 males) from a university in southeast China. Participants were surveyed at three points: November, 2019 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic); between February and March, 2020 (during the peak of the pandemic and intense lockdown in China); and between May and June, 2020 (after lockdown had been lifted in China). Cross-sectionally, correlation analysis indicated that greater novelty seeking was associated with lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression at all three time points. Univariate latent curve modeling (LCM) indicated a growth trajectory in which novelty seeking increased over time and then remained high during the post-lockdown period. Stress, anxiety, and depression all showed V-shaped growth trajectories in which these variables decreased during lockdown, before increasing in the post-lockdown period. Multivariate LCM indicated the growth trajectory for novelty seeking was associated with the growth trajectories for stress, anxiety, and depression. This suggests that the observed decreases in stress, anxiety, and depression during the lockdown period may be attributable to the sample's observed increase in novelty seeking. These findings are valuable in that they challenge the notion that lockdown measures are inherently detrimental to mental health. The findings indicate the important role of novelty seeking in responding to crises. It may be possible for future public health measures to incorporate the promotion of novelty seeking to help individuals' respond to stressful situations and maintain good mental health in the face of crises.
Project description:Background and aimLack of knowledge on COVID-19 among people and healthcare staff significantly impacts late management and its rapid transmission. Dental students must be aware of the exact preventive instructions due to their close contact with patients and clinical work in the dental setting during the pandemic. This interventional study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of designed educational content regarding COVID-19 on Iranian dental students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices at Alborz University of medical sciences.Materials and methodsA total of 88 dental students were investigated in this study. Educational content was designed based on the clinical guidelines regarding COVID-19 in dentistry. The content was presented to dental students as a three-hour webinar. In addition, the online, validated questionnaire was obtained from the students as pre, post, and follow-up surveys.ResultsA statistically significant difference between students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices were obtained before and after the intervention and the follow-up survey. 48.58% improvement in knowledge score, 6.37% in attitudes, and 17% in practice scores were observed.ConclusionAlthough this educational intervention significantly improved the knowledge, attitude, and practice of dental students, additional education and clinical training are mandatory for effective and safe dental practice management in future crises.
Project description:Within the last decade, childhood obesity has become a serious problem, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research paper aimed to examine whether body mass index (BMI) was higher during the pandemic (2020-2022) than in the pre-pandemic period (2012/2013-2019) using trends related to sex, urban-rural area, and physical activity (PA). This study included data from physical examinations of an entire population of primary school children from Split-Dalmatia County (Croatia) over a period of 10 years. There were 103,804 students from the first, fifth, and eighth grades who participated in the analysis. During the pandemic, the BMI of all the students increased, except for eighth-grade girls. Generations of eighth graders have had significantly different BMIs throughout the past decade. We found that first graders were overweight and obese in urban areas, while in rural areas, this problem was experienced by upper grades. Girls were more overweight and obese in the first and eighth grades, but boys experienced this more in the fifth grade. Reduced PA influenced an increase in BMI in both sexes, especially in girls. During the pandemic, this situation became worse. This study could be useful to experts for the creation of new policies for Split-Dalmatia County and surrounding regions that are similar economically and culturally.
Project description:Bullying is a social phenomenon that impacts a large number of children and young people, worldwide. This study aimed to longitudinally examine the development of bullying and victimization in Chinese students in grades 4, 5, and 6. We used latent class analysis to empirically identify groups of youth with different bullying and victimization patterns, and then used latent transition analysis to explore the movement of children between these latent classes over time. Results showed that: (1) across the three time points, students could be classified into four classes: bullies, victims, bully-victims, and non-involved children; and (2) students in the non-involved class tended to remain in that class when moving to higher grades, students in the bully and victims classes tended to transition to the non-involved class, while students in the bully-victims class tended to transition to the bullies class. Thus, future intervention should be implemented to prevent bully-victims from bullying behaviors.
Project description:First empirical results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has a negative impact on adolescents' and adults' subjective well-being. In the present study we focus on the subjective well-being of elementary school children before and after the first pandemic-related school lockdown and examine if possible declines in subjective well-being are especially pronounced for some groups, considering socio-economic status, migration background, and gender as moderators. We tested N = 425 elementary school students (mean age: M = 8.19; SD = 1.04) longitudinally with four measurement points (three before the school lockdown and one after) regarding their general life satisfaction, mood, and domain satisfaction regarding peers, family, and school. Piecewise growth curve models revealed a significant decline in positive mood and in satisfaction with the family. Decline in life satisfaction and satisfaction with peers nearly missed significance. The investigated moderators had no impact on the changes in subjective well-being. We conclude that the pandemic had detrimental effects on young children's subjective well-being.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10902-022-00537-y.
Project description:Medical students report high demands, stressors, pressure to perform, and a lack of resources, and are therefore at a higher risk for mental strain and burnout. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, study conditions have changed, and new challenges have emerged. Thus, this study aimed to examine medical students' well-being, mental health, and study characteristics before and during the pandemic. Data from 988 Austrian medical students were included into the cross-sectional comparisons, and 63 students were included into the longitudinal analyses (variance analyses/t-tests or appropriate non-parametric tests). Well-being before and during the pandemic did not differ significantly but the peri-pandemic cohort reported higher study satisfaction, more social support from lecturers, and less emotional exhaustion, cognitive demands, and stressors (information problems, organizational stressors, work overload). Longitudinally, work overload was also perceived to be higher before the pandemic; however, study satisfaction was lower. During the pandemic, approximately every seventh student exceeded the cut-off value for generalized anxiety disorder, and approximately every tenth student exceeded the cut-off value for major depression. These unexpected peri-pandemic results concerning constant high well-being, study satisfaction, and the perception of conditions may be based on response shift effects that require further exploration. The scores exceeding the reasonable cut-point for identifying probable cases of generalized anxiety disorder and depression may reflect medical students' needs, calling for an in-depth analysis if further health promotion is necessary.
Project description:BackgroundFew studies have explored risk factors for poor mental health in Ugandan primary schools. This study investigated whether individual- and contextual-level school-related factors including violence from school staff and other students, connectedness to school and peers, as well as school size and urban/rural location, were associated with mental health difficulties in Ugandan children. We also examined whether associations between violence exposure at school and mental health were mediated by connectedness as well as whether associations were different for boys and girls.MethodsThe analytic sample consisted of 3,565 students from 42 primary schools participating in the Good Schools Study. Data were collected through individual interviews conducted in June and July 2012. Mental health was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Multilevel logistic regression was applied to investigate factors associated with mental health difficulties.ResultsExperiences of violence from school staff and other students in the past week were strongly associated with mental health difficulties (OR = 1.58, 95 % CI 1.31 to 1.90 and 1.81, 1.47 to 2.23, respectively). Children with a low school connectedness had 1.43 times (1.11 to 1.83) the odds of mental health difficulties compared to those with a high school connectedness. The OR comparing children never feeling close to other students at their school with those always feeling close was 1.86 (1.18 to 2.93). The effect of violence on mental health was not mediated through the connectedness variables. School size was not related to mental health difficulties, but attending an urban school increased the odds of mental health difficulties after accounting for other factors. We did not find evidence that the effect of one or more of the exposures on the outcome differed between boys and girls.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that violence in school and low connectedness to school and peers are independently associated with mental health difficulties and interventions should address both concurrently. Extra support may be needed for students in urban schools.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT01678846 . Registered 24 August 2012.
Project description:Background/Objective:There are inadequate screening instruments for assessing specific internet-related addictions among mainland Chinese primary school students. Therefore, the present study validated the psychometric properties of three simplified Chinese online-related addictive behavior instruments among mainland Chinese primary school students. Method:Fourth to sixth graders (n = 1108; 48.3% males; mean [SD] age?=?10.37 years [0.95]) completed the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scales-Short Form (IGDS-SF9), Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), and Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS) in a classroom. The factorial structures and the unidimensionality of the three scales were examined using confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs). Measurement invariance of the three scales was examined using multigroup confirmatory factor analyses (MGCFAs) across gender. Results:The findings demonstrated that the three scales (Cronbach's ? = 0.73 to 0.84) had unidimensional structure as supported by satisfactory fit indices (comparative fit index?=?0.98 to 1.00). The MGCFA findings indicated that the unidimensional structures of the three scales were invariant across gender. Conclusions:The findings indicate that the three simplified Chinese scales (IGDS-SF9, BSMAS, and SABAS) are valid instruments for assessing online-related addictive behaviors among mainland Chinese primary school students irrespective of their gender.