Participation and Reflection
Relationships Between Willingness to Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19 and Health Information Behaviour Among Estonian Older Adults View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Marianne Paimre, Andri Ahven
Vaccination is undoubtedly one of the most effective ways to protect oneself against COVID-19. It is also well-known that older people are most vulnerable to COVID-19. This paper analyses the relationships between willingness to get the vaccine, health information seeking, and readiness to receive health information using digital technology among Estonian people aged ≥50. A cross-sectional survey was conducted one month after the first lockdown ended in the summer of 2020. According to the results, 268 (53.5%) respondents agreed to vaccinate, 153 (30.5%) expressed scepticism, and 80 (16%) were against it. Being male and having a higher education level significantly affected vaccination readiness. The more often the respondent felt the need for health information and the more recently they had searched the internet for health information, the more they agreed to be vaccinated and vice versa (rho = .14, p <.05). A weak positive correlation (rho = .25, p <.01) emerged between vaccination readiness and the need for a digital health application: the more such an application was needed, the more people agreed to be vaccinated. Those interested in vaccination tended to use a broader range of health information sources than the uninterested and hesitant respondents. The difference was statistically significant, p <.05, F (2,498) = 3.52, η2 = .014. The results indicate that if older people can obtain health information independently (e.g., by going online), they have more opportunities to make better health decisions. The outcomes should be considered when developing health strategies, especially during a crisis.
What Do the COVID-19 Restrictions Deprive Children of?: A Perspective from Children’s Outdoor Activities and Well-being View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jianjiao Liu, Raymond Green
Over the last three years, governments worldwide have taken dramatic measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19, such as through home-quarantine policies, closure of public facilities, and limitations on the range and duration of outdoor activities. The research reported here aimed at exploring different dimensions of the potential impacts of COVID-19 resulting from restrictions on children's outdoor activities in Beijing, China. In-depth online interviews were conducted with 64 parent-child dyads living in Beijing in 2022, with open-ended data content analyzed. The results suggest the children's physical health may have been adversely impacted, mainly with respect to vision and weight gain because of a more sedentary lifestyle, due to reduced time outdoors and increased digital screen time. Some also reported suffering psychological impacts. The increasing reliance on technology in children's education has also raised parents’ concerns about the potential negative impacts on children's academic performance and social skills. Some parents were concerned about their children being outside due to the risk of being infected. Children also missed out on opportunities further afield (than residential areas), such as school-sponsored excursions, depriving them of the cultural, environmental, and social experiences. For some families, though, shifting to remote learning and working from home allowed for more flexibility in scheduling and opportunities to spend more time outdoors nearby their homes (except during times of strict home-quarantine). Our findings suggest that children's outdoor activities have been significantly compromised due to the COVID-19 restrictions in Beijing, which had some negative impacts on their overall health and well-being.
Exploring the Secondary Causes of Avascular Necrosis View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Bindu Pillai
Avascular necrosis (AVN), also known as osteonecrosis is a condition in which there is death of a bone. This condition is due to a reduction of blood supply from a traumatic or nontraumatic cause. The most common site of this problem is the hip joint. Other locations may include shoulder, knee, ankle or wrist. The most common reason are traumatic causes but nontraumatic causes are significantly challenging in the field of medicine. Nontraumatic or secondary causes are numerous and are associated with genetic factors, environmental factors, lifestyle factors, physiological and disease processes. This study explores the nontraumatic causes and current treatment modalities of avascular necrosis.
Impact of Community Ties on Residents' Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from Indigenous Tribes in Taiwan View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Yuan Shie Hwang
This study explores the impact of community ties on residents' subjective well-being (SWB), and to put forward suggestions to promote the well-being of residents. This study is carried out with quantitative methods. Community tie consist of two aspects: community consciousness and community participation. The former includes two sub-aspects: community trust and community belonging. The latter also includes two sub-aspects: individual action and collective action. The SWB consists of three aspects: psychological well-being, safety well-being and quality of life. The four largest ethnic groups among the 16 indigenous groups in Taiwan were sampled as the research object. Indigenous people age over 20 from 5 tribes of each ethic group were interviewed, and a total of 491 valid questionnaires were completed. The results show that there is a significant positive correlation between all sub-aspects of community tie and subjective well-being, and community tie has a significant impact on the SWB. Excepting community trust, most sub-aspects of community tie could predict the SWB and its sub-aspects significantly. According to findings, this study proposes four suggestions for promoting the SWB of tribal residents: (1) Examining the ”trust relationship” between internal stakeholders to function its influence on tribal governance; (2) Strengthening the "community tie” as an approach of tribal governance to consolidate the foundation promoting tribal well-being; (3) Creating a transformation mechanism from "consciousness" to "action" to protect tribal safety; (4) Practicing activities of from "individual participation" to "collective mobilization" to activate the idea and efficacy of community empowerment.
