Perception of Concern and Associated Factors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Epidemiological Survey in a Brazilian Municipality
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Methods
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variable | Household | UBS | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | n | % | ||
Sex | Female | 804 | 64.3 | 752 | 63.7 | 1556 | 64.0 |
Male | 447 | 35.7 | 429 | 36.3 | 876 | 36.0 | |
Age (years) | 18 to 39 | 333 | 26.6 | 624 | 52.8 | 957 | 39.4 |
40 to 59 | 497 | 39.7 | 441 | 37.3 | 638 | 26.2 | |
≥60 | 414 | 33.1 | 116 | 9.8 | 530 | 21.8 | |
NR | 4 | 0.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 0.2 | |
Skin color | Black | 69 | 5.5 | 73 | 6.2 | 82 | 3.4 |
Mixed race | 244 | 19.5 | 296 | 25.1 | 340 | 14.0 | |
White | 905 | 72.3 | 794 | 67.2 | 1699 | 69.9 | |
Yellow | 30 | 2.4 | 10 | 0.8 | 40 | 1.6 | |
NR | 3 | 0.2 | 8 | 0.7 | 11 | 0.5 | |
Educational level | Illiterate | 16 | 1.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 16 | 0.7 |
Up to elementary school | 292 | 23.3 | 146 | 12.4 | 438 | 18.0 | |
Up to high school | 446 | 35.7 | 562 | 47.6 | 1008 | 41.4 | |
Complete higher education/Postgraduation | 496 | 39.6 | 458 | 38.8 | 954 | 39.2 | |
NR | 1 | 0.1 | 15 | 1.3 | 16 | 0.7 | |
Household income | <1 MW | 82 | 6.6 | 56 | 4.7 | 138 | 5.7 |
1 to 2 MW | 197 | 15.7 | 214 | 18.1 | 411 | 16.9 | |
2 to 3 MW | 241 | 19.3 | 218 | 18.5 | 432 | 17.8 | |
3 to 4 MW | 227 | 18.1 | 243 | 20.6 | 270 | 11.1 | |
≥5 MW | 355 | 28.4 | 337 | 28.5 | 692 | 28.5 | |
No income | 11 | 0.9 | 13 | 1.1 | 24 | 1.0 | |
NR | 138 | 11.0 | 100 | 8.5 | 238 | 9.8 | |
Highest educational attainment of the household | Illiterate | 7 | 0.6 | 0 | 0.0 | 7 | 0.3 |
Up to elementary school | 85 | 6.8 | 28 | 2.4 | 113 | 4.6 | |
Up to high school | 358 | 28.6 | 380 | 32.2 | 738 | 30.3 | |
Complete higher education/Postgraduation | 783 | 62.6 | 727 | 61.6 | 1510 | 62.1 | |
NR | 18 | 1.4 | 46 | 3.9 | 64 | 2.6 | |
Health professional in the household | Yes | 225 | 18.0 | 284 | 24.0 | 509 | 20.9 |
No | 1026 | 82.0 | 897 | 76.0 | 1923 | 79.1 | |
Total | 1251 | 100 | 1181 | 100 | 2432 | 100 |
Household | UBS | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | n | % | ||
Fear of being very alone | Does not worry me | 747 | 59.7 | 538 | 45.6 | 1285 | 52.8 |
Worries me a little | 262 | 20.9 | 233 | 19.7 | 495 | 20.4 | |
Worries me a lot | 242 | 19.3 | 410 | 34.7 | 652 | 26.8 | |
Fear of losing someone close due to the disease | Does not worry me | 134 | 10.7 | 53 | 4.5 | 187 | 7.7 |
Worries me a little | 110 | 8.8 | 43 | 3.6 | 153 | 6.3 | |
Worries me a lot | 1007 | 80.5 | 1085 | 91.9 | 2092 | 86.0 | |
Fear of a family member/friend contracting coronavirus | Does not worry me | 93 | 7.4 | 60 | 5.1 | 153 | 6.3 |
Worries me a little | 125 | 10.0 | 70 | 5.9 | 195 | 8.0 | |
Worries me a lot | 1033 | 82.6 | 1051 | 89.0 | 2084 | 85.7 | |
Experiencing financial difficulties | Does not worry me | 632 | 50.5 | 495 | 41.9 | 1127 | 46.3 |
Worries me a little | 243 | 19.4 | 202 | 17.1 | 445 | 18.3 | |
Worries me a lot | 376 | 30.1 | 484 | 41.0 | 860 | 35.4 | |
School closure | Does not worry me | 221 | 17.7 | 226 | 19.1 | 447 | 18.4 |
Worries me a little | 209 | 16.7 | 194 | 16.4 | 403 | 16.6 | |
Worries me a lot | 821 | 65.6 | 761 | 64.4 | 1582 | 65.0 | |
Fear of catching coronavirus | Does not worry me | 167 | 13.3 | 254 | 21.5 | 421 | 17.3 |
Worries me a little | 173 | 13.8 | 140 | 11.9 | 313 | 12.9 | |
Worries me a lot | 911 | 72.8 | 787 | 66.6 | 1698 | 69.8 | |
Fear of becoming unemployed | Does not worry me | 571 | 45.6 | 330 | 27.9 | 901 | 37.0 |
Worries me a little | 108 | 8.6 | 107 | 9.1 | 215 | 8.8 | |
Worries me a lot | 572 | 45.7 | 744 | 63.0 | 1316 | 54.1 | |
Fear of dying | Does not worry me | 376 | 30.1 | 372 | 31.5 | 748 | 30.8 |
Worries me a little | 162 | 12.9 | 136 | 11.5 | 298 | 12.3 | |
Worries me a lot | 713 | 57.0 | 673 | 57.0 | 1386 | 57.0 | |
Fear of shortage of food and basic items caused by the pandemic | Does not worry me | 508 | 40.6 | 431 | 36.5 | 939 | 38.6 |
Worries me a little | 240 | 19.2 | 215 | 18.2 | 455 | 18.7 | |
Worries me a lot | 503 | 40.2 | 535 | 45.3 | 1038 | 42.7 |
Concern | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Below the Median (≤22) | Above the Median (>22) | ||||||||
n | % | n | % | Unadjusted OR | 95% CI | p | |||
Age (years) | 18 to 39 | 445 | 45.5 | 512 | 53.5 | 2.89 | 2.30 | 3.63 | <0.001 |
40 to 59 | 504 | 53.7 | 434 | 46.3 | 2.16 | 1.72 | 2.72 | <0.001 | |
≥60 | 379 | 51.5 | 151 | 28.5 | 1 | ||||
Sex | Female | 788 | 50.7 | 767 | 49.3 | 1.60 | 1.35 | 1.89 | <0.001 |
Male | 544 | 62.1 | 332 | 37.9 | 1 | ||||
Income (minimum wage) | <1 | 712 | 61.3 | 450 | 38.7 | 2.49 | 1.78 | 3.48 | <0.001 |
1 to 3 | 416 | 47.8 | 454 | 52.2 | 1.73 | 1.45 | 2.06 | <0.001 | |
≥3 | 63 | 38.9 | 99 | 61.1 | 1 | ||||
Skin color | Black and mixed race | 309 | 45.3 | 373 | 54.7 | 1.67 | 1.40 | 1.99 | <0.001 |
White | 986 | 58.1 | 712 | 41.9 | 1 | ||||
Educational level | Illiterate | 15 | 93.8 | 1 | 6.2 | 1 | 0.45 | 3.35 | 0.67 |
Up to elementary school | 336 | 81.8 | 75 | 18.2 | 1.37 | 1.09 | 1.73 | 0.006 | |
Up to high school | 713 | 75.1 | 237 | 24.9 | 1.66 | 1.39 | 1.99 | <0.001 | |
Complete higher education/Postgraduation | 744 | 81.8 | 165 | 18.2 | 1 | ||||
Did your routine change? | Not going out or going to the market, pharmacy, emergency | 875 | 57.7 | 642 | 42.3 | 1.38 | 0.85 | 2.25 | 0.19 |
Going out to work | 408 | 48.6 | 431 | 51.4 | 1.99 | 1.21 | 3.26 | 0.006 | |
No change in routine | 49 | 65.3 | 26 | 34.7 | 1 | ||||
Did you adhere to prevention guidelines? | Yes | 1128 | 54.9 | 925 | 45.1 | 0.96 | 0.77 | 1.20 | 0.72 |
No | 204 | 54.0 | 174 | 46.0 | 1 | ||||
Did you adhere to isolation? | Yes | 991 | 57.3 | 737 | 42.7 | 1.43 | 1.20 | 1.71 | <0.001 |
No | 340 | 48.4 | 362 | 51.6 | 1.00 | ||||
Was your income affected? | No longer having income | 19 | 33.9 | 37 | 66.1 | 3.34 | 1.89 | 5.87 | <0.001 |
Decreased a little | 556 | 47.2 | 622 | 52.8 | 1.92 | 1.62 | 2.26 | <0.001 | |
Continues the same | 721 | 63.1 | 421 | 36.9 | 1 | ||||
Were you unemployed? | Yes | 94 | 37 | 160 | 63.0 | 2.24 | 1.716 | 2.935 | <0.001 |
No | 1238 | 56.9 | 939 | 43.1 | 1 | ||||
Did you have any symptom? | Yes | 210 | 47.8 | 229 | 52.2 | 1.40 | 1.14 | 1.73 | 0.001 |
No | 1122 | 56.3 | 870 | 43.7 | 1 | ||||
Did a family member have any symptom? | Yes | 173 | 49.4 | 11 | 50.6 | 1.28 | 1.02 | 1.61 | 0.03 |
No | 1159 | 55.7 | 922 | 44.3 | 1 | ||||
Did any family member test positive for COVID-19? | Yes | 1106 | 55.8 | 875 | 44.2 | 1.25 | 1.02 | 1.54 | 0.03 |
No | 226 | 50.2 | 224 | 49.8 | 1 | ||||
Did you lose a family member? | Yes | 73 | 58.9 | 51 | 41.1 | 1.19 | 0.82 | 1.72 | 0.35 |
No | 1259 | 545.6 | 45.4 | 1 | |||||
COVID-19 test | Positive | 1120 | 55.7 | 889 | 44.3 | 1.25 | 1.01 | 1.54 | 0.04 |
Negative | 212 | 50.2 | 210 | 49.8 | 1 |
Variable | Adjusted OR | 95% CI | p | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sex | Female | 1.42 | 1.18–1.71 | 0.003 |
Male | 1 | |||
Skin color | Black and mixed race | 1.40 | 1.15–1.71 | <0.01 |
White | 1 | |||
Income (minimum wage) | <1 | 2.58 | 1.80–3.70 | <0.01 |
1 to 3 | 1.64 | 1.35–1.98 | <0.01 | |
≥3 | 1 | |||
Age (years) | 18 to 39 | 3.07 | 2.39–3.94 | <0.01 |
40 to 59 | 2.42 | 1.89–3.10 | <0.01 | |
≥60 | 1 |
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Barbosa, A.P.; Batista, M.J. Perception of Concern and Associated Factors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Epidemiological Survey in a Brazilian Municipality. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22, 1293. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22081293
Barbosa AP, Batista MJ. Perception of Concern and Associated Factors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Epidemiological Survey in a Brazilian Municipality. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2025; 22(8):1293. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22081293
Chicago/Turabian StyleBarbosa, Adriano Pires, and Marília Jesus Batista. 2025. "Perception of Concern and Associated Factors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Epidemiological Survey in a Brazilian Municipality" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 22, no. 8: 1293. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22081293
APA StyleBarbosa, A. P., & Batista, M. J. (2025). Perception of Concern and Associated Factors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Epidemiological Survey in a Brazilian Municipality. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(8), 1293. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22081293