Search Results (81)

Classical epidemic models treat vaccine uptake as an exogenous parameter, yet real-world coverage emerges from strategic choices made by individuals facing uncertain risks. During the last two decades, vaccination games, which combine epidemic dynamics with game theory, behavioural economics, and network science, have become a very important tool for analysing this problem. Here, we synthesise more than 80 theoretical, computational, and empirical studies to clarify how population structure, psychological perception, pathogen complexity, and policy incentives interact to determine vaccination equilibria and epidemic outcomes. Papers are organised along five methodological axes: (i) population topology (well-mixed, static and evolving networks, multilayer systems); (ii) decision heuristics (risk assessment, imitation, prospect theory, memory); (iii) additional processes (information diffusion, non-pharmacological interventions, treatment, quarantine); (iv) policy levers (subsidies, penalties, mandates, communication); and (v) pathogen complexity (multi-strain, zoonotic reservoirs). Common findings across these studies are that voluntary vaccination is almost always sub-optimal; feedback between incidence and behaviour can generate oscillatory outbreaks; local network correlations amplify free-riding but enable cost-effective targeted mandates; psychological distortions such as probability weighting and omission bias materially shift equilibria; and mixed interventions (e.g., quarantine + vaccination) create dual dilemmas that may offset one another. Moreover, empirical work surveys, laboratory games, and field data confirm peer influence and prosocial motives, yet comprehensive model validation remains rare. Bridging the gap between stylised theory and operational policy will require data-driven calibration, scalable multilayer solvers, and explicit modelling of economic and psychological heterogeneity. This review offers a structured roadmap for future research on adaptive vaccination strategies in an increasingly connected and information-rich world. Full article

Background: The World Health Organization defines myopia as a global epidemic. Its growing prevalence and the increasingly early age onset all raise a major concern for public health due to the elevated risk of loss and deterioration of visual function as a result of myopia-related ocular pathological complications. However, it remains unclear whether the vision-related quality of life of patients with myopia is the same as in healthy individuals. The aim of the present study is to assess the quality of life in children and adolescents with myopia between the ages of 8 and 16 years, who underwent observation at USBOBAL-Varna. Methods: This study prospectively included 190 patients with myopia between −1.00 and −5.50 D, corrected with different optical aids. After a thorough physical ocular examination and inquiry into the best visual acuity with and without distance correction, specially designed questionnaires were completed by the patients and their parents/guardians for the purpose of the study. The data from the questionnaires was statistically processed. The mean age of the patients in the study was 11.65 years, 101 were female and 89 were male. Of these, 83 wore monofocal glasses, 50 were monofocal and 47 were multifocal contact lenses, and 10 wore ortho-K lenses. Results: No significant difference in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was found among the three types of optical correction (p-value > 0.05). Cronbach’s alpha of the questionnaire for all 10 factors was higher than 0.6, indicating acceptable internal consistency. Significantly higher scores were reported for overall, near, and distance vision, symptoms, appearance, attitude, activities and hobbies, handling, and perception for soft contact lens wearers than for spectacle wearers (p-value < 0.05). Ortho-K wearers performed better than spectacle wearers in all aspects except for pronounced symptoms (p = 0.74). No significant difference was found between ortho-K wearers and soft contact lens wearers for any factor (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Patients wearing spectacles and with myopia above −5.00 D had the highest anxiety scores and lower quality of life among all myopic participants. The research on the quality of life in children with myopia with different refractive errors and optical correction devices is crucial for improving corrective devices and meeting the needs of patients. Full article

From a space-time perspective, this paper constructs a CA-SHIRS model to study the psychosocial resonance diffusion of food safety risk, using complex network and cellular automata theory. The CA-SHIRS model is a framework that combines cellular automata with SHIRS (Susceptible–Hidden–Infected–Recovered–Susceptible) epidemic modeling. This methodological integration can effectively reflect local interactions and spatial distribution among consumers. Furthermore, this paper analyzes the diffusion mechanism and spatial–temporal evolution of the psychosocial resonance of food safety risk, considering the interaction between consumer heterogeneity and media communication strategies. The primary conclusions are outlined as follows: (1) An increase in infection probability, conversion probability, and immune failure probability causes the psychosocial resonance of food safety risk to spread rapidly across different regions and populations. In contrast, an increase in immune probability helps control the psychosocial resonance of food safety risk. (2) The diffusion threshold of the psychosocial resonance of food safety risk is negatively related to the consumer risk perception level, consumer risk attention, media freedom, and media report authenticity. However, it is positively correlated with consumer sentiment, market noise, and media report tendency. (3) The consumer risk perception level, consumer risk attention, media freedom, and media report authenticity can effectively inhibit the spatial–temporal diffusion of the psychosocial resonance of food safety risk. On the other hand, increases in market noise, consumer sentiment, and media report tendency accelerate the spread of the psychosocial resonance of food safety risk across different regions. Full article

Background/Objectives: The ongoing obesity epidemic remains a significant public health challenge in the U.S. Nearly one-third of adults are overweight, and nearly half of the population (42.4%) are obese. These conditions, driven by poor and unsustainable diets, are major risk factors for several chronic diseases, including heart disease, which continues to be the leading cause of death in the country. This review aims to examine existing research on health care professionals’ attitudes and perceptions of plant-based nutrition and explore how this knowledge can be utilized to promote the adoption of plant-based diets (PBDs) among Americans as an alternative to the standard American diet. Methods: PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched in April, 2024. Out of the 151 articles identified, 27 were deemed eligible and included in the narrative review. Results: Nine key themes were identified as major influences on the attitudes and behaviors of health professionals regarding PBDs. These themes were mapped with the domains of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to stratify key enablers and barriers to implementation of PBDs in routine care for patients. Conclusions: Key barriers to incorporating plant-based nutrition into routine care include time constraints, limited educational resources, insufficient skills, lack of multidisciplinary collaboration, and inadequate professional training. Access to evidence-based research summaries, clear guidelines, ongoing professional development, and other relevant educational resources were identified as facilitators of successfully integrating PBDs into everyday practice. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented global disruptions, with the hotel and aviation industries—two critical pillars of tourism—among the hardest hit. This study analyzed 451 hotel-related and 336 aviation-related records from the Web of Science database, applying semantic network analysis to uncover eight clusters of crisis management knowledge: basic functions, crisis response, operational strategies, epidemic prevention and control, crisis perception, innovative services, scope of influence, and internal and external environments. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling identified distinct thematic strategies for each sector. In hotels, these included Digital Innovation Transformation, Monitoring Management Procedures, Emotional Awareness Incentives, and Resilience Mechanism Establishment. In aviation, strategies focused on Green Economic Transformation, Co-creation Value Realization, Passenger Incentive Mechanisms, and Balancing Health Risks. By visualizing co-occurrence relationships and mapping thematic intersections and divergences, this study provides actionable insights into the recovery strategies of these industries. The findings offer robust support for developing targeted management approaches and decision-making frameworks to ensure the sustainable growth of the tourism sector. Full article

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are gradually realizing that urban community resilience is pivotal for effectively managing public health emergencies. This study employed grounded theory to establish a theoretical framework for epidemic resilience of urban communities (ERUC) in the post-pandemic era. Subsequently, the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL)-interpretive structural modeling (ISM) method is utilized to discern the significance and hierarchical interrelations among influencing factors. The findings delineate that 14 determinants shaping ERUC are organized into five distinct tiers. Notably, nine determinants emerge as principal: vulnerable group; educational attainment; risk perception; medical insurance coverage; communal norms; community emergency response; community services; resident participation; and government efficacy. Among these, the vulnerable group and government efficiency are identified as foundational factors, while medical insurance coverage, resident participation, and community infrastructure are identified as direct influences. Full article

The ongoing hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic in the United States disproportionately affects rural people who inject drugs (PWID). This study explores the HCV risk environment in rural northern New England by examining PWID experiences and perceptions of HCV and injection equipment-sharing practices. We performed a thematic analysis on semi-structured interviews conducted with 21 adults with a history of injection drug use from rural New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts between April 2018 and August 2019. Salient themes included: (1) limited and varied access to sterile syringe sources; (2) syringe scarcity contributing to the use of informal syringe sources (e.g., secondary syringe exchange or syringe sellers who purchased syringes from out-of-state pharmacies); (3) syringe scarcity contributing to syringe sharing; (4) linkages among decisions about syringe sharing and perceptions of HCV risk, HCV status, and interpersonal trust; and (5) confusion and misconceptions about HCV, including difficulty learning one’s HCV status, inadequate HCV education, and misconceptions regarding HCV transmission and treatment. Efforts to prevent and eliminate HCV among rural PWID should expand syringe access, increase awareness of HCV as a serious but preventable risk, and acknowledge social connections as potential influences on syringe access and syringe-sharing decisions. Full article

The stress response is a natural physiological reaction of the organism, elicited to maintain the internal environment and evoke adaptive behaviors, ultimately leading to survival. However, at the turn of the century, stress-related disorders gained increasing significance. The aim of entry is to explore the fundamental question of when the stress system changes from a beneficial to a detrimental system, contributing to a higher risk of the development of disorders and/or diseases. To develop context, here, we explore the different concepts of stress and reveal the complexities, perspectives, and multiple relationships between the neurochemistry, cerebral functional network, and associated pathologies. According to the literature, the stress response affects nearly every biological system through the close interactions between the physiological, nervous, endocrine, and immune systems when faced with a real or perceived threat. Considering today’s challenging times, where people are facing multiple unavoidable adversities in their lives and a level of uncertainty never before seen, this review emphasizes the importance of understanding the potential consequences of being unable to cope with stressful events. Susceptibility and resilience to stress have gained recognition as important areas of study. The literature presented here enhances our understanding and identifies the causes of various psychopathologies, mental health conditions, disabilities, and even mortality that are closely linked to vulnerability to stress. Experimental studies from recent decades have demonstrated the many factors affecting our ability to cope with stress, including differences between individuals due to their genetic background, epigenetic regulation, gender, and early-life experiences. Finally, there is an urgent need to change the paradigm of modern lifestyles as a potential strategy to prevent the spread of the “health epidemic of the 21st century”, which is stress. Therefore, we acknowledge different approaches to enhance resilience, focusing on perception, tolerance, and positive lifestyle behaviors. Full article

Contact tracing is a method used to control the spread of a pandemic. The objectives of this research are to conduct an empirical review and content analysis to identify the environmental factors causing the spread of the pandemic and to propose an ontology-based big data architecture to collect these factors for prediction. No research studies these factors as a whole in pandemic prediction. The research method used was an empirical study and content analysis. The keywords contact tracking, pandemic spread, fear, hygiene measures, government policy, prevention programs, pandemic programs, information disclosure, pandemic economics, and COVID-19 were used to archive studies on the pandemic spread from 2019 to 2022 in the EBSCOHost databases (e.g., Medline, ERIC, Library Information Science & Technology, etc.). The results showed that only 84 of the 588 archived studies were relevant. The risk perception of the pandemic (n = 14), hygiene behavior (n = 7), culture (n = 12), and attitudes of government policies on pandemic prevention (n = 25), education programs (n = 2), business restrictions (n = 2), technology infrastructure, and multimedia usage (n = 24) were the major environmental factors influencing public behavior of pandemic prevention. An ontology-based big data architecture is proposed to collect these factors for building the spread prediction model. The new method overcomes the limitation of traditional pandemic prediction model such as Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR) that only uses time series to predict epidemic trend. The big data architecture allows multi-dimension data and modern AI methods to be used to train the contagion scenarios for spread prediction. It helps policymakers to plan pandemic prevention programs. Full article

Due to the increasing risk of extreme events caused by climate change (i.e., floods, fires and hurricanes) or wars, European veterinary public health may need some improvement. Utilizing a mix of qualitative (participatory observation) and quantitative methods (Internet mining), we analyzed the Greek media’s responses to the millennial flood in Thessaly (September 2023), focusing on animal health (including wild, companion animals and livestock) and public sentiment towards epizootic/epidemic threats. The study revealed a gap in crisis management plans regarding veterinary-related issues, emphasizing the need for comprehensive emergency response strategies. Our findings show how (i) the lay referral system is projecting the perception of epidemic threats into the population; (ii) the emotional load of images of animal carcasses is misused by media creators aiming for a big audience; and (iii) pets’ owners are creating online communities for the searching and treatment of their pets. Our results stress the importance of integrating crisis communication in consecutive phases of the discourse, such as the following: (i) weather change; (ii) acute flood; (iii) recovery; and (iv) outbreaks, into veterinary practices to better prepare for such disasters. Full article

Objective: The present study investigated the epidemic of tinnitus in college-aged young adults. Our first objective was to identify health conditions associated with tinnitus in young adults. The second objective was to evaluate the predictive utility of some known risk factors. Study design: A cross-sectional design was used to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for tinnitus. Setting: A questionnaire was distributed, reaching out to a large college-aged population. A total of 2258 young adults aged 18–30 years were recruited from April 2021 to February 2022. Interventions: A questionnaire was administered to investigate the epidemiology of tinnitus in a population of college-aged young adults. Results: About 17.7% of young adults reported bothersome tinnitus perception lasting for ≥5 min in the last 12 months. The prevalence of chronic tinnitus (bothersome tinnitus for ≥1 year) and acute tinnitus (bothersome tinnitus for <1 year) was 10.6% and 7.1%, respectively. About 19% of the study sample reported at least one health condition. Individuals reporting head injury, hypertension, heart disease, scarlet fever, and malaria showed significantly higher odds of reporting chronic tinnitus. Meningitis and self-reported hearing loss showed significant associations with bothersome tinnitus. The prevalence of chronic tinnitus was significantly higher in males reporting high noise exposure, a positive history of reoccurring ear infections, European ethnic background, and a positive health history. Risk modeling showed that noise exposure was the most important risk factor for chronic tinnitus, followed by sex, reoccurring ear infections, and a history of any health condition. A positive history of COVID-19 and self-reported severity showed no association with tinnitus. Individuals reporting reoccurring ear infections showed a significantly higher prevalence of COVID-19. Conclusions: While young adults with health conditions are at a higher risk of reporting tinnitus, the predictive utility of a positive health history remains relatively low, possibly due to weak associations between health conditions and tinnitus. Noise, male sex, reoccurring ear infections, European ethnicity, and a positive health history revealed higher odds of reporting chronic tinnitus than their counterparts. These risk factors collectively explained about 16% variability in chronic tinnitus, which highlights the need for identifying other risk factors for chronic tinnitus in young adults. Full article

Background: Studying anxiety, stress, and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic is crucial to mitigate the negative effects associated with infection risk and disease consequences. Objective: This study aimed to investigate anxiety levels, stress perception, and coping strategies in relation to the presence of illness. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted anonymously among 3950 university students from Poland (1822), Lithuania (232), and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad (1896). Due to the nearly identical application of anti-epidemic measures, the respondents were treated as a unified group. The State-trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Perceived Stress Scale 10 (PSS-10), and mini-COPE scale questionnaires were used. Statistical analysis included the Shapiro–Wilk test to check normality, the Mann–Whitney U test for comparative analysis between groups, the Pearson χ² test for categorical data, and Spearman coefficients for correlations between variables. Results: A significant proportion of young adults in the community exhibited symptoms of anxiety and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the 1212 men and 2738 women surveyed, 348 (28.7%) and 1020 (37.3%) individuals, respectively, were diagnosed with COVID-19 according to clinical protocols. Prolonged disease duration and more severe residual symptoms correlated with higher self-reported anxiety levels. Conclusions: The level of anxiety and stress varied depending on the duration of the disease, significantly impacting the choice of coping strategies. Overall, students displayed a proactive approach to coping activities but tended to postpone important decisions. Seeking social support was a prevalent coping mechanism, although respondents who had COVID-19 showed higher levels of concern for their own emotions, a tendency to discharge emotions through alcohol or other substances (male), and a greater reliance on religion (female). The study provides data that may be useful in developing educational and health policies focused on the mental well-being of university students and potentially other social groups. Full article

Little research has been done on professionals’ perceptions of institutions and governments during epidemics. We aim to create a profile of physicians who feel they can raise public health issues with relevant institutions during a pandemic. A total of 1285 Romanian physicians completed an online survey as part of a larger study. We used binary logistic regression to profile physicians who felt they were able to raise public health issues with relevant institutions. Five predictors could differentiate between respondents who tended to agree with the trust statement and those who tended to disagree: feeling safe at work during the pandemic, considering the financial incentive worth the risk, receiving training on the use of protective equipment, having the same values as colleagues, and enjoying work as much as before the pandemic. Physicians who trusted the system to raise public health issues with the appropriate institutions were more likely to feel that they shared the same values as their colleagues, to say they were trained to use protective equipment during the pandemic, to feel that they were safe at work during the pandemic, to enjoy their work as much as before the pandemic, and to feel that the financial bonus justified the risk. Full article

This paper examines the perception of risk associated with the presence of coronavirus in food purchased online and online vs. offline food shopping during the COVID-19 epidemic. The influence of COVID-19 status on risk perception was tested using the data collected from 742 consumers between December 2021 and January 2022. The empirical approach distinguished between the epidemic’s status in a province (or region), city, and other areas of the country and applied the ordered logit technique. The regional and citywide epidemic increased the perception that online purchases carry the virus and are riskier than those made offline. Further examination showed that the regional/provincial epidemic created the perception that packaging or social media use were risk factors when purchasing food online. Heterogeneity analysis showed that risk perception was significantly higher in affected cities than in non-affected provinces or other provinces. Risk perception differed across five online food categories, with the highest levels for online-ordered meals and fresh products. Strengthening COVID-19 prevention and control in cities and the province, managing risk due to the handling of food purchased online, and government monitoring of social media use will lessen consumers’ risk perceptions and encourage the use of online food offers during epidemics. Full article

This study examined the impact of attitudes toward life, recreational sports values, and workplace risk perceptions on urban development and public well-being under the risk of the COVID-19 epidemic in China. A mixed-method research study was conducted, and 2400 valid questionnaires were collected via purposeful sampling. The questionnaires were analyzed using the SPSS 26.0 statistical software and validated with basic statistical methods and Pearson’s correlation analysis. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted to collect the opinions of 12 respondents on the questionnaire results, including academics, foreign entrepreneurs and employees, local entrepreneurs and employees, and official institutions. Finally, all the data collected were discussed via triangulation analysis. The survey found that different cities’ social and industrial development and job market needs lead to different attitudes toward life, leisure values, and perceptions of job-seeking and employment risks. The smoother a person’s growing-up background, the better their learning history, the better their learning and working experience, and the richer their life experience; consequently, positive attitudes toward life, correct leisure values, and positive attitudes toward job hunting and employment can be cultivated. In addition, people with positive attitudes toward life, leisure values, and job hunting and employment can improve their city’s economy and environment for sustainable development, thereby improving their quality of life and increasing their well-being. Full article