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Purpose: This study aimed to clarify the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on individual dentalvisit behaviour and examine the difference between elderly and other individuals regarding the impact on dental visits. Materials and Methods: An interrupted time-series analysis was performed to examine the change in data from the national database before and after the first declaration of a state of emergency. Results: The number of patients visiting a dental clinic (NPVDC), number of dental treatment days (NDTD) and dental expenses (DE) during the first declaration of a state of emergency decreased by 22.1%, 17.9%, and 12.5% in the group under 64 years of age and 26.1%, 26.3%, and 20.1% in the group over 65 years of age, respectively, compared with those in the same month of the previous year. Between March and June 2020, the monthly NPVDC and NDTD were significantly reduced (p < 0.001, p = 0.013) in those over 65 years of age. The DE did not change statistically significantly in either the under 64 group or the over 65 group. There was no statistically significant change in the slope of the regression line in the NPVDC, NDTD, and DE before and after the first state-of-emergency declaration. Conclusion: The first state of emergency greatly reduced the NPVDC, NDTD, and DE compared to those in the previous year. In people aged over 65 years, it might still be unresolved 2 years after the postponement of dental treatment owing to the first declaration of a state of emergency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective is to examine how hospital admissions for mental health and eating disorders changed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and with the return to fully in-person school with increased vaccine availability. Data from a tertiary care children's hospital were examined for admissions to the hospital from March 2018 through March 2022, including children 6–20 years old admitted with ICD-10 codes for mental health and eating disorders. Interrupted time series (ITS) analyses were used to examine for changes at specific time points. In the first year of the pandemic, the ITS analysis showed a significant increase in admissions per month for eating disorders with a slope of 1.2 (95 % CI: 0.2, 2.2) and for other mental health diagnoses, a slope of 1.9 (95 % CI: 1.1, 2.7). In a longer-term ITS analysis, return to fully in-person school was associated with no significant changes. The COVID-19 pandemic had an initial impact on admissions for eating disorders and other mental health that attenuated over time.

Abstract Background While existing research has explored changes in health behaviours among adults and adolescents due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the impact of quarantine on young children’s well-being is still less clear. Moreover, most of the published studies were carried out on small and non-representative samples. The aim of the EpaS-ISS study was to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the habits and behaviours of a representative sample of school children aged mainly 8–9 years and their families living in Italy, exploring the changes in children’s well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the immediately preceding time period. Methods Data were collected using a web questionnaire. The target population was parents of children attending third-grade primary schools and living in Italy. A cluster sample design was adopted. A Well-Being Score (WBS) was calculated by summing the scores from 10 items concerning the children’s well-being. Associations between WBS and socio-demographic variables and other variables were analysed. Results A total of 4863 families participated. The children’s WBS decreased during COVID-19 (median value from 31 to 25; p = 0.000). The most statistically significant variables related to a worsening children’s WBS were: time of school closure, female gender, living in a house with only a small and unliveable outdoor area, high parents’ educational level and worsening financial situation. Conclusions According to parents ' perception, changes in daily routine during COVID-19 negatively affected children’s well-being. This study has identified some personal and contextual variables associated with the worsening of children’s WBS, which should be considered in case of similar events.

Background: While existing research has explored changes in health behaviours among adults and adolescents due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the impact of quarantine on young children's well-being is still less clear. Moreover, most of the published studies were carried out on small and non-representative samples. The aim of the EpaS-ISS study was to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the habits and behaviours of a representative sample of school children aged mainly 8–9 years and their families living in Italy, exploring the changes in children's well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the immediately preceding time period. Methods: Data were collected using a web questionnaire. The target population was parents of children attending third-grade primary schools and living in Italy. A cluster sample design was adopted. A Well-Being Score (WBS) was calculated by summing the scores from 10 items concerning the children's well-being. Associations between WBS and socio-demographic variables and other variables were analysed. Results: A total of 4863 families participated. The children's WBS decreased during COVID-19 (median value from 31 to 25; p = 0.000). The most statistically significant variables related to a worsening children's WBS were: time of school closure, female gender, living in a house with only a small and unliveable outdoor area, high parents' educational level and worsening financial situation. Conclusions: According to parents ' perception, changes in daily routine during COVID-19 negatively affected children's well-being. This study has identified some personal and contextual variables associated with the worsening of children's WBS, which should be considered in case of similar events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Results from single-region studies suggest that stay at home orders (SAHOs) had unforeseen consequences on the volume and patterns of traumatic injury during the initial months of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of this study was to describe, using a multi-regional approach, the effects of COVID-19 SAHOs on trauma volume and patterns of traumatic injury in the US.Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed at four verified Level I trauma centers spanning three geographical regions across the United States (US). The study period spanned from April 1, 2020 - July 31, 2020 including a month-matched 2019 cohort. Patients were categorized into pre-COVID-19 (PCOV19) and first COVID-19 surge (FCOV19S) cohorts. Patient demographic, injury, and outcome data were collected via Trauma Registry queries. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed.Results: A total 5,616 patients presented to participating study centers during the PCOV19 (2,916) and FCOV19S (2,700) study periods.  Blunt injury volume decreased (p = 0.006) due to a significant reduction in the number of motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) (p = 0.003). Penetrating trauma experienced a significant increase, 8% (246/2916) in 2019 to 11% (285/2,700) in 2020 (p = 0.007), which was associated with study site (p = 0.002), not SAHOs. Finally, study site was significantly associated with changes in nearly all injury mechanisms, whereas SAHOs accounted for observed decreases in calculated weekly averages of blunt injuries (p < 0.02) and MVCs (p = 0.003).Conclusion: Results of this study suggest that COVID-19 and initial SAHOs had variable consequences on patterns of traumatic injury, and that region-specific shifts in traumatic injury ensued during initial SAHOs. These results suggest that other factors, potentially socioeconomic or cultural, confound trauma volumes and types arising from SAHOs. Future analyses must consider how regional changes may be obscured with pooled cohorts, and focus on characterizing community-level changes to aid municipal preparation for future similar events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: This study aims to investigate the impact of the lockdowns during the COVID-19 (Corona-Virus-Disease 19) pandemic in Austria on work-related accidents in the year 2020. Apart from the lockdowns, multiple work-related measures were introduced in 2020, such as the new law on short-term work and regulation on accidents during home-office. Their combined effects on work-related accidents are unknown and a secondary parameter of this study. Methods: Daily data on the number of accepted and rejected cases of work-related accidents from the Allgemeine Unfallversicherungsanstalt were obtained for the years 2019 and 2020. Based on data provided by the World Health Organization and government publications, the beginning and end dates of national hard and soft lockdown periods were derived. From this database, a difference-in-differences regression analysis on the absolute number of daily work-related accidents was conducted. Results: On average 272.3 work-related accidents per day were registered in 2019 and 199.4 in 2020, a statistically significant reduction of 72.9 accidents per day and total decrease of 26,164 less accidents compared to 2019. Both lockdowns had a statistically highly significant effect on work-related accidents: The hard lockdown reduced the average number of daily registered work-related accidents by 40%. The light lockdown phases reduced this number by an average of 51%. Weekends and holidays had the greatest impact on work-related accidents with a reduction of 69% and 73%, respectively. Conclusion: Both lockdown qualities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria led to a significant reduction in work-related accidents for their duration. These findings merit further investigation with more detailed data on sectors and injury-quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the Value of Statistical Life (VSL) literature to weigh the costs and benefits of non-pharmaceutical interventions of the U.S. COVID-19 stay-at-home orders that affected 92 percent of the U.S. workforce at their peak in April 2020. We calculate the prevaccine COVID-19 infection fatality rate to have been 0.85 percent. We find that the stay-at-home orders saved most likely about 71,000 lives and led to a net benefit to the United States of 1.7 percent of GDP after accounting for lives saved and drops in workforce participation. Through October 31, 2021, the VSL of U.S. lives lost to COVID-19 was over $8.4 trillion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Because older adults are at elevated risk of COVID-19-related adverse health outcomes, and staying at home is an effective strategy to avoid unnecessary exposures, the current formative study used the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA) to identify the beliefs underlying older adults' decision to stay home for the next month.Methods: The participants (weighted n = 206, age 65-94) for the current study were selected from a nationally representative online survey of US adults from April 10-20, 2020. We used multiple linear regression to estimate the relative contribution of the four RAA global constructs (instrumental attitude, injunctive norms, descriptive norms, and self-efficacy) in explaining intention to stay home after controlling for demographic covariates. We also conducted a content analysis to identify beliefs about advantages, disadvantages, and facilitators of staying home.Results: After controlling for demographic characteristics, injunctive norms (b = 0.208; SE = 0.059; B = 0.213, p < 0.01) and self-efficacy (b = 0.532; SE = 0.058; B = 0.537, p < 0.001) showed statistically significant independent associations with intention to stay home. The specific beliefs underlying the decision to stay home spanned across health and wellness dimensions and suggested interpersonal, mental health, and leisure/recreational facilitators.Conclusions: These findings suggest three public health intervention targets. First, self-efficacy building interventions could enhance older adults' perceptions of their ability to stay home to avoid unnecessary exposures. Second, health communication messages to address injunctive norms could emphasize that people important to older adults think they should stay home. Third, for the youngest of the older adults, health communication messages could emphasize the advantages of staying home.

Purpose: We analyzed the effects of COVID-19 as well as its accompanying epidemiological control measures on health-related outcomes (physical and mental health) and unmet care needs of both caregivers and care recipients across Europe and Israel by taking into account country differences.Methods: We applied comparisons of adjusted predictions, controlling for a large set of relevant respondent characteristics, to investigate changes in the physical and mental health of caregivers and care recipients due to COVID-19. Furthermore, multilevel regression models were used to analyze the effect of individual and contextual indicators on the probability of reporting difficulties in receiving care. For the analyses, we used data from 26 countries with 51,983 respondents over 50 years based on the eighth wave of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), which had to be suspended in March 2020, and the SHARE Corona Survey fielded from June to August 2020.Results: During the first phase of the pandemic in spring/summer 2020, the frequency of providing personal care to parents increased in almost all European countries, while care to children, in turn, decreased. Parental caregivers who increased the frequency of providing personal care reported significantly more mental health strains, that is, feeling sad/depressed and anxious/nervous more often since the outbreak of the pandemic. With respect to receiving care, about one out of five care recipients had difficulty in obtaining adequate care from outside the household during the pandemic. The perception of unmet care needs was significantly associated with country differences regarding the duration of the stay-at-home orders. In contrast, the number of confirmed deaths did not have a significant effect on perceiving difficulties related to receiving care.Conclusions: Our findings show the extent of the burden to which caregivers and care recipients were exposed with respect to the unintended consequences of COVID-19-related epidemiological control measures. There is a great need within this population for interventions, which effectively reduce the burden as well as the symptoms of anxiety or depression for caregivers as well as care recipients. This should be recognized by (health) policymakers and social organizations.

Background and Purpose: Virus mitigation strategies such as adhering to stay-at-home orders, practicing social distancing, and engaging in personal protective behaviors are central to slowing the spread of COVID-19. This population-based cohort study sought to identify sociodemographic characteristics and Health Belief Model factors that are associated with nonadherence to COVID-19 mitigation strategies with the goal of informing public health messaging campaigns.Methods: An online population-based survey was distributed via social media over an 8-week period from April 13, 2020, to June 8, 2020.Results: Data were derived from 2,222 adults (57% female; 40% racial/ethnic minorities). Univariate analyses revealed that men, younger aged (18-30 years) and unmarried adults, and noncollege educated individuals had lower levels of perceived threat, control, and knowledge about COVID-19 (p ≤ .001). Multivariable linear regression models further revealed that male gender was significantly associated with reporting lower levels of adherence to COVID-19 mitigation strategies (p < .001), and that higher levels of perceived threat, perceived control, and knowledge about how to keep oneself and others safe from COVID-19 were significantly associated with reporting higher levels of adherence to COVID-19 mitigation strategies (p < .01).Conclusions: Findings suggest that public health appeals that target men, emphasize individual risk, and provide clear, consistent guidance on what individuals can do to decrease their risk for COVID-19 may be effective in motivating increased mitigation adherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Healthcare workers (HCWs) have reported negative social experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, this data is largely from medical personnel. We examined living conditions, social determinants, and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic among all cadres of employees who had recovered from COVID-19 at a tertiary referral cancer hospital in India., Methods: We conducted a mixed methods study combining a questionnaire-based survey followed by semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions, among hospital staff who recovered from COVID-19 between April and November 2020. We initially administered a 79-point survey to all participants; based on their responses, we used purposive sampling to identify 60 interview participants. The primary aim of the study was to examine the impact of socio-economic factors on experiences and potential stigma faced by staff during the COVID-19 pandemic., Results: We surveyed 376 participants including doctors (10 %), nurses (20 %), support staff (29 %), administrators (18 %) and scientists/technicians (22 %). Of these, 126 (34 %) participants reported negative social experiences. Stigmatisation was lower among doctors compared to other professions, decreased in the second half of the study period, and was more among those living in less affluent surroundings. Interviews revealed 3 types of negative social experiences: neighbourhood tensions around restrictions of mobility, social distancing, and harassment., Conclusions: The first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in India led to considerable negative social experiences among hospital employees, especially those lower in the socio-economic hierarchy, which was fuelled by restrictions imposed by the government and pressure on local neighbourhoods., Policy Summary: It is important to not just document and count stigma experiences during global pandemics, but also to examine sociologically the conditions under which and the processes through which stigma happens., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Statement The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: This study aimed to clarify the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on individual dental-visit behaviour and examine the difference between elderly and other individuals regarding the impact on dental visits., Materials and Methods: An interrupted time-series analysis was performed to examine the change in data from the national database before and after the first declaration of a state of emergency., Results: The number of patients visiting a dental clinic (NPVDC), number of dental treatment days (NDTD) and dental expenses (DE) during the first declaration of a state of emergency decreased by 22.1%, 17.9%, and 12.5% in the group under 64 years of age and 26.1%, 26.3%, and 20.1% in the group over 65 years of age, respectively, compared with those in the same month of the previous year. Between March and June 2020, the monthly NPVDC and NDTD were significantly reduced (p < 0.001, p = 0.013) in those over 65 years of age. The DE did not change statistically significantly in either the under 64 group or the over 65 group. There was no statistically significant change in the slope of the regression line in the NPVDC, NDTD, and DE before and after the first state-of-emergency declaration., Conclusion: The first state of emergency greatly reduced the NPVDC, NDTD, and DE compared to those in the previous year. In people aged over 65 years, it might still be unresolved 2 years after the postponement of dental treatment owing to the first declaration of a state of emergency.

• Examine COVID-19's effect on housing prices from two factors: epidemiological severity and policy interventions. • Document a negative relationship between prior COVID-19 cases and daily housing returns in Australia housing market. • Daily housing return drop by 0.35 basis points in daily terms or 1.26 percentage points annually for every doubling of the number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in a state. • Government lockdown orders do not have a significant effect on housing returns. • Robust to alternative proxies of COVID-19 prevalence and model specifications. Using daily hedonic housing price index for five Australian capital cities, we document a negative relationship between prior COVID-19 cases and daily housing returns. Specifically, the daily housing return drops by 0.35 basis points or 1.26 percentage points annually for every doubling of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in a state. We also examine the effect of government lockdown orders on housing returns and find insignificant results. These findings are robust under alternative pandemic proxies such as total active COVID-19 cases and other model specifications. Overall, our paper contributes to the literature on the geographic spread of pandemics and real estate prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to examine how physical performance has changed after 15 weeks (109 days) long-term absence of organized training in youth soccer players imposed by the stay at home orders. A total of sixty-eight young male soccer players from different age categories (U15, U16, U17 and U19) voluntarily participated in the prospective cohort study. Body fat percentage (BF%), counter-movement jump (CMJ), 30 m sprint, change-of-direction (COD) and yo-yo intermittent recovery test level-1 (YYIRTL-1) were evaluated twice (before and after the detraining period). Subsequently, 2 × 2 repeated measures ANOVA was used to investigate group and time differences in repeated measurements. A significance level of p < 0.05 was implemented. CV and SWC values were calculated to test the reliability of the tests performed at different times. Statistical analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS statistics software (v.25, IBM, New York, NY, USA). Significant increments in BF%, 30 m sprint, and COD (left and right), and also significant decrements in CMJ and YYIRTL-1, were found after the detraining period. A long-term detraining period due to the stay at home orders has a detrimental effect on body composition, neuromuscular performances, and aerobic capacity in youth soccer players.

Purpose: Because older adults are at elevated risk of COVID-19-related adverse health outcomes, and staying at home is an effective strategy to avoid unnecessary exposures, the current formative study used the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA) to identify the beliefs underlying older adults' decision to stay home for the next month. Methods: The participants (weighted n = 206, age 65-94) for the current study were selected from a nationally representative online survey of US adults from April 10-20, 2020. We used multiple linear regression to estimate the relative contribution of the four RAA global constructs (instrumental attitude, injunctive norms, descriptive norms, and self-efficacy) in explaining intention to stay home after controlling for demographic covariates. We also conducted a content analysis to identify beliefs about advantages, disadvantages, and facilitators of staying home. Results: After controlling for demographic characteristics, injunctive norms ( b = 0.208; SE = 0.059; B = 0.213, p < 0.01) and self-efficacy ( b = 0.532; SE = 0.058; B = 0.537, p < 0.001) showed statistically significant independent associations with intention to stay home. The specific beliefs underlying the decision to stay home spanned across health and wellness dimensions and suggested interpersonal, mental health, and leisure/recreational facilitators. Conclusions: These findings suggest three public health intervention targets. First, self-efficacy building interventions could enhance older adults' perceptions of their ability to stay home to avoid unnecessary exposures. Second, health communication messages to address injunctive norms could emphasize that people important to older adults think they should stay home. Third, for the youngest of the older adults, health communication messages could emphasize the advantages of staying home., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Macy, Owens, Mullis and Middlestadt.)