COVID-19 vaccination intention and vaccine characteristics influencing vaccination acceptance: a global survey of 17 countries

BACKGROUND: The availability of various types of COVID-19 vaccines and diverse characteristics of the vaccines present a dilemma in vaccination choices, which may result in individuals refusing a particular COVID-19 vaccine offered, hence presenting a threat to immunisation coverage and reaching herd immunity. The study aimed to assess global COVID-19 vaccination intention, vaccine characteristics influencing vaccination acceptance and desirable vaccine characteristics influencing the choice of vaccines. METHODS: An anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted between 4 January and 5 March 2021 in 17 countries worldwide. Proportions and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and vaccine characteristics influencing vaccination acceptance were generated and compared across countries and regions. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. RESULTS: Of the 19,714 responses received, 90.4% (95% CI 81.8-95.3) reported likely or extremely likely to receive COVID-19 vaccine. A high proportion of likely or extremely likely to receive the COVID-19 vaccine was reported in Australia (96.4%), China (95.3%) and Norway (95.3%), while a high proportion reported being unlikely or extremely unlikely to receive the vaccine in Japan (34.6%), the U.S. (29.4%) and Iran (27.9%). Males, those with a lower educational level and those of older age expressed a higher level of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Less than two-thirds (59.7%; 95% CI 58.4-61.0) reported only being willing to accept a vaccine with an effectiveness of more than 90%, and 74.5% (95% CI 73.4-75.5) said they would accept a COVID-19 vaccine with minor adverse reactions. A total of 21.0% (95% CI 20.0-22.0) reported not accepting an mRNA vaccine and 51.8% (95% CI 50.3-53.1) reported that they would only accept a COVID-19 vaccine from a specific country-of-origin. Countries from the Southeast Asia region reported the highest proportion of not accepting mRNA technology. The highest proportion from Europe and the Americas would only accept a vaccine produced by certain countries. The foremost important vaccine characteristic influencing vaccine choice is adverse reactions (40.6%; 95% CI 39.3-41.9) of a vaccine and effectiveness threshold (35.1%; 95% CI 33.9-36.4). CONCLUSIONS: The inter-regional and individual country disparities in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy highlight the importance of designing an efficient plan for the delivery of interventions dynamically tailored to the local population

Physiotherapists' practice patterns for the diagnosis and management of patients with chronic contracted frozen shoulder in the United Arab Emirates.

BackgroundAdhesive capsulitis or contracted shoulder, known as frozen shoulder, is a persistent painful condition that may last for more than three months. It is a common disease-causing morbidity that causes pain and loss of shoulder range of motion. Physical therapy is advocated for the restoration of a pain-free state and normal use of the upper extremity, along with other interventions.PurposeThis study aimed to explore the level of current clinical practice for managing chronic contracted frozen shoulder (CCFS) among physiotherapy professionals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) compared to well-established evidence-based practices, and to identify the most common therapy practiced in UAE to manage CCFS.MethodThis study was based on a cross-sectional quantitative analysis using an adapted questionnaire. The main themes of questions were the presence of a special interest in CCFS, management options, symptoms, diagnosis, referral, and best physiotherapy intervention recommendations. The results were analyzed using simple descriptive analyses, such as frequency, mean, and percentage of total responses; additionally, thematic and content analyses were performed for open-ended questions.ResultsOverall, 101 physiotherapy professionals participated in the survey: 62% female and 38% male; 59% were bachelors- and 36% masters-degree holders, respectively. In the closed ended question regarding the interest in CCFS, male physiotherapists (PTs) were more interested than females (82% vs. 68%). For the most common indication of CCFS, 76% of the participants selected "Limitation of movement" as the main indication. However, only 42% confirmed the presence of clinical protocols in their employment setting. In their opinion, the most effective therapies were patient education, superficial heat or cold, manual joint mobilization, and sustained stretching exercises.ConclusionA well-established professional competence exists among physiotherapists in the UAE to manage and treat patients with CCFS. The findings showed sufficient standard, theoretical, and practical knowledge among the study groups

Relationship between eating patterns and body composition among young females in Qatar

The prevalence of obesity has been increased in Qatar, with the transition from healthy to unhealthy dietary habits. Behavioral factors that are associated with obesity are, long-term imbalanced energy intake, high screen time, skipping breakfast and physical inactivity. Changes in body composition and percent body fat (PBF) increase the risk of non-communicable disease. This study is the first study conducted in Qatar to investigate the relationship between dietary patterns and body composition among young females at Qatar University. This cross-sectional study consisted of 766 healthy female students Qatari and non-Qatari aged from 18-26 years randomly selected from different colleges at Qatar University. A validate questionnaire was used in order to collect data about healthy and unhealthy dietary patterns. Anthropometric measurements involved body weight, height,waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI) and body composition using 'Seca285', 'Seca203' and 'InbodyBiospace720'. Dietary patterns were identified by using factor loading. Linear regression was used to estimate confidence intervals and regression coefficient. More than half of the participants had a normal weight (65.1%), whereas 22.8 % and 12.0% were overweight and obese, respectively. Fat mass, BMI and PBF were slightly increased with age, but there was no significant difference. Factor analysis identified two dietary patterns: unhealthy patterns and healthy patterns. The frequent intake of vegetables and fruits was significant among high PBF female students (p=0.045 and p=0.001, respectively). The frequent intake of fast food was higher for overweight female students but there was no significant difference (p=0.289), whereas, the frequent intake of sweetened beverages was associated with higher significant rate of normal weight among female students (p = 0.009). No significant relation was found between dietary patterns, BMI and PBF. In conclusion, body composition is not significantly associated with healthy and unhealthy eating patterns among young female

Analysis of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates in dried blood spots by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Background: We developed a novel method for measuring the concentrations of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates in dried blood spots (DBS) using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/ MS). Analytes were derivatized before analysis using 4-[2-(N,N-dimethylamino) ethylaminosulfonyl]-7-(2-aminoethylamino)-2,1,3-benzoxa-diazole (DAABD-AE), a reagent that imparts powerful chromatographic and mass spectrometric properties onto carboxyl group-containing analytes. Methodology: Extraction and derivatization of TCA cycle intermediates were achieved in a single step by incubating a 3.2 mm circle of the DBS samples with DAABD-AE for 1 hour at 65 C. From the resultant mixture, 1.0 µl was injected into the LC-MS/MS. Results: Total analytical run time to separate target analytes from other interfering components in the sample was 8 minutes. The peaks corresponding to malic, fumaric, citric, succinic, and 2-ketoglutaric acid appeared at 3.55, 3.62, 3.64, 3.67, and 3.68 minutes, respectively. The method was adequately reproducible with a coefficient of variation for intraday (n = 15) and inter-day (n = 13) studies of 5.2%-18.4%. Reference intervals in DBS from controls (n = 125) were as follow (µmol/l): citric (36.6-126.4), 2-ketoglutaric (9.1-42.1), succinic (1.2-2.4), fumaric (2.4-9.0), and malic acid (15.9-39.3). Compared to controls, the levels of citric, succinic, and malic acids were statistically different in patients (n = 7) with a p-value of< 0.05. No statistically significant difference was detected in concentrations of 2-ketoglutaric and fumaric acids. Conclusion: We describe a simple, quick, and sensitive method to measure TCA cycle intermediates in DBS samples. That TCA cycle plays a central role in cellular metabolism; this method should be useful in studying these metabolites in health and disease. [JBCGenetics 2019; 2(2.000): 93-98