Quality of life of children and their caregivers during an AOM episode: development and use of a telephone questionnaire

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The negative consequences of acute otitis media (AOM) on the quality of life (QOL) of children and their families need to be measured to assess benefits of preventive interventions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A new questionnaire was specifically designed for use in telephone surveys. A random sample of Canadian families was selected using random-digit dialling. Caregivers of children 6-59 months of age who experienced at least one AOM episode during the last 12 months were interviewed. Multidimensional severity and global QOL scores were measured both for affected children and their caregivers. Internal consistency of scores was assessed using standard tests.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 502 eligible caregivers who completed the survey, 161 (32%) reported at least one AOM episode during the last 12 months and these cases were included in the analysis. Average severity was 2.6 for children and 2.4 for caregivers on a 1 to 4 scale (maximum severity). Cronbach alpha values were 0.78 and 0.81 for the severity score of children and caregivers respectively. Average QOL was 3.4 for children and 3.5 for caregivers on a 1 to 5 scale (best QOL). There was moderate to high correlation between severity and QOL scores, and between these scores and duration of AOM episodes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The questionnaire was easy to use during telephone interviews and results suggest good reliability and validity of the different scores to measure AOM severity and QOL of children and their caregivers during an AOM episode.</p

Mapping vaccine hesitancy—Country-specific characteristics of a global phenomenon

AbstractThe term vaccine hesitancy refers to delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite the availability of vaccination services. Different factors influence vaccine hesitancy and these are context-specific, varying across time and place and with different vaccines. Factors such as complacency, convenience and confidence are involved. Acceptance of vaccines may be decreasing and several explanations for this trend have been proposed. The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization has recognized the global importance of vaccine hesitancy and recommended an interview study with immunization managers (IMs) to better understand the range of vaccine hesitancy determinants that are encountered in different settings. Interviews with IMs in 13 selected countries were conducted between September and December 2013 and various factors that discourage vaccine acceptance were identified. Vaccine hesitancy was not defined consistently by the IMs and most interpreted the term as meaning vaccine refusal. Although vaccine hesitancy existed in all 13 countries, some IMs considered its impact on immunization programmes to be a minor problem. The causes of vaccine hesitancy varied in the different countries and were context-specific, indicating a need to strengthen the capacity of national programmes to identify the locally relevant causal factors and to develop adapted strategies to address them

Measles, Moral Regulation and the Social Construction of Risk: Media Narratives of “Anti-Vaxxers” and the 2015 Disneyland Outbreak

This paper examines media coverage of the 2014-15 measles outbreak that began at Disneyland and spread throughout the United States and into Canada and Mexico. Specifically, it focuses on the construction of ‘anti-vaxxers’ as a central character in the outbreak’s unfolding narrative who came to represent a threat to public health and moral order. Although parents who hold strong anti-vaccine views are small in number, media representations of ‘anti-vaxxers’ as prominent figures fail to capture the broad range of views and behaviours that constitute what we today call ‘vaccine hesitancy’ and thus delimit our understanding of this increasingly complex health issue

An instrument to measure psychosocial determinants of health care professionals’ vaccination behavior:Validation of the Pro-VC-Be questionnaire

International audienc

Measuring psychosocial determinants of vaccination behavior in healthcare professionals: validation of the Pro-VC-Be short-form questionnaire

BACKGROUND: Vaccine confidence among health care professionals (HCPs) is a key determinant of vaccination behaviors. We validate a short-form version of the 31-item Pro-VC-Be (Health Professionals Vaccine Confidence and Behaviors) questionnaire that measures HCPs’ confidence in and commitment to vaccination.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey among 2,696 HCPs established a long-form tool to measure 10 dimensions of psychosocial determinants of vaccination behaviors. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models tested the construct validity of 69,984 combinations of items in a 10-item short form tool. The criterion validity of this tool was tested with four behavioral and attitudinal outcomes using weighted modified Poisson regressions. An immunization resource score was constructed from summing the responses of the dimensions that can influence HCPs’ pro-vaccination behaviors: vaccine confidence, proactive efficacy, and trust in authorities.RESULTS: The short-form tool showed good construct validity in CFA analyses (RMSEA = 0.035 [0.024; 0.045]; CFI = 0.956; TLI = 0.918; SRMR 0.027) and comparable criterion validity to the long-form tool. The immunization resource score showed excellent criterion validity.CONCLUSIONS: The Pro-VC-Be short-form showed good construct validity and criterion validity similar to the long-form and can therefore be used to measure determinants of vaccination behaviors among HCPs.</div

Stressed and distressed: how is the COVID-19 pandemic associated with sexual frequency, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction?

Background: The Canadian government’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic included the implementation of several restrictive measures since March 2020. These actions sought to decrease social contact and increase physical distancing, including that within universities. Such constraints were required to impede the transmission of the virus; however, concerns remain about their impact on the sexual and intimate relationships of university employees and students. Aim: This study examined the associations between COVID-19–related stress and sexual frequency, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction, also testing the mediating role of psychological distress. Methods: The models were tested with Canadian data collected from university employees and students in 2 phases: the first wave in April-May 2020 (T1; n = 2754) and the second wave in November-December 2021 (T2; n = 1430), 18 months afterward. Participants completed self-report questionnaires online. Path analyses were performed to test the associations of the mediation models. Outcomes: The principal outcomes included psychological distress determined via the Patient Health Questionnaire–4, relationship satisfaction measured via the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and sexual satisfaction and sexual frequency ascertained through a single item each. Results: Overall, COVID-19–related stress was associated with higher psychological distress, which in turn was related to lower sexual frequency, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction. Similar results were obtained with T1 and T2 data, indicating the mediating effect of psychological distress. Clinical implications: These findings increase scholarly comprehension of the negative associations between stress/distress and sexual and romantic relationships. Sexuality and close relationships are vital to the quality of human life; thus, targeted interventions should be developed to reduce COVID-19–related stress and its impact on sexual and romantic relationships to mitigate the long-term influences of this unique global challenge. Strengths & Limitations: To our knowledge, this study is the first to use a large sample size and replicate findings in 2 waves. Nonetheless, it is limited by the use of cross-sectional data. Longitudinal studies with the same participants are mandated to better understand the evolution of these outcomes. Conclusion: COVID-19–related stress and psychological distress were found among participating university students and employees and were associated with lower sexual satisfaction, sexual frequency, and intimate relationship satisfaction. These results were observed at the early onset of the pandemic and 18 months afterward, suggesting that the stress generated by the pandemic were not mere reactions to the onset of the pandemic but persisted over time