Iranian Journal of Epidemiology
Year:2021 | Volume:16 | Issue:5 (Special Issue)|Papers Count:8

Background and Objectives: Vaccine acceptance could seriously affect global efforts to control the Covid-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to estimate the Covid-19 vaccine acceptance and its related factors in Tehran and Kermanshah. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 850 participants in Tehran and Kermanshah using the random digit dialing method. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the adjusted odds ratio of factors related to vaccine acceptance. Results: The frequency of the Covid-19 vaccine acceptance was 66. 47% (95% confidence interval: 69. 57%, 63. 21%). Moreover, 86. 02% of the participants stated that they would use any type of (Iranian / foreign) vaccine approved by the Iranian Ministry of Health. However, 13. 98% of the participants stated that they only preferred foreign approved vaccines (if available). The variables of age, fatalism, and socioeconomic status had significant associations with the Covid-19 vaccine acceptance. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, the Covid-19 vaccine acceptance was moderate. In order to achieve herd immunity by vaccination faster in our society, the strategy of prioritizing vaccination can be planned based on the related variables such as religious beliefs and fatalism, younger age groups, and people with higher socio-economic status that are willing to receive the vaccine.

Background and Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has raised concerns about high-risk groups in community. Due to physiologic changes in pregnancy, these women are prone to this infection; therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate Covid-19 infection and pregnancy outcomes in Qazvin Province. Methods: This longitudinal study was done in Qazvin Province from March to October 2020. The participants included 133 pregnant women who with a definitive diagnosis of COVID-19 using CT scan and PCR test. A foursection questionnaire was used to collect demographic data, COVID-19 symptoms, and pregnancy outcomes. The mothers were followed up until six months after delivery. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 24 and descriptive statistics. Results: The mean age of the mothers was 27. 09 ± 5. 67 years. Fever, cough, and body pain were the most common symptoms of Covid-19 in the mothers. The majority (87. 96%) of the mothers were in second and third trimester of pregnancy. Maternal outcomes included preterm labor (9%), Cesarean section (51. 1%) and maternal death (11. 28% or 5 cases). Perinatal outcomes were abortion (6%) and fetal death (3%). Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, Covid-19 increased the rate of maternal mortality and preterm delivery in pregnant women. Attention should be paid to support the expecting mothers, and more emphasis should be placed on health protocols in this group of patients.

Background and Objectives: The Covid-19 epidemic began in Wuhan, China in the late 2019 and became a global epidemic in March 2020. In this regard, one of the most important indicators of the healthcare systems is the in-hospital mortality rate, which occurs with a time lag of one to two weeks after hospitalization. The aim of this study was to investigate the relative risk of Covid-19 mortality considering this time lag according to the number of daily hospitalizations. Methods: The data included the number of daily hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19 from 15 May 2020 to 10 February 2021 in Iran, which was obtained from the Github database. A log-linear distributed lag model was used to evaluate the relationship and lag effect between daily hospitalization and relative risk of death. Results: The mean number of daily hospitalizations and deaths were 1342. 2 ± 7 731. 5 and 190. 6 11± 118. 6 in the study period, respectively. It was found that an increase in the number of daily hospitalizations had a significant relationship with an increase in the relative risk of death on the same day and in the following days. As the number of hospitalizations exceeded 2000 patients per day, the cumulative relative risk of death increased to more than one. Conclusion: The results showed that the number of hospitalizations exceeding 2000 people per day was an alert for the country's healthcare system. Overall, prevention and observance of health protocols in the first level followed by early diagnosis of the disease, improving the hospitals facilities and preparedness of healthcare staff can reduce the relative risk of death in the possible future peaks.

Background and Objectives: As a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic, face-to-face training in schools and universities was changed to distance eductaion, which has had different consequences. The purpose of this study was to identify and categorize educational damages and challenges using existing measures and evidence from recent international data. The results of this study can be used to better understand the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on learners' learning as a practical and generalizable framework for epidemic management in the field of education in Iran and other countries. Methods: The present qualitative study was performed using the document content analysis method. First, all available documents and articles related to education and Covid-19 were identified. All multimedia files, including audio, text and video files during winter 1399 were searched in Internet websites and databases using keywords based on the above criteria. The selection of documents was purposeful considering the four criteria of JUPP. After multi-stage screening, 65 documents were finally selected and analyzed after coding. Results: Educational damages and challenges caused by Covid-19 Pandemic in Iran and other countries were identified and recorded in 29 context. Conclusion: It can be concluded that although online education is an immediate need in the process of learning and teaching with many benefits, proposing managerial and executive solutions to address the damages and challenges can form the basis of a rich method of educational during and after the Covid-19 era.

Background and Objective: The aim of this research is validation of questionnaire of covid-19 social effects (SISQ) on Iranian students. Methods: The current study is a descriptive-analytic validation-type study and its statistical population was consisted of students of University of Tehran who 300 of them took part in this research voluntarily. After study of content validity, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was used to study construct validity and Cronbach Alfa and cluster correlation coefficients were utilized to study the reliability; for further study on main variables of research, Pearson correlation and T tests were used; analyses were conducted by SPSS25 and AMOS26 softwares. Results: In study of validity of seventh item questionnaire, based on professors’ opinion, it was out of content validity (cvr= 0. 16); in exploratory factor analysis, four social distance, social acceptance, social information and social anxiety factors were extracted which expressed 57. 99 percent variance of questionnaire; results of confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the 4-factor model after adding and omitting processes (RMSEA= 0. 05, CFI= 0. 93, IFI= 0. 93, p= 0. 09, x2= 85. 26), Cronbach Alfa and interclass correlation coefficients were equal to 0. 8 for the final questionnaire; correlation of all items with the total mark was positive and meaningful and the values varied from 0. 49 to 0. 65. Average (standard deviation) of studied people’ s age was 24. 07 (6. 27) year. Conclusion: 14-item questionnaire of covid-19 social effects on students has acceptable validity and reliability. Further studies in other populations are suggested.

Background and Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to major health and socioeconomic problems worldwide. This study was conducted to determine the clinical features and health behaviors related to COVID-19 in patients presenting to selected COVID-19 centers of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out using stratified random sampling in 350 patients presenting to selected COVID-19 centers of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences in August and September 2020. Demographic and clinical features and the data related to COVID-19 disease were collected using a researchermade checklist and analyzed with the SPSS 24 software using chi-square test and logistic regression. Results: Of 350 patients, 200 (57. 1%) were male and the rest were female. The PCR test was positive in 72% of the patients. The highest percentage of infection was seen in self-employed subjects and driver, people in the age group 30-50 years, and male subjects. The highest observance of masking, hand washing, and social distancing was related to healthcare staff and the lowest was seen in self-employed people, drivers, and military staff. A history of attending a gas station increased the chance of a positive test by 2. 3 times (95% CI: 1. 13-4. 79). Conclusion: According to the results, age, gender, occupation and history of presence in crowded places are important determinants of infection and adherence to protocols.

Background and Objectives: Reports indicates a higher mortality rate of Covid-19 in the elderly. A limited number of studies have been performed on elderly patients in Iran. In the present study, we investigated the clinical features and survival of elderly patients with Covid-19 in Baharloo Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted on the data of elderly patients with Covid-19 admitted to Baharloo Hospital, Tehran, Iran. The data of the hospitalized patients were followed until discharge or death. Finally, survival-related factors were analyzed using Cox regression. Results: A total of 522 patients were enrolled in the study, of whom 53. 8% were male and 101 died. The mean age of the deceased was 76. 3 years, with a standard deviation of 8. 6 years. The most common clinical symptoms at the time of admission were respiratory distress (69. 5%), cough (61. 1%), and fever (51. 1%). Cox regression results showed that the risk of death increased by 5% for each one-year increase in age. In addition, calcium supplementation reduced the risk of death by 35%. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that calcium supplementation could be associated with increased survival of the elderly and reduced mortality. Due to calcium insufficiency in the Iranian population and the protective role of calcium in Covid-19, this issue is essential in the elderly patients warranting further investigation in the future.

Background and Objectives: In the late 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 virus was identified as the cause of an outbreak of acute respiratory illness known as the COVID-19, which began to spread in the world very quickly. Preventive measures have been a significant issue in preventing the spread of COVID-19. This rapid review study was conducted to summarize selected countries' preventive policies and strategies in the East and Southeast Asia, including China, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Singapore, during the COVID-19 epidemic. Methods: In this rapid review study, the Scopus, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched. The keywords applied in the search strategy were primary health care, public health, prevent* and plan, policy, program, initiative, intervention, measure, and COVID-19 in addition to the name of each country. Furthermore, we searched the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) websites to retrieve more key sources as grey literature. The relevant data were extracted from the final studies and categorized. Results: After screening, 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. Dominant measures implemented in these countries were categorized into different categories including communication and information, physical distancing, quarantine, monitoring, and testing axes. Conclusion: Education and information, extensive testing and screening, contact tracing, isolation of infected and suspected cases, and observance of physical distancing has been very effective in reducing Covid-19 transmission and its mortality.