The COVID-19 pandemic led to dramatic changes in people's lives. The Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community widely investigated technology use during crises. However, commercial video games received minor attention. In this article, we describe how video game play impacted the life transformations engendered by the pandemic. We administered a qualitative online survey to 330 video game players who were living in Italy during the lockdown measures. We found that the COVID-19 pandemic altered the participants' sense of time and space, reshaped both their intimate and wider social interactions, and elicited a wide spectrum of disturbing emotions. Players escaped from this unsatisfying reality into video game worlds, searching for a new normality that could compensate for the unpredictability and dangerousness of the pandemic life, as well as seeking uncertainty in the game environments to balance the flatness of the lockdown everydayness. In doing so, they "appropriated" the gaming technologies, which also led to several unexpected outcomes. Starting from these findings, we propose a model of escapism that points out four ways to escape from reality into video game worlds. Moreover, we outline some design implications that might inspire future strands of research in the field of crisis technologies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Playing during a crisis: The impact of commercial video games on the reconfiguration of people’s life during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background Misinformation has had a negative impact upon the global COVID-19 vaccination program. High-income and middle-income earners typically have better access to technology and health facilities than those in lower-income groups. This creates a rich-poor divide in Digital Health Literacy (DHL), where low-income earners have low DHL resulting in higher COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Therefore, this cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess the impact of health information seeking behavior on digital health literacy related to COVID-19 among low-income earners in Selangor, Malaysia. Methods A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted conveniently among 381 individuals from the low-income group in Selangor, Malaysia. The remote data collection (RDC) method was used to gather data. Validated interviewer-rated questionnaires were used to collect data via phone call. Respondents included in the study were 18 years and older. A normality of numerical variables were assessed using Shapiro-Wilk test. Univariate analysis of all variables was performed, and results were presented as means, mean ranks, frequencies, and percentages. Mann-Whitney U test or Kruskal Wallis H test was applied for the comparison of DHL and health information seeking behavior with characteristics of the participants. Multivariate linear regression models were applied using DHL as dependent variable and health information seeking behavior as independent factors, adjusting for age, gender, marital status, educational status, employment status, and household income. Results The mean age of the study participants was 38.16 ± 14.40 years ranging from 18 to 84 years. The vast majority (94.6%) of participants stated that information seeking regarding COVID-19 was easy or very easy. Around 7 percent of the respondents cited reading information about COVID-19 on the internet as very difficult. The higher mean rank of DHL search, content, reliability, relevance, and privacy was found among participants who were widowed, had primary education, or unemployed. An inverse relationship was found between overall DHL and confidence in the accuracy of the information on the internet regarding COVID-19 (β = −2.01, 95% CI = −2.22 to −1.79). Conclusion It is important to provide support to lower-income demographics to assist access to high-quality health information, including less educated, unemployed, and widowed populations. This can improve overall DHL.

/pdf/adapted-digital-health-literacy-and-health-information-2xd61ho0.pdf

Adapted digital health literacy and health information seeking behavior among lower income groups in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background. The present study aimed at comparing self-reported physical health and mental health among university students, workers, and working students aged between 19 years and 29 years. Method. Using data from National Health Surveys held in 2005 and 2013, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 18,612 Italian emerging adults grouped into three groups: university students, workers, and working students. The odds ratios of self-reported anxiety or depression, poor general health, and poor mental health and physical health (as assessed through SF-12) were estimated through logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders. Results. Compared with workers, students showed an increased risk of anxiety or depression and a lower risk of poor general health. Students and working students showed an increased risk of reporting weak mental health compared with that in workers, while students displayed a lower risk of poor physical health. Significant differences were not found between the 2005 and 2013 surveys. Conclusions. These results are of considerable importance for psychologists as well as educational and occupation-based institutions for planning prevention programs and clinical interventions.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6403/pdf

Self-Rated Health and Psychological Distress among Emerging Adults in Italy: A Comparison between Data on University Students, Young Workers and Working Students Collected through the 2005 and 2013 National Health Surveys.

Objectives: To assess the feasibility, acceptability, and effects of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) live online during the COVID-19 shutdown. Design: Mixed-methods study using a sequential explanatory design. Settings/location: Cohorts 1-4 took place in-person and Cohorts 5-6 took place over Zoom following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Subjects: Participants were paying members of the general public enrolled in one of six live MBSR courses. Interventions: All MBSR courses followed the standard 8-week MBSR curriculum, led by experienced instructors. Outcome measures: Feasibility measured via class attendance, acceptability measured via the adapted Treatment Satisfaction Survey, and MBSR course effects measured by a focus group with Cohort 5, and the following assessments completed by all cohorts: Perceived Stress Scale-10, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the 36-item Short Form Survey. Results: 73 adults participated in six live MBSR courses (48 in the four in-person courses; 25 in the two online courses). Most of the participants identified as white, non-Hispanic, middle-aged females, with annual household income >$100,000. Course completion, defined as at least 6/8 classes attended, did not differ between in-person and online cohorts (84.1% versus 67.6%, respectively, p = 0.327). Participants in Cohort 5 who completed the course (n = 10) rated it as very important and useful for stress coping, and reported high likelihood of continuing their mindfulness practice (all ratings: between 8 and 10 on a 1-10 Likert scale), with open-ended responses corroborating their numerical ratings. Focus group (n = 6) responses indicated that online MBSR was positively received, reduced perceived loss of control, and improved quality of life and morale during the pandemic. Conclusions: Delivering MBSR live online can be feasible and acceptable for the general public, and is potentially beneficial, including during the social upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic. Online delivery could help expand access to MBSR and address health inequities.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Live Online During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Feasibility Study.

The COVID-19 outbreak and the worldwide lockdown measures had an impact on the global mental health and psychological well-being of the general population. Several studies attempted to investigate the protective and risk factors for psychological distress related to the pandemic. However, to date, little is known about the role of hope in this context. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between hope and psychological distress related to the COVID-19 outbreak in the general population. The sample consisted of 504 Pakistani people who completed cross-sectionally the COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) and the Adult Hope Scale (AHS). Bivariate Pearson correlation analysis was run to measure the relationship between hope and psychological distress; hierarchical regression analysis was run to investigate the association between demographics and hope with psychological distress. Higher levels of hope predicted lower levels of psychological distress. Being female, being older, lower level of education, urban residence, being married and living in nuclear family systems were associated with higher levels of psychological distress. The study highlights the protective role of hope on psychological distress related to COVID-19, contributing to knowledge on factors promoting positive mental health during emergency times and providing useful information for implementing effective public health policies and programmes. 

/pdf/psychological-distress-related-to-the-covid-19-pandemic-the-2j5691f6.pdf

Psychological Distress Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Protective Role of Hope

Psychological distress during pandemic Covid-19 among adult general population: Result across 13 countries.

Background: Zika virus is an arbovirus which transmitted mainly through the mosquito bite, specifically the Aedes sp. Its history can be traced to 1947 when it was first isolated in 1947 from a monkey in Zika forest of Uganda.Aim: Our objective is to assess the factors that affecting the Zika virus transmission among the population in Bandar Maharani, Johor, Malaysia.Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional study design based on simple random sampling, respondents of aged 18 to 65 years old. Data was collected using an adopted questionnaire from WHO that covered 4 parts i.e. sociodemographic data, knowledge regarding Zika virus, attitudes towards Zika virus and Practices of Zika virus prevention. The collected data was then analyzed by using PASW statistics student version 18 and Microsoft Excel.Results: The study shows that the knowledge of the participants was only moderate. The attitude was neutral and the practice for prevention was also moderate. It was found that Radio/TV was the most common (77.3%) and most trusted source of information (65.4%). There was significant association between knowledge and attitude (p=0.000); knowledge and practice (p=0.000) and attitude and practice (p=0.000). Knowledge was associated with level of education (p=0.001), race (p=0.000), religion (p=0.028) and current work of the respondents (p=0.000). Attitude was related with religion (p=0.030) and income (p=0.027). Practice of prevention was associated with level of education (p=0.004), race (p=0.000), religion (p=0.004) and current work (p=0.044).Significance of study: To determine the correlation of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice of the public towards Zika virus will provide a direction for developing a strategy to prevent Zika virus from becoming a public health burden to the community in Malaysia.

https://www.longdom.org/open-access/zika-virusthe-perfect-storm-2165-7548-1000384.pdf

Zika Virus-The Perfect Storm

Introduction Smoking is one of the leading factors of mortality in Malaysia. Most youngsters start at adolescence, fascinated by the concept of smoking. Interventions that harness the broad availability of mobile phones, as well as adolescents' interest in their appearance, may be an innovative way to advance school-based prevention. This study aims to determine the perceptions of facial-aging apps among secondary school students. Methodology For this research, descriptive cross-sectional study using simple random sampling method was used. Population sampling was targeted toward three government schools. The total number of respondents is 383, with all of them aged between 13 and- 16 years of age. Legal considerations were taken to maintain the confidentiality of respondents. The specific objectives are: 1. To determine the level of change of intention on smoking, 2. To know the perceived reactions of the peer groups on the appearances of students as nonsmokers, 3. To determine whether the students learned new benefits of nonsmokingand, 4. To measure the impact of a facial-aging app among students. Results The number of respondents who smoke was 40 (10.4%), while the number of respondents who do not smoke was 343 (89.6%). About 89% of the respondents agree that their three-dimensional selfie image motivates them not to smoke. In addition, 87.8% of respondents admit that the perceived reactions of their classmates make them think that they look better as nonsmokers. After learning the effects of smoking, about 86.4% of the respondents acknowledged that they would educate their peer groups. Furthermore, 85.9% of the respondents found this "Smokerface" app enjoyable. Conclusion The facial-aging intervention was effective in motivating Malaysian pupils to stay away from tobacco use. Thus, the analysis on the study of facial app usage in smoking prevention among youngsters concludes that most of the adolescents concur that the "Smokerface" app helps in the prevention of smoking among youths.

Educating school students and gauging their perception about the harmful effects of smoking using a "Facial-Ageing App (mobile application):" An experience from Malaysia

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Psychological distress during pandemic Covid-19 among adult general population: Result across 13 countries.

Zika Virus-The Perfect Storm

Educating school students and gauging their perception about the harmful effects of smoking using a "Facial-Ageing App (mobile application):" An experience from Malaysia