Public Health

A comparative analysis of selected national jurisdictions with respect to Covid-19 policy response indicated that factors such as effective communications and effective targeted intervention in the environments of higher epidemiological risk can be the key factors in the overall effectiveness of the epidemiological response minimizing both the impact of the epidemics and disruptions in the life of the society.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed which affects the risk of COVID-19 infection for specific subgroups. We focused on the subgroups based on the factors (sex, age, and vaccination) and COVID-19 strains (Alpha, Delta, and Omicron). Past studies focused on analyzing these factors based on one geographic region or one COVID-19 strain. Therefore, there is a need to understand these factors association with risk of COVID-19 infection through analyzing data from various geogr...

Introduction In the containment phase of the response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Public Health England (PHE) delivered advice to travellers arriving at major UK ports. We aimed to rapidly evaluate the impact and effectiveness of these communication materials for passengers in the early stages of the pandemic. Methods In stage I (Patient and Public Involvement, PPI) we interviewed seven travellers who had returned from China in January and February 2020. We used these results to develop a question...

ObjectiveTo investigate possible reciprocal associations between the intensity of the COVID-19 epidemic in France and the level of participation at national elections. DesignObservational study and dynamic modelling using a sigmoidal mixed effects model. SettingAll hospitals where patients were admitted for COVID-19. ParticipantsAll admitted patients from March 18, 2020 to April 17, 2020. Main outcome measuresAbstention and admission rate for COVID-19. ResultsMean abstention rate in 2020 am...

BackgroundThe world is threatened by the outbreak of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) since December 2019. The number of cases and deaths increased dramatically in some countries from March 2020. The objective of our study was to examine potential associated factors with country-variation in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in the world. MethodsWe performed a retrospective geographic study including all countries with the most recent available data on free access on the web. We analyzed univar...

BackgroundDog-related injuries, particularly bites, are a growing public health concern, yet key context for effective prevention remains limited. This study takes a novel approach by analysing civil claims enquiry data to describe the context and impact of dog bite and non-bite incidents in England and Wales. MethodsDescriptive analysis of anonymised civil claims enquiry data from 2017 to 2024. Demographic and injury consequences were compared between bite and non-bite incidents using Chi2 and...

BackgroundMajor societal stressors such as wars, natural disasters and pandemics severely disrupt family life. However, not all families are impacted equally. During the COVID-19 pandemic, surveys highlighted how most of UK society coped, but tended to exclude high-risk families. We sought to redress this. MethodsForty-three participants (25 parents from high-risk families; 18 family-support professionals) were interviewed about family their experiences during the first three months of lockdown...

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has a disruptive impact on our society. We therefore conducted a population survey to describe: 1) stress, concerns and quality of life 2) access to healthcare and cancelled/delayed healthcare and 3) productivity during the first 8 weeks of the coronavirus lockdown in the general population. MethodsAn online survey was conducted in a representative sample after 8 weeks of the coronavirus lockdown in Belgium and the Netherlands. The survey included questions about...

The present short communication paper describes the methodological approach of applying the Health Belief Model to the use COVID-19 immunity certificates in the UK. We designed an online survey including an adaptation of the following Health Belief Model constructs: perceived COVID-19 susceptibility, perceived COVID-19 severity, perceived benefits of using immunity certificates, perceived barriers from using immunity certificates, perceived severity of not using immunity certificates, and percei...

Structured SummaryO_ST_ABSObjectivesC_ST_ABSTo examine the prevalence and types of work-related injuries in companion animal practices, explore the context of their occurrence, and the behaviours of injured persons. MethodsA mixed-methods analysis of a cross-sectional online survey of UK employees of a consolidated group of veterinary practices. ResultsOf 647 respondents, 77.6% experienced a work-related injury during their career. In the previous year, 60.2% of veterinary nurses and 58.3% of ...

ObjectivesThis study aimed to describe the incidence, demographics, and context of livestock-related deaths 2010-2023. Study designA descriptive analysis of the Health and Safety Executives Fatal injuries in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Great Britain annual reports. MethodsAnnual incidence of death was calculated. Demographic and contextual information were extracted, and data stratified by whether the victim was a farmer or member of the public. Statistical comparisons were made usin...

BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 pandemia continues to be important even when more than 60% of the global population has been vaccinated. As the pandemia evolves the number of reinfection cases will continue to increase as new variants are generated that evade the immune response. Understanding reinfections is important to guide the public health system and to inform decision-makers. MethodsWe downloaded clinical outcome and severity of infection data from the SISVER (respiratory disease epidemiological su...

BackgroundThe study objective was to conduct a systematic review to assess the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Europe during the first wave of the pandemic. MethodsWe searched OVID Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane and Campbell Databases for Systematic Reviews published up to April 15th 2021. Focusing on community (meso-level) and society (macro-level) level NPIs, we included all study designs, while a geographic restriction w...

IntroductionOccupational injuries are prevalent within the veterinary sector, though their true extent is unknown as evidence indicates widespread under-reporting of injuries. This study aimed to: assess injury under-reporting across roles in UK veterinary practices; and audit the type, frequency, and outcomes of workplace injuries within a large veterinary organisation. MethodsA retrospective audit was conducted on a large veterinary organisations accident reporting system in 2022. Under-repor...

The success of mass COVID-19 vaccination campaigns rests on widespread uptake. However, although vaccinations provide good protection, they do not offer full immunity and while they likely reduce transmission of the virus to others, the extent of this remains uncertain. This produces a dilemma for communicators who wish to be transparent about benefits and harms and encourage continued caution in vaccinated individuals but not undermine confidence in an important public health measure. In two la...

We evaluated the association between preventative social behaviour and government stringency. Additionally, we sought to evaluate the influence of additional factors including time, need to protect others (using the reported number of COVID-19 deaths as a surrogate measure) and reported confidence in government handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used repeated national cross-sectional surveys the UK over the course of 41 weeks from 1st April 2020 to January 28th, 2021, including a total of 38,...

IntroductionNon-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as lockdown, social distancing and use of face coverings was adopted by the United Kingdom (UK) Armed Forces (AF) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study assessed the impact of the use of NPIs on influenza activity in the UK AF. MethodsA longitudinal study design was adopted, and secondary data was analysed retrospectively. Clinical Read codes for influenza-like illness (ILI) was used to generate data for flu seasons before and during th...

BackgroundAfter more than four months into the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic, over 347,500 people had died worldwide. The current study aims to evaluate how mitigating interventions affected the epidemic process in the 30 largest metropolitan areas in the US and whether temperature played a role in the epidemic process. MethodsPublicly available data for the time series of COVID-19 cases and deaths and weather were analyzed at the metropolitan level. The time-varying reproductive numb...

Immunisation forms a cornerstone of public health policy. However, uptake rates of routine vaccines offered in adolescence are sub-optimal, presenting both individual and public health risks. We worked with over 80 adolescents to co-design, pilot and analyse data for this qualitative analysis of adolescent attitudes. For the study itself we interviewed 30 adolescents aged 12-17 years and living in England. Five themes were identified: Understanding vaccines, Fear and comfort; Autonomy and contr...

Data promising effective Covid-19 vaccines have accelerated the UKs mass vaccination programme. The UK publics attitudes to the governments prioritisation list are unknown, and achieving critical population immunity will require the remaining majority to accept both vaccination and the delay in access of up to a year or more. This cross-sectional observational study sent an online questionnaire to registrants of the UK National Health Services largest personal health record. Question items cover...