Research indicates that excessive use of social media can be related to depression and anxiety. This study conducted a systematic review of social media and mental health, focusing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Based on inclusion criteria from the systematic review, a meta-analysis was conducted to explore and summarize studies from the empirical literature on the relationship between social media and mental health. Using PRISMA guidelines on PubMed and Google Scholar, a literature search from January 2010 to June 2020 was conducted to identify studies addressing the relationship between social media sites and mental health. Of the 39 studies identified, 20 were included in the meta-analysis. Results indicate that while social media can create a sense of community for the user, excessive and increased use of social media, particularly among those who are vulnerable, is correlated with depression and other mental health disorders.

As the world tries to cope with the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and emerging variants of the virus, COVID-19 vaccination has become an even more critical tool toward normalcy. The effectiveness of the vaccination program and specifically vaccine uptake and coverage, however, is a function of an individual’s knowledge and individual opinion about the disease and available vaccines. This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and resulting community practice(s) associated with the new COVID-19 variants and vaccines in Bangladesh, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Zimbabwe, and the USA. A cross-sectional web-based Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) survey was administered to respondents living in six different countries using a structured and multi-item questionnaire. Survey questions were translated into English, Spanish, and Malay to accommodate the local language in each country. Associations between KAP and a range of explanatory variables were assessed using univariate and multiple logistic regression. A total of 781 responses were included in the final analysis. The Knowledge score mean was 24 (out of 46), Attitude score 28.9 (out of 55), and Practice score 7.3 (out of 11). Almost 65% of the respondents reported being knowledgeable about COVID-19 variants and vaccination, 55% reported a positive attitude toward available COVID-19 vaccines, and 85% reported engaging in practices that supported COVID-19 vaccination. From the multiple logistic models, we found post-graduate education (AOR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.23–2.74) and an age range 45–54 years (AOR = 5.81, 95% CI: 2.30–14.69) to be significantly associated with reported COVID-19 knowledge. In addition, positive Attitude scores were associated with respondents living in Zimbabwe (AOR = 4.49, 95% CI: 2.04–9.90) and positive Practice scores were found to be associated with people from India (AOR = 3.68, 95% CI: 1.15–11.74) and high school education (AOR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.07–4.38). This study contributes to the identification of socio-demographic factors associated with poor knowledge, attitudes, and practices relating to COVID-19 variants and vaccines. It presents an opportunity for collaboration with diverse communities to address COVID-19 misinformation and common sources of vaccine hesitancy (i.e., knowledge, attitudes, and practices).

As other nations around the world, Bangladesh is facing enormous challenges with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic. To design a prevention and control strategy for this new infectious disease, it is essential to first understand people’s knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding COVID-19. This study sought to determine KAP among rural and urban residents as well as predictors of preventive practices associated with COVID-19 in Bangladesh. A social media-based (Facebook) cross-sectional survey was conducted to explore these variables among Bangladeshi adults. Of 1520 respondents who completed the questionnaire, low level of good or sufficient knowledge of COVID-19 (70.8%) and practices associated with COVID-19 (73.8%) were found. Despite the low level of knowledge and practices, respondents’ attitude (78.9%) towards COVID-19 was relatively high. Results suggest that compared to urban, rural residents are at a particularly high risk of COVID-19 because they were found to have significantly lower knowledge (p = 0.001) and practice levels (p = 0.002) than were urban residents. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified gender, education, knowledge of COVID-19 transmission, signs and symptoms, and sources of information as factors significantly associated with preventive practices against COVID-19. Further attention and effort should be directed toward increasing both knowledge and practices targeting the general population in Bangladesh, particularly the rural and less educated residents. Findings from this study provide baseline data that can be used to promote integrated awareness of and effective health education programs about COVID-19 prevention and control strategies in Bangladesh, and similar COVID-19 endemic countries.

: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect all countries across the globe, this study seeks to investigate the relationship between nations’ governance, COVID-19 national data, and nation-level COVID-19 vaccination coverage. National-level governance indicators (corruption index, voice and accountability, political stability, and absence of violence/terrorism), officially reported COVID-19 national data (cases, death, and tests per one million population), and COVID-19 vaccination coverage was considered for this study to predict COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. Results indicate a strong relationship between nations’ governance and officially reported COVID-19 data. Countries were grouped into three clusters using only the governance data: politically stable countries, average countries or “less corrupt countries,” and corrupt countries or “more corrupt countries.” The clusters were then tested for significant differences in reporting various aspects of the COVID-19 data. According to multinomial regression, countries in the cluster of politically stable nations reported significantly more deaths, tests per one million, total cases per one million, and higher vaccination coverage compared with nations both in the clusters of corrupt countries and average countries. The countries in the cluster of average nations reported more tests per one million and higher vaccination coverage than countries in the cluster of corrupt nations. Countries included in the corrupt cluster reported a lower death rate and morbidity, particularly compared with the politically stable nations cluster, a trend that can be attributed to poor governance and inaccurate COVID-19 data reporting. The epidemic evaluation indices of the COVID-19 cases demonstrate that the pandemic is still evolving on a global level.

The present study focuses on both long- and short-term malaria transmission in Eritrea and investigates the risk factors. Annual aggregates of information on malaria cases, deaths, diagnostics and control interventions from 2001 to 2008 and monthly reported data from 2009 to 2017 were obtained from the National Malaria Control Programme. We used a generalized linear regression model to examine the associations among total malaria cases, death, insecticide-treated net coverage, indoor residual spraying and climatic parameters. Reduction in malaria mortality is demonstrated by the milestone margins of over 97% by the end of 2017. Malaria incidence likewise declined during the period (from 33 to 5 per 1000 population), representing a reduction of about 86% (R² = 0.3) slightly less than the decline in mortality. The distribution of insecticide treated nets generally declined between 2001 and 2014 (R² = 0.16) before increasing from 2015 to 2017, while the number of people protected by indoor residual spraying slightly increased (R² = 0.27). Higher rainfall was significantly associated with an increased number of malaria cases. The covariates rainfall and temperature are a better pair than IRS and LLIN to predict incidences. On the other hand, IRS and LLIN is a more significant pair to predict mortality cases. While Eritrea has made significant progress towards malaria elimination, this progress should be maintained and further improved. Distribution, coverage and utilization of malaria control and elimination tools should be optimized and sustained to safeguard the gains made. Additionally, consistent annual performance evaluation of malaria indicators would ensure a continuous learning process from gains/threats of epidemics and resurgence in regions already earmarked for elimination.

COVID-19 has harshly impacted communities globally. This study provides relevant information for creating equitable policy interventions to combat the spread of COVID-19. This study aims to predict the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of the COVID-19 pandemic at a global level to determine control measures and psychosocial problems. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from July to October 2020 using an online questionnaire. Questionnaires were initially distributed to academicians worldwide. These participants distributed the survey among their social, professional, and personal groups. Responses were collected and analyzed from 67 countries, with a sample size of 3031. Finally, based on the number of respondents, eight countries, including Bangladesh, China, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, the United States, and Zambia were rigorously analyzed. Specifically, questionnaire responses related to COVID-19 accessibility, behavior, knowledge, opinion, psychological health, and susceptibility were collected and analyzed. As per our analysis, age groups were found to be a primary determinant of behavior, knowledge, opinion, psychological health, and susceptibility scores. Gender was the second most influential determinant for all metrics except information about COVID-19 accessibility, for which education was the second most important determinant. Respondent profession was the third most important metric for all scores. Our findings suggest that health authorities must promote health educations, implement related policies to disseminate COVID-19-awareness that can prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 infection.