Health literacy has been identified as one vital determinant of public health and healthy behaviors, but very few studies regarding infectious disease prevention have been found. This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to validate the pathway of infectious disease-specific health literacy (IDSHL), COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) preventive behaviors, and their determinants. A sample of 1459 casino workers in Macao was eligible for analysis. The concept model was verified with a comparative fit index of 0.937 and goodness-of-fit index of 0.971. Government responses was a significant determinant of situational factors (helpfulness of health information, resource accessibility, and organizational training adequacy), while situational factors showed a direct effect on COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Education and organization training adequacy was the strongest influencing factor of IDSHL, which should be a key target of intervention programs for COVID-19.
Based on Construal Level Theory (CLT), the youth and older adults have different psychological distances towards dementia that may lead to different dementia knowledge and attitudes. A cross-sectional survey among 239 youth and 62 older adults using a two-step sampling approach in Macao aimed to examine the hypothesis. Results showed older adults had a higher score of dementia knowledge (F(1,299) = 45.692, p <0.001) but a lower score of dementia attitudes (F(1,299) = 161.887, p <0.001) compared to the youth. Age group explained the majority of the variances in the hierarchical multiple regressions for dementia knowledge (R2 = 0.178, F = 9.059, p < 0.001) and for dementia attitudes (R2 = 0.399, F = 24.233, p < 0.001), which are β = 0.47 and −0.56, respectively. Thus, the hypothesis was supported and revealed an interesting pattern of dementia knowledge and attitudes among the youth and older adults. From the CLT perspective, the study implies that reducing and bridging the psychological distance of dementia would probably be an effective strategy to increase dementia awareness among young people, and intergenerational programs may be a good option to increase community acceptance and support for people with dementia.
Providing both personal and social benefits, vaccination may be motivated by collective responsibility (CR). Some previous studies have indicated the relationship between CR and vaccination but could not exclude confounding bias and had little knowledge about the boundary conditions. This study aimed to examine the association between CR and COVID-19 vaccine uptake and its boundary conditions in an extended version of the theory of planned behavior. A cross-sectional survey with 608 participants from six tourism satellite industries in Macao was conducted from 28 July 2021 to 20 August of 2021. Respondentss in CR-lower and CR-higher groups were 1:1 paired using propensity score matching (PSM) to control the potential confounding factors. Results showed participants in the CR-higher group reported significantly higher COVID-19 vaccine uptake than those in the CR-lower group (64.7% vs. 49.7%, p = 0.005). Multivariate logistic regression results indicated a positive association between CR and COVID-19 vaccine uptake (p = 0.012, OR = 2.070, 95% CI= 1.174 to 3.650) and its interaction effect with COVID-19 vaccine attitude (p = 0.019, OR = 0.922, 95% CI = 0.861 to 0.987). Spotlight analysis further illustrated that CR was more effective among individuals with a more negative COVID-19 vaccine attitude. These findings may help promote understanding of vaccine hesitancy, and hence optimize vaccination communication strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
20 February 2024 in Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics
Background: Dementia-friendly community has been promoted in Macao since 2016. There is no study investigating the understanding of nor attitudes towards dementia among public contact staff in Macao. This study aimed to (i) understand the level of knowledge of dementia, (ii) examine the attitudes towards people living with dementia, and (iii) explore the associated factors of the willingness to help people with dementia symptoms among police officers, bank officers, bus drivers, and building superintendents. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between January and May 2019 using a structured questionnaire. Results: A total of 351 valid questionnaires were received. Building superintendents had more knowledge while police officers and bank officers had more positive attitudes. All practitioners were more willing to help people with dementia symptoms when they were on official duty. Participants who had more knowledge about dementia were associated with a higher willingness to help people with dementia symptoms.
14 July 2025 in American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias®
Background: A validated instrument for assessing adolescent attitudes toward dementia in Chinese-speaking communities is currently lacking. This study aims to translate the Brief-AADS into Chinese and examine the psychometric properties of the Brief AADS-C. Methods: The methodological study employed a cross-sectional design with 2 phases. Data was collected in Macao and Shenzhen, China. Results: The scale demonstrated excellent content validity(S-CVI = 0.99) and good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.814). Test-retest reliability was acceptable (ICC = 0.647). EFA identified a three-factor solution “Perceptions”, “Acceptance”, and “Engagement” with 11items—accounting for 56.07% of the variance. CFA supported this 3-factor structure with acceptable goodness of fit indices (χ 2 /df = 3.076, GFI = 0.937, SRMR = 0.0579, RMSEA = 0.077). All factor loadings of the items ranged from 0. 33to 0.82, indicating strong item-factor relationships. Conclusions: The Brief AADS-C is reliable and valid for assessing adolescent attitudes toward dementia in Chinese-speaking regions.