During global pandemics, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), crisis communication is indispensable in dispelling fears, uncertainty, and unifying individuals worldwide in a collective fight against health threats. Inadequate crisis communication can bring dire personal and economic consequences. Mounting research shows that seemingly endless newsfeeds related to COVID-19 infection and death rates could considerably increase the risk of mental health problems. Unfortunately, media reports that include infodemics regarding the influence of COVID-19 on mental health may be a source of the adverse psychological effects on individuals. Owing partially to insufficient crisis communication practices, media and news organizations across the globe have played minimal roles in battling COVID-19 infodemics. Common refrains include raging QAnon conspiracies, a false and misleading “Chinese virus” narrative, and the use of disinfectants to “cure” COVID-19. With the potential to deteriorate mental health, infodemics fueled by a kaleidoscopic range of misinformation can be dangerous. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of research on how to improve crisis communication across media and news organization channels. This paper identifies ways that legacy media reports on COVID-19 and how social media-based infodemics can result in mental health concerns. This paper discusses possible crisis communication solutions that media and news organizations can adopt to mitigate the negative influences of COVID-19 related news on mental health. Emphasizing the need for global media entities to forge a fact-based, person-centered, and collaborative response to COVID-19 reporting, this paper encourages media resources to focus on the core issue of how to slow or stop COVID-19 transmission effectively.

Background: Since December 2019, the outbreak of COVID-19 caused a large number of hospital admissions in China. Many patients with COVID-19 have symptoms of acute respiratory distress syndrome, even are in danger of death. This is the first study to evaluate dynamic changes of D-Dimer and Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Count Ratio (NLR) as a prognostic utility in patients with COVID-19 for clinical use. Methods: In a retrospective study, we collected data from 349 hospitalized patients who diagnosed as the infection of the COVID-19 in Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital. We used ROC curves and Cox regression analysis to explore critical value (optimal cut-off point associated with Youden index) and prognostic role of dynamic changes of D-Dimer and NLR. Results: Three hundred forty-nine participants were enrolled in this study and the mortality rate of the patients with laboratory diagnosed COVID-19 was 14.9%. The initial and peak value of D-Dimer and NLR in deceased patients were higher statistically compared with survivors (P < 0.001). There was a more significant upward trend of D-Dimer and NLR during hospitalization in the deceased patients, initial D-Dimer and NLR were lower than the peak tests (MD) -25.23, 95% CI: − 31.81- -18.64, P < 0.001; (MD) -43.73, 95% CI:-59.28- -31.17, P < 0.001. The test showed a stronger correlation between hospitalization days, PCT and peak D-Dimer than initial D-Dimer. The areas under the ROC curves of peak D-Dimer and peak NLR tests were higher than the initial tests (0.94(95%CI: 0.90–0.98) vs. 0.80 (95% CI: 0.73–0.87); 0.93 (95%CI:0.90–0.96) vs. 0.86 (95%CI:0.82–0.91). The critical value of initial D-Dimer, peak D-Dimer, initial NLR and peak NLR was 0.73 mg/L, 3.78 mg/L,7.13 and 14.31 respectively. 35 (10.03%) patients were intubated. In the intubated patients, initial and peak D-Dimer and NLR were much higher than non-intubated patients (P < 0.001). The critical value of initial D-Dimer, peak D-Dimer, initial NLR and peak NLR in prognosticate of intubation was 0.73 mg/L, 12.75 mg/L,7.28 and 27.55. The multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that age (HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00–1.07, P = 0.01), the peak D-Dimer (HR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01–1.04, P < 0.001) were prognostic factors for COVID-19 patients’ death. Conclusions: To dynamically observe the ratio of D-Dimer and NLR was more valuable during the prognosis of COVID-19. The rising trend in D-Dimer and NLR, or the test results higher than the critical values may indicate a risk of death for participants with COVID-19.

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet #Preprint #PeerReviewMe: Warning: This is a unreviewed preprint. Readers are warned that the document has not been peer-reviewed by expert/patient reviewers or an academic editor, may contain misleading claims, and is likely to undergo changes before final publication, if accepted, or may have been rejected/withdrawn. Readers with interest and expertise are encouraged to sign up as peer-reviewer, if the paper is within an open peer-review period. Please cite this preprint only for review purposes or for grant applications and CVs (if you are the author). Background: In December 2019, pneumonia cases of unknown origin were reported in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. Identified as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the number of cases grew rapidly by human-to-human transmission in Wuhan. Social media, especially Sina Weibo (a major Chinese microblogging social media site), has become an important platform for the public to obtain information and seek help. Objective: This study aims to analyze the characteristics of suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients who asked for help on Sina Weibo. Methods: We conducted data mining on Sina Weibo and extracted the data of 485 patients who presented with clinical symptoms and imaging descriptions of suspected or laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19. In total, 9878 posts seeking help on Sina Weibo from February 3 to 20, 2020 were analyzed. We used a descriptive research methodology to describe the distribution and other epidemiological characteristics of patients with suspected or laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) infection. The distance between patients’ homes and the nearest hospital was calculated using the geographic information system ArcGIS. Results: All patients included in this study who sought help on Sina Weibo lived in Wuhan, with a median age of 63.0 years (IQR 55.0-71.0). Fever (408/485, 84.12%) was the most common symptom. Ground-glass opacity (237/314, 75.48%) was the most common pattern on chest computed tomography; 39.67% (167/421) of families had suspected and/or laboratory-confirmed family members; 36.58% (154/421) of families had 1 or 2 suspected and/or laboratory-confirmed members; and 70.52% (232/329) of patients needed to rely on their relatives for help. The median time from illness onset to real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing was 8 days (IQR 5.0-10.0), and the median time from illness onset to online help was 10 days (IQR 6.0-12.0). Of 481 patients, 32.22% (n=155) lived more than 3 kilometers away from the nearest hospital. Conclusions: Our findings show that patients seeking help on Sina Weibo lived in Wuhan and most were elderly. Most patients had fever symptoms, and ground-glass opacities were noted in chest computed tomography. The onset of the disease was characterized by family clustering and most families lived far from their nearest designated hospital. Therefore, we recommend the following: (1) the most stringent centralized medical observation measures should be taken to avoid transmission in family clusters; and (2) social media can help these patients get early attention during Wuhan’s lockdown. These findings can help the government and the health department identify high-risk patients and accelerate emergency responses following public demands for help.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an economic crisis and health emergency, threatening energy efficiency consumption, sustainable food diversity, and households’ nutrition security. The literature documented that environmental threats can divert attention from renewable energy and food security challenges that affect humans’ environmental behaviors. The COVID-19 crisis has consistently influenced environmental behaviors, as it primarily decreased income and disrupted food systems worldwide. This study investigated the COVID-19 consequences on household income, sustainable food diversity, sustainable energy consumption, and nutritional security challenges. The study used a self-structured online survey due to non-pharmaceutical restrictions and collected data from 728 households. The investigators applied t-test and logit regression to analyze the data for drawing results. Descriptive statistics show that COVID-19 has adversely affected the income of more than two-thirds (67%) of households. The pandemic has influenced households’ food consumption, energy, and dietary patterns to safeguard their income. The t-test analysis indicated that households’ food diversity and energy consumption significantly declined during the pandemic, and households consumed low-diversified food to meet their dietary needs more than twofold compared to pre-pandemic levels. The results showed that all nutrient consumption remained considerably lower in the COVID-19. Cereals are the primary source of daily dietary needs, accounting for over two-thirds of total energy and half of the nutrient consumption amid COVID-19. The share of vegetables and fruits in household energy consumption dropped by 40 and 30%. Results exhibited that increasing monthly income was inversely associated with worsening food diversity and intake with energy efficiency. Compared with farmers and salaried employment, wage earners were 0.15 and 0.28 times more likely to experience a decline in consuming food diversity. Medium and large households were 1.95 times and 2.64 times more likely than small, to experience decreased food diversity consumption. Launching a nutrition-sensitive program will help minimize the COVID-19 impacts on energy consumption, food diversity, and nutritional security for low-income individuals. This survey relied on the recall ability of the households for the consumed quantities of food commodities, which may lack accuracy. Longitudinal studies employing probability sampling with larger samples can verify this study’s insightful results.

Introduction: Domestic violence is toxic to society. With approximately one in three women on average falling victim to domestic violence, systematic solutions are needed. To further complicate the issue, mounting research shows that COVID-19 has further exacerbated domestic violence across the world. Situations could be even more pronounced in countries like China, where though domestic violence is prevalent, there is a dearth of research, such as intervention studies, to address the issue. This study investigates key barriers to domestic violence research development in China, with a close focus on salient cultural influences.Methods: A review of the literature on domestic violence in China in PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus was conducted to answer the research question. The search was focused on three themes, domestic violence, China, research, and cultural influences.Results: The study findings show that categorizing domestic violence as a “family affair” is a key barrier to domestic violence research development in China—an incremental hindrance that prevents the public and policymakers from understanding the full scale and scope of domestic violence in China. In addition to abusers, witnesses, and victims, even law enforcement in China often dismisses domestic violence crimes as “family affairs” that resides outside the reach and realm of the law. The results indicated that mistreating domestic violence crimes as “family affairs” is a vital manifestation of the deep-rooted cultural influences in China, ranging from traditional Confucian beliefs in social harmony to the assumed social norms of not interfering with other people's businesses.Conclusion: Domestic violence corrupts public health and social stability. Our study found that dismissing domestic violence cases as “family affairs” is an incremental reason why China's domestic violence research is scarce and awareness is low. In light of the government's voiced support for women's rights, we call for the Chinese government to develop effective interventions to timely and effectively address the domestic violence epidemic in China.