Yubin Lee1, Byung-Woo Kim2, Shin-Woo Kim3, Hyunjin Son4, Boyoung Park5, Heeyoung Lee6,7, Myoungsoon You1, Moran Ki2. 1. Department of Public Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea. 2. Department of Cancer Control and Population Health, Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea. 3. Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41944, Korea. 4. Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Dong-A University, Busan 49201, Korea. 5. Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea. 6. Center for Preventive and Public Health, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam 13620, Korea. 7. Gyeonggi Public Health Policy Institute, Seongnam 13605, Korea.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first reported in 2019, South Korea has enforced isolation of patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19, as well as quarantine for close contacts of individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 and persons traveling from abroad, in order to contain its spread. Precautionary behavior practices and psychological characteristics of confirmed and quarantined persons were investigated for planning pandemic recovery and preparedness. METHODS: this study was conducted with 1716 confirmed patients and quarantined persons in Daegu and Busan, regions where a high number of cases were confirmed during the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea. We collected online survey data from 23 April to 20 May 2020, in Daegu, and 28 April to 27 May 2020, in Busan, in cooperation with Daegu and Busan Infectious Disease Control Centers and public health centers in the regions. COVID-19 symptoms, pre-cautionary behavior practices, psychological states, and the need for improvement in isolation/quarantine environments were examined using an online survey. RESULTS: compared to patients infected with coronavirus, quarantined persons engaged in more hygiene-related behaviors (e.g., hand washing, cough etiquette, and proper mask-wearing) and social distancing. COVID-19 patients had a strong fear of stigma, while quarantined persons had a strong fear of contracting COVID-19. Study participants responded that it was necessary to provide financial support and adequate information during isolation/quarantine. CONCLUSIONS: the study highlights the importance of precautionary behavior to prevent COVID-19 infection and the need to provide support (both psychological and financial) to patients and quarantined persons, to reinforce effective communication, social solidarity, and public health emergency preparedness (PHEP) in a pandemic situation.
BACKGROUND: since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first reported in 2019, South Korea has enforced isolation of patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19, as well as quarantine for close contacts of individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 and persons traveling from abroad, in order to contain its spread. Precautionary behavior practices and psychological characteristics of confirmed and quarantined persons were investigated for planning pandemic recovery and preparedness. METHODS: this study was conducted with 1716 confirmed patients and quarantined persons in Daegu and Busan, regions where a high number of cases were confirmed during the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea. We collected online survey data from 23 April to 20 May 2020, in Daegu, and 28 April to 27 May 2020, in Busan, in cooperation with Daegu and Busan Infectious Disease Control Centers and public health centers in the regions. COVID-19 symptoms, pre-cautionary behavior practices, psychological states, and the need for improvement in isolation/quarantine environments were examined using an online survey. RESULTS: compared to patientsinfected with coronavirus, quarantined persons engaged in more hygiene-related behaviors (e.g., hand washing, cough etiquette, and proper mask-wearing) and social distancing. COVID-19patients had a strong fear of stigma, while quarantined persons had a strong fear of contracting COVID-19. Study participants responded that it was necessary to provide financial support and adequate information during isolation/quarantine. CONCLUSIONS: the study highlights the importance of precautionary behavior to prevent COVID-19infection and the need to provide support (both psychological and financial) to patients and quarantined persons, to reinforce effective communication, social solidarity, and public health emergency preparedness (PHEP) in a pandemic situation.
Entities:
Keywords:
COVID-19 pandemic; isolation; online survey of patients and contacts; public health emergency preparedness; quarantine
Authors: Keun-Mi Lee; Hae-Jin Ko; Geon Ho Lee; Yun-A Kim; Seung-Pil Jung; A-Sol Kim Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-06-29 Impact factor: 4.614