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This study aims to measure the level of public awareness about the threat of the emerging coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic among the Omani population. It also aims to investigate the mediating effect of the Omanis’ attitudes and behaviors with underlying conditions of COVID-19.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data via an online survey of Omani citizens and residents from various geographic areas in Oman, 305 responses were received. SPSS and partial least square-structural equation modeling were used for data analysis.

The study revealed that public awareness regarding the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly influenced by people’s perceived risk, information source and health-related knowledge. Further, preventive behavior during the disease spread has a significant direct and indirect impact on their awareness. However, an insignificant mediation effect of public attitude was found between the source of information and public awareness.

This study is limited by the scarcity of related literature in the Omani context. It is recommended that future research complete an in-depth study of public awareness regarding COVID-19, using other constructs and/or other data collection techniques.

This research will provide governmental health authorities and policymakers with a guideline to establish more efficient pandemic containment strategies to control public behavior toward the COVID-19 pandemic and curb viral prevalence.

This research will help in improving prevention measures against COVID-19 are recommended to be more educated through a more effective mechanism to raise public attitude regarding pandemic prevalence positively.

The originality of this research can be drawn from key findings that indicate that people overall gained knowledge about how to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and the accuracy of information significantly impacts public awareness.

This study aims to examine the relationship between public knowledge, awareness and attitudes towards post-COVID-19 infection prevention in Sarawak. At present, Sarawak is in the post-pandemic stage, marked by a gradual return to normalcy, albeit with some persistent changes caused by the pandemic.

Data were collected from various geographic areas in Sarawak through a Google Form link and QR code during a cross-sectional study, resulting in the acquisition of 1,128 responses. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 28.0 and WarpPLS 8.0.

The result revealed that out of five hypotheses, four were found to be supported, indicating a positive relationship between public knowledge, awareness and attitudes towards COVID-19 infection prevention. However, an unsupported relationship was found between public awareness and infection prevention practices.

This study is limited to the Malaysian population and has a cross-sectional design, affecting generalizability. It is recommended that future research complete an in-depth study of the knowledge, awareness and practices of COVID-19 using other data collection techniques.

Public health and policymakers can use the study to implement effective communication strategies and prioritize digitalization for economic recovery. It highlights the importance of preventive measures and the public’s role in managing future pandemics.

The originality of this research can be drawn from key findings that indicate that people overall gained knowledge on the prevention measures during the post-COVID-19 pandemic, and the accuracy of the information significantly impacts public knowledge, awareness and practices of COVID-19 infection prevention.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the views of drug and alcohol workers on existing alcohol-related public health policies in the UK. Alcohol consumption is closely linked to negative health outcomes, social problems and increasing cost burdens for the UK public, yet alcohol consumption is legal and drinking alcohol is a normalised feature of society.

Nine drug and alcohol workers completed semi-structured interviews, exploring awareness of alcohol-related public health strategies, views on how both their clients and the public orient towards drinking behaviour, and perceptions of links between alcohol treatment and public health services.

Ambivalence towards alcohol-related public health strategies, and a lack of mutual awareness and coordination between public health and treatment services were expressed by participants. Participants felt that public health strategies around alcohol were out of reach to their client group, and failing to have a behavioural change effect on the wider public. Participants proposed several ways of improving public health strategies.

Drug and alcohol workers are potentially valuable contributors in developing public health policy. Their views, based both on interactions with service users and on occupationally influenced observations of society, could be utilised more effectively than is currently the case.

This study uniquely ties together public health and treatment aspects of alcohol services and employs a methodology that opens the way for further research and clinical development.

This study seeks to measure the public knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to eye health and disease in New Zealand (NZ).

A 22‐item survey of 507 adults in NZ was conducted. The survey was developed using interviews and focus groups, as well as comparisons with other benchmark international studies.

Overall awareness about the importance of eye health is high in NZ, although knowledge about associated diseases (e.g. macular degeneration) is low – this is particularly important, given the risk and cost of preventable vision impairment.

This consumer survey of eye health in NZ, which assessed awareness and access to eye care, provides a foundation for those involved in the provision of eye care health. It is also a first step to further exploring key issues and identifying longitudinal patterns for consumer, provider, and public health dialogue, as well as a baseline for public health campaigns.

COVID-19 forced libraries and other institutions to either close their doors to users or change their services routines. At this time, the libraries should extend their efforts to meet the increasing demands of information services in terms of quantity and quality of information services. This study aims to explore the role and responsibilities of academic libraries during times of crisis from the staff perception in academic libraries in Jordan.

A questionnaire was disseminated to 359 library staff who were working at the 10 public universities in Jordan; 295 questionnaires were suitable to analyze, with a response rate of 82.2%.

The results indicated the importance of increasing academic libraries – specifically academic libraries in Jordan – awareness about the vast and important role of libraries to support research and the public community by providing authentic information sources about the pandemic to increase public awareness about the pandemic, besides contributing to disseminating research related to the pandemic as well as producing related research. Libraries needed to adjust their collection and information services during the crisis as they looked for ways to support the users they serve. The results affirmed that access to information remains the social responsibility of librarians.

The findings will provide insights for other academic libraries on how to react in a crisis and maintain its role as a reliable information source.

During the health pandemic, people needed support in terms of getting easy access to authentic and reliable information. Libraries hold a social responsibility to the local community, such as awareness campaigns, posting videos on health practices and hygiene on it websites and social media.

This paper provides insights and practical solutions for academic libraries in response to global health pandemics. It will help academic libraries handle and cope with the challenges of providing distance library services over digital channels.

Public libraries are vibrant and trusted community hubs that provide services, support, and resources in a variety of ways that impact the well-being of their communities. The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) partnered with the National Institute of Health (NIH) All of Us Research Program (All of Us) to support libraries to serve as health information resources for their patrons and provide All of Us awareness through community engagement. The NNLM All of Us National Program provides infrastructure and resources to public libraries, such as free training for library staff, health information outreach funding, connections with other organizations, and free programming tools to expand health programming beyond fitness to boost digital and health literacy in their communities.

This study looked at the impact of a community-based public health campaign on hypertension and diabetes mellitus awareness and prevention, as well as student experiential learning in a campaign conducted by pharmacy students.

A convenience sampling cross-sectional pre–post survey was done to assess disease awareness and knowledge among those who attended the health campaign. The data analysis includes a total of 230 participants with complete data. After the campaign, the pharmacy students used self-assessment to reflect their learning experience.

Most participants were unaware of their blood pressure and blood glucose readings, but they reported improved awareness of diseases and prevention of hypertension and diabetes after the health campaign. Although most participants correctly identified the common signs and symptoms of hypertension, few could associate it with overweight. Most participants were unaware of the 5 g per day salt intake limit for controlling hypertension before the campaign. Most participants were less aware that diabetes is associated with impaired vision, peripheral neuropathy, renal and heart diseases. Students expressed increased confidence in leadership, teamwork and communication abilities after the campaign based on self-assessment.

A health campaign enhances the disease knowledge of the general public. It has been suggested that experiential learning be encouraged in the pharmacy curriculum.

This study adds to the knowledge on the roles of community-based health campaigns and the value of pharmacy students’ involvement in experiential learning.

How were health-based perceptions influenced by dominant public health theories in the historical past to present times and what impact did it have on waste management behaviours? Taking public health as the single most important driver of waste management responses from historic to the contemporary times, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the waste management practices through the lens of the leading public health constructs and their impacts on the adaptive practices of waste management. The research paper seeks to analyze the historical journey of waste management responses using the theoretical constructs of the Health Belief Model (HBM).

The purpose of the research is achieved by conducting an extensive review into the available secondary source-based historic literature on waste. The paper uses qualitative method of research and applies content and text analysis to present the review of literature and establish patterns and co-relations between public health theories, health perceptions and waste behaviours. The HBM is applied in a modified format to evaluate the patterns of waste-based health perceptions and their impacts on adaptive waste management responses.

Based upon a comprehensive review of literature pertaining to the historical aspect of waste management and public health constructs, the paper presents the link between the dominant public health theories, their impacts on waste-based health perceptions and waste management responses through the course of history. The analysis also reveals that while new approaches have been developed and adapted based upon the dominant public health theories, the age old practices and behaviours have not entirely faded away and rather continue to operate till date.

The research being under the preview of historical investigation, depends purely upon secondary review of literature to gather such information that shall lead to making an evaluation of health perceptions. As such the limitation of data itself for a thorough analysis is acknowledged. Also since the research setting uses the global context, the literature search found more information from the historic context of the western societies and less from other parts of the world and generalizations are therefore based on this literature.

The paper presents a linkage between public health theories, perceptions and waste behaviours with application of the HBM and in doing so it makes a contribution towards understanding the historical journey of waste management responses. In the author's best knowledge the HBM has not been applied in environmental history research of this nature. The application of the HBM, while it has been done in the historical context herein, but it can be visualized that this model holds strength to make an application in contemporary settings to arrive at appropriate waste management policies and strategies.

This study, a narrative literature review, aims to examine the combined benefits of the active and passive use of social media (SM) for well-being (WB), physical and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A search strategy has been carried out in the databases: Riss, PubMed, Medline, Scopus and Google Scholar, including all the articles published until 19 October 2023.

SM offers various benefits, including global risk awareness, health information, social connections and support. With the natural increase in physical inactivity due to COVID-19 social restrictions, SM has been identified as an appropriate tool for promoting physical activity (PA) at home to improve health.

It suggests that the combined use of active and passive benefits of SM could potentially play an important role in public health by increasing individuals’ health behaviours. In addition, dissemination, sharing and social interaction of information provided by YouTube can encourage healthy behaviours, contribute to WB, physical and mental health and raise public health awareness.

The findings presented in this study highlight the combined benefits of differentiating the features of SM use. Compared to other SM platforms, YouTube can be used as a useful tool for home-based PA that promotes health by enabling people to remain active and avoid barriers to PA due to social restrictions during the global crisis. In addition, some recommendations from the findings may help protect against potential risks and improve public health outcomes during global crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, among the general public using SM.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of private and public sector managers in Barbados regarding the concepts of mental health and illness at work. It also explored their interactions and experiences with persons with mental illness at work and various forms of support and resources needed to improve the overall management of these persons within the organisational setting.

This qualitative study used an exploratory research design based on two focus groups of private and public sector managers.

The findings revealed that both private and public sector managers understood the distinction between the concepts of mental health and mental illness. However, managers believed that high levels of stigma and discrimination exist in both private and public sector workplaces due to a lack of understanding of mental illness, cultural norms, and socialisation in Barbados regarding mental illness and negative stereotypes. However, workplace education and promotion, associated workplace policies, and employee assistance programmes (EAPs) were identified as key strategies for effectively addressing issues of mental health stigma and the management of persons with mental illness at work.

Due to the qualitative approach used and small sample selected based on non-probability sampling, generalising the findings to larger populations is heavily cautioned.

Organisations in both private and public sectors should emphasise workplace mental health interventions such as mental health education and awareness, the development and implementation of supportive and flexible policies, and EAPs. These strategies are likely to help destigmatisation efforts and enhance managers’ understanding of mental health and the management of persons with mental illness.

This study provided a rich and in-depth understanding of mental health and illness from the perspective of private and public sector managers in a small developing country in the Caribbean. The Caribbean region possesses a dearth of empirical research concerning issues of mental health and illness at work.