1. Prevalence and Factors Associated with Fear of COVID-19 Among Homeless Individuals During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the Hamburg Survey of Homeless Individuals.
- Author
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Hajek, André, Bertram, Franziska, Rüth, Victoria van, Kretzler, Benedikt, Püschel, Klaus, Heinrich, Fabian, and König, Hans-Helmut
- Subjects
COVID-19 pandemic ,COVID-19 ,INDEPENDENT variables ,HOMELESS persons ,DIAGNOSIS - Abstract
Purpose: To clarify the prevalence and determinants of fear of COVID-19 among homeless individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients and Methods: Data were taken from the Hamburg survey of homeless individuals (n=150) covering homeless adults in Hamburg, Germany. Multiple linear regressions were used. Beyond sociodemographic and lifestyle-related independent variables, COVID-19-related factors were also used as independent variables. Results: In sum, 56.2% of homeless individuals reported no fear of COVID-19, 23.8% reported a little fear of COVID-19, 9.2% reported some fear of COVID-19 and 10.8% reported severe fear of COVID-19. Regressions showed that an increased fear of COVID-19 was significantly associated with younger age (β=−.01, p< 0.05), absence of chronic alcohol consume (β=−.55, p< 0.01), an increased perceived own risk of getting infected with the coronavirus one day (β=0.42, p< 0.001) and a higher agreement that a diagnosis of the coronavirus would ruin his/her life (β=0.13, p< 0.01). Conclusion: Given the poor hygienic conditions and their increased vulnerability, data surprisingly suggest a quite low fear of COVID-19 among homeless individuals. Efforts may be beneficial which contribute to thinking rationally about COVID-19 among homeless people, since low levels of fear of COVID-19 may contribute to careless behavior and can lead to super-spreading events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
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