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This study aimed to determine the agreement between a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and a dried blood spot (DBS)-based electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) of hepatitis B surface antigen and to compare the costs of conducting serosurveys using RDTs and DBS in a field setting.A serosurvey was conducted in the South Central Coast region of Vietnam in May 2019. Participants aged 1-39 years were recruited using a four-stage random sampling method and tested for hepatitis B surface antigen using an RDT kit (Alere Determine) and a DBS-based ECLIA. The agreement between the RDT and the DBS-based ECLIA was assessed using cross-tabulation and Cohen kappa. Cost data were categorized by input (personnel, transportation, field consumables, laboratory consumables, and capital item/overhead) and survey phase (survey preparation, data/biospecimen collection, laboratory testing, and coordination).A total of 2072 participants were analyzed. There was a 99% agreement between the RDT and the DBS-based ECLIA results, with a Cohen kappa of 0.9. The estimated cost of conducting a serosurvey by DBS was UD $75,291, whereas RDT was $53,182.RDTs and DBS-based ECLIA provide test results with high agreements. RDTs are a better option in terms of cost, whereas the DBS-based ECLIA may be useful when evaluating multiple infectious diseases.

Delays in the spread of vaccination have been recognized as an urgent public health issue in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccine literacy (VL) is a critical determinant of vaccine uptake; however, little is known about VL among pregnant women and mothers of young children.We analyzed data from a nationwide, cross-sectional internet survey in Japan on VL and vaccine hesitancy, conducted with 1,639 pregnant women and 5,688 mothers of young children who had given birth after July 2019, between July 24 and August 30, 2021.Vaccine hesitancy was observed in 51.1 % of pregnant women and 31.9 % of mothers of young children. The risk of vaccine hesitancy was significantly higher among pregnant women with lower interactive/critical skills (risk ratio [RR] 2.10, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.59, 2.78, p 0.001), although functional skills did not significantly correlate with vaccine hesitancy. For mothers of young children, we found a significantly higher risk of vaccine hesitancy among those with low VL functional skills (RR 1.38, 95 % CI 1.19, 1.61), p 0.001) and low interactive/critical skills (RR 1.29, 95 % CI 1.10, 1.50, p = 0.001).Our findings suggest that aiding individuals to correctly evaluate vaccine-related information is critical for improving vaccine acceptance rates among both pregnant women and mothers of young children. Meanwhile, improving the comprehensibility of communication toolkits may be important for women with children but have a limited effect among pregnant women.

This study focused on postpartum women, who are one of the most vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to reveal mental health consequences of social restrictions, loss of social support, and loss of autonomy.We conducted a cross-sectional study for postpartum women in October 2020 in Japan (N = 600). The Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to measure postpartum depression. The prevalence ratios were estimated by log-binomial regression models, adjusting for age, education, household income, residential area, parity, the timing of delivery, and a prior history of depression.The prevalence of postpartum depression was 28.7% (EPDS ≥9, which is frequently used in Japan), 18.6% (≥11), and 13.1% (≥13). Social restrictions, including cancellation of home visits by healthcare professionals and cancellation of infant checkups or vaccinations, loss of support during pregnancy or after delivery, including loss of opportunities to consult with healthcare professionals or friends and cancellation of parents or other family members' visits to support, and loss of autonomy about delivery or breastfeeding, were associated with postnatal depression.At least 13% of women who delivered and raised babies during the COVID-19 pandemic had postpartum depressive symptoms. COVID-19 related social restrictions and loss of social support from healthcare professionals, families, and friends were significantly associated with postpartum depression. In addition, loss of maternal autonomy in delivery and breastfeeding was associated with postpartum depression. The results indicate that both formal and informal support should not be limited to preventing postpartum depression during a pandemic.

During crisis, trust has been found to have a buffering effect in the prevention of the deterioration of mental well-being, as trust is considered to reflect the individual's capability to gain social resources including both formal and informal support. Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, political trust has been found to reduce anxiety. Taking these findings into account, this study explores the association of generalised and political trust with mental well-being on current postpartum women who were particularly at risk due to a decline in social support leaving them an increased burden of caring newborns during the pandemic. We conducted a crosssectional survey in October 2020 in Japan (n=558). Depressive symptoms (above the cutoff of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)) and Fear of Coronavirus-19 Scale (FCV–19S) scores were used as mental well-being indicators. Generalised and political trust were captured by binary variables. Results of regression analyses, in which covariates were fully adjusted, showed that higher generalised trust had a statistically significant association with lower possibility of depressive symptoms and a lower FCV-19S score, while political trust was not significantly associated with either indicator. For further understanding, we divided respondents into two groups; women living in cities where higher COVID-19 cases were reported and women living in areas with lower COVID-19 cases, to test whether the role of trust differs depending on the infection spread status. It was found that a higher generalised trust was significantly associated with a lower probability of having depressive symptoms in the areas with lower COVID-19 cases. However, statistical significance was not observed in the areas with high COVID-19 cases. This highlighted that even postpartum women who were normally capable of receiving formal and informal social support need to be taken care of in the current situation., Highlights • A higher generalised trust is associated with better mental health in general. • A generalised trust is associated with better mental health only in areas with few COVID-19 cases. • A higher generalised trust indicates less fear of COVID-19, irrespective of prevalence. • Political trust does not affect depressive symptoms or fear of COVID-19, and infection rates did not affect these results.