Characteristics of study participants
Of the 1934 responses obtained during the survey, 1922 were eligible for analysis. Participants lived in 46 of the 63 provinces and municipalities of Vietnam, with more than half residing in urban areas. The average age was 31 years (SD: 10; range: 18-76 years). 1376 (71.6%) of respondents reported living with children, and 286 (14.9%) with elderly persons (Table 1).
Table 1. Characteristics of study participants (n=1922)
Characteristic
|
n
|
%
|
Gender
|
Male
|
587
|
30.5
|
Female
|
1332
|
69.3
|
Other
|
3
|
0.2
|
Religion
|
Yes
|
417
|
21.7
|
No
|
1505
|
78.3
|
Highest educational level
|
High school and lower
|
541
|
28.1
|
University and higher
|
1381
|
71.9
|
Marital status
|
Married
|
886
|
46.1
|
Other
|
1036
|
53.9
|
Place of residence
|
Municipalities
|
932
|
48.5
|
Smaller urban or rural areas
|
990
|
51.5
|
Occupation
|
Student
|
412
|
21.4
|
Government staff
|
706
|
36.7
|
Private enterprise or self-employed
|
715
|
37.2
|
Unemployed
|
89
|
4.6
|
Health professional or student in the health sector
|
Yes
|
1696
|
88.2
|
No
|
226
|
11.8
|
Urban/Rural or Semi-Rural residence
|
Urban
|
1139
|
59.3
|
Sub-urban/Rural
|
783
|
40.7
|
Housing conditions
|
Private house or apartment
|
1697
|
88.3
|
Renting house/room
|
225
|
11.7
|
Currently living
|
Alone
|
136
|
7.1
|
With children
|
1376
|
71.6
|
With elderly persons
|
286
|
14.9
|
Smoking
|
Yes
|
118
|
6.1
|
No
|
1804
|
93.9
|
Eating more healthy food
|
Yes
|
1699
|
88.4
|
No
|
223
|
11.6
|
Taking more vitamin tablets
|
Yes
|
1206
|
62.7
|
No
|
716
|
37.3
|
Have an underlying disease
|
Yes
|
135
|
7.0
|
No
|
1787
|
93.0
|
The education level was higher in male than female but the rate of unemployment was lower in female than male (Table 2).
Table 2. Distribution of educational level/occupation of the participants by sex (n=1919)
Educational level and occupation
|
Sex n (%)
|
P-value
|
Male (n=587)
|
Female (n=1332)
|
Highest educational level
|
High school and lower
|
138 (23,5)
|
403 (30,3)
|
0,002
|
University and higher
|
449 (76,5)
|
929 (69,7)
|
Occupation
|
Student
|
112 (19,1)
|
299 (22,4)
|
<0,001
|
Government staff
|
273 (46,5)
|
433 (32,5)
|
Private enterprise or self-employed
|
169 (28,8)
|
544 (40,8)
|
Unemployed
|
33 (5,6)
|
56 (4,2)
|
Consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s lives
Four hundred and six participants (21.1%) were moderately or very worried about their own health and 517 (26.9%) about the health of their relatives (Table 3). Ninety seven (5.0%) reported difficulties in obtaining food. Of the 135 people with an underlying disease, 9 (6.7%) encountered difficulties to obtain medication (Table 3). Nearly 90% of participants were physically active during the pandemic and 74.4% of them practiced outdoor activities. About 80% of the 1376 participants who lived with children responded that they participated in activities with their children on a daily basis.
Table 3. Consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s lives (n=1922)
Characteristic
|
N (%)
|
Fear and worry about respondents’ health
|
Moderate or high
|
406 (21.1)
|
None or minimal
|
1516 (78.9)
|
Fear and worry about their relatives’ health
|
Moderate or high
|
517 (26.9)
|
None or minimal
|
1405 (73.1)
|
Difficulties in obtaining food
|
Yes
|
97 (5.0)
|
No
|
1825 (95.0)
|
Difficulties to obtain medication for underlying disease (n=135)
|
Yes
|
9 (6.7)
|
No
|
126 (93.3)
|
Working from home
|
Yes
|
586 (30.5)
|
No
|
1336 (69.5)
|
Experienced violence or discrimination
|
Yes
|
6 (0.3)
|
No
|
1916 (99.7)
|
Physical exercise
|
Yes
|
1675 (87.1)
|
No
|
247 (12.9)
|
Type of physical exercise (n=1675)
|
Indoor, with music
|
589 (35.2)
|
Indoor, with online video
|
169 (10.1)
|
Outdoor
|
1247 (74.4)
|
Activities with their children (n=1376)
|
Yes
|
1105 (80.3)
|
No
|
271 (19.7)
|
Type of activities with their children (n=1105)
|
Tell a story, talk about something they like, read a book, or share pictures
|
570 (51.6)
|
Taking a walk around the house or in the street
|
430 (38.9)
|
Doing exercises together while listening to their favourite music
|
214 (19.4)
|
Doing a house chore together while having fun
|
603 (54.6)
|
Getting help with their school work
|
444 (40.2)
|
COVID-19 preventive behavior among respondents
Adherence to personal preventive measures remained high during this second survey with rates ranging from 55.9% to 99.9%. Only temperature check at least twice a week and disinfecting one’s phone were seldom reported. (Table 4).
Table 4. Adherence to personal COVID-19 preventive measures
No
|
Measures
|
March 31st to April 6th
N=2175* [6]
|
April 21st to 25th
N=1922*
|
N (%)
|
N (%)
|
1.
|
Follow the 1.5-2m physical distance rule
|
1919 (88.2)
|
1809 (94.1)
|
2.
|
Face mask use when outdoor
|
2165 (99.5)
|
1921 (99.9)
|
3.
|
Cover mouth and nose when coughing/sneezing
|
2065 (94.9)
|
1879 (97.8)
|
4.
|
Usually wash/disinfect hands immediately after coughing/sneezing
|
1813 (83.4)
|
1693 (88.1)
|
5.
|
Wash hands regularly with water and soap during the day
|
2119 (97.4)
|
1899 (98.8)
|
6.
|
Use hand sanitizer/gel regularly during the day
|
1767 (81.2)
|
1661 (86.4)
|
7.
|
Body temperature check at least twice a week
|
980 (45.1)
|
1075 (55.9)
|
8.
|
Avoid touching my face, eyes, nose and mouth with my hands
|
1852 (85.1)
|
1735 (90.3)
|
9.
|
Disinfect phone when I get home
|
1047 (48.1)
|
1129 (58.7)
|
*Total number of respondents during the survey
|
Adherence to community preventive measures also remained high during this second survey with rates ranging from 43.9% to 99.7% but most people continued going regularly to a market (Table 5).
Table 5. Adherence to community COVID-19 preventive measures in the last seven days
No
|
Measures
|
March 31st to April 6th
N=2175* [6]
|
April 21st to 25th
N=1922*
|
N (%)
|
N (%)
|
1.
|
Avoided meeting or gathering with more than 10 persons
|
1791 (82.3)
|
1683 (87.6)
|
2.
|
Avoided going to a restaurant, bar, or club
|
2147 (98.7)
|
1914 (99.6)
|
3.
|
Avoided attending a funeral
|
2117 (97.3)
|
1874 (97.5)
|
4.
|
Avoided going to a religious gathering
|
2160 (99.3)
|
1918 (99.8)
|
5.
|
Avoided going to a public gym
|
2157 (99.2)
|
1917 (99.7)
|
6.
|
Avoided going to a beauty parlour, massages, spa, hairdresser or nail studio
|
2121 (97.5)
|
1872 (97.4)
|
7.
|
Avoided being in a vehicle or bus with more than 5 persons
|
2079 (95.6)
|
1901 (98.9)
|
8.
|
Avoided using common plates/spoons when eating with family
|
1137 (52.3)
|
1158 (60.2)
|
9.
|
Avoided using common plates/spoons when eating with strangers
|
1986 (91.3)
|
1791 (93.2)
|
10.
|
Avoided going to a market
|
950 (43.7)
|
843 (43.9)
|
11.
|
Did not travel outside my city
|
2162 (99.4)
|
1916 (99.7)
|
*Total number of respondents during the survey
|
Well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic
Three hundred and ten (16.1%) persons had a poor well-being score (overall well-being score less than 13). The mean scores for each item on the WHO well-being scale are summarized in Table 6.
Table 6. The mean scores of each item of the WHO-5 well-being scale, and overall well-being score (n=1922)
Items and overall well-being scores
|
Mean ± SD
|
Min - Max
|
I have felt cheerful in good spirits
|
3.64 ± 1.05
|
0 - 5
|
I have felt calm and relaxed
|
3.59 ± 1.07
|
0 – 5
|
I have felt active and vigorous
|
3.34 ± 1.19
|
0 – 5
|
I woke up feeling fresh and rested
|
3.50 ± 1.17
|
0 – 5
|
My daily life has been filled with things that interest me
|
3.28 ± 1.23
|
0 – 5
|
Overall well-being score
|
17.35 ± 4.97
|
0 – 25
|
Factors associated with a high well-being score were: older age, eating more healthy food, physical activity, working from home, and adherence to the COVID-19 preventive measures. In contrast, male gender, being worried about their relatives’ health, and being a smoker were all associated with poor well-being (Table 7).
Table 7. Factors associated with poor well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic*
Co-variates
|
Odds Ratio
(95% Confidence interval)
|
P-value
|
Age (continuous variable)
|
0.98 (0.97 – 1.00)
|
0.024
|
Gender: Male
|
0.70 (0.51 – 0.97)
|
0.030
|
Adherence to the COVID-19 preventive measures
|
0.87 (0.81 – 0.93)
|
<0.001
|
Working from home
|
0.75 (0.56 – 1.00)
|
0.048
|
Physical activity during the epidemic
|
0.62 (0.44 – 0.87)
|
0.006
|
Fear and worry about their relatives’ health
|
2.41 (1.86 – 3.12)
|
<0.001
|
Eating more healthy food
|
0.61 (0.43 – 0.86)
|
0.005
|
Smoking
|
1.88 (1.09 – 3.23)
|
0.024
|
*: Multiple logistic regression model was used for analysis