Suchergebnisse

The ultra-Orthodox population in Israel was heavily impacted by COVID-19; it is important to understand the factors that contributed to this. There may be a friction between religious versus governmental guidelines that may reduce adherence to COVID mitigation guidelines, such as social distancing and masking. The purpose of this study is to explore this tension and the extent to which it existed in the surveyed sample. The study identified attitudes of ultra-Orthodox individuals concerning religious and public health measures to mitigate COVID-19 infection. A closed-ended questionnaire was completed by 405 ultra-Orthodox Jews. Most respondents believe that religious learning protects from harm (91%); 74% believe that periodically there are inconsistencies between religious guidelines and medical guidelines; 59% believe that preventive medicine may clash with "Divine protection". Some public health measures applied to contain the pandemic threaten religious lifestyle; this is a source of dissonance among ultra-religious populations, which may substantially decrease willingness to comply with public health measures.

The current study measured national resilience (NR) in three different time frames during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Israel (N = 804). We investigated two main issues: first, the direction and extent of NR changes during the crisis, and second, the predictors of NR. The results show the following: (a) the average NR score declined significantly across the three repeated measures, with a medium-size effect. (b) Three of the four identified NR factors declined significantly across the three measurements: belief in the government and the prime minister (large effect size); belief in civil society; and patriotism (medium effect size); while trust in Israeli national institutions was the lowest and did not weaken significantly. (c) Analyzing the prediction of NR factors indicated that the levels of the three NR factors mainly reflected one's political attitudes, sense of political and economic threats, rather than health threats. One conclusion concerns the importance of trust in leadership as the most sensitive component in the decline of national resilience following a crisis.

The current study uses a repeated measures design to compare two-time points across the COVID-19 pandemic. The first was conducted at the end of the "first wave" [T1] and the second was carried out on October 12-14 2020 (the last period of the second total general lockdown) in Israel. The participants (N = 805) completed the same questionnaire at both time points. The study examined the predictions of hope and morale at T2 by psychological and demographic predictors at T1. Results indicated the following: (a) The three types of resilience (individual, community, and national) significantly and positively predicted hope and morale. (b) Well-being significantly and positively predicted hope and morale. (c) Younger age significantly and positively predicts higher hope, but not morale. (d) A higher level of religiosity significantly and positively predicts higher hope and morale. (e) More right-wing political attitudes significantly and positively predict higher hope, but not moral. (f) More economic difficulties due to the pandemic, significantly and negatively predict hope and morale. We concluded that hope and morale can serve as significant indicators of the population's ability to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, they can serve as a "thermometer" for the general mood of the population and can be used by decision-makers to assess coping ability at varied stages of the pandemic.

In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, maintenance of protective behavior is a continued challenge in the effort to contain the spread of the virus. A cross-sectional study via an internet questionnaire was utilized to elucidate changes in compliance to protective behavior among the Israeli population (n = 1120), after the beginning of the vaccination campaign. Comparison was made between individuals who were previously infected with the virus, those who received one dose of inoculation with the vaccine, and individuals that were neither infected or vaccinated. The study results indicate that those who were previously infected with the COVID-19 virus were less careful about mask wearing (18.8%) and social distancing (29.7%), as compared to the other examined groups (regarding mask wearing, 8.2% and 11.6% respectively, and with regard to social distancing 12.8% and 19.2%), and may require targeted risk communication campaigns to address this population. Furthermore, the study revealed that those that were non-Jewish (as compared to Jewish study counterparts) or that were older (19+) were more vigilant in their protective behavior (29.6% vs. 11.2% respectively for social distancing and 29.6% vs. 11.1% respectively for mask wearing). Despite a successful initial vaccination campaign in Israel, public health officials need to engage all members of the public to unremittingly observe compliance to directed health guidelines, to ensure that the results of previous governmental efforts in fighting the pandemic (such as lockdowns) will be effectively sustained, and the road to containment will be hastened.

AbstractThis paper investigates the perceptions of professionals (emergency organizations: authorities and first responders) regarding the usage of social media versus the perceptions of the public regarding their expectations concerning the use of social media in communicating emergencies and disasters. It provides a novel perspective on the alignment between perceptions and expectations in disaster social media usage, delving into the structural constraints and opportunities of current practices. The research incorporates qualitative interviews with emergency professionals, a quantitative survey of the general population, and content analysis of social media interactions across seven countries (Israel, Italy, Spain, France, Sweden, Norway, and Romania), aiming to discern differing viewpoints on social media's role in crises. It underscores the variations and commonalities between authorities/first responders and the public's perspectives, revealing differences in acceptance and concerns regarding social media use among these stakeholders. The analysis identified three primary themes: cognitive needs, integrative needs, and communication flow, each with specific, interconnected subthemes. These insights emphasize the need for a better understanding of these diverse perspectives to enhance disaster communication. The paper suggests that effectively utilizing social media and crowdsourcing technologies can help bridge the gap between emergency services and the public, fostering more disaster‐resilient societies.