Cent Eur J Public Health 2022, 30(2):93-98 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a7013
Perception of testing for COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic in Slovakia with emphasis on population age groups
- 1 Centre for Applied Economic Research, Faculty of Management and Economics, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Zlín, Czech Republic
- 2 Department of Marketing and International Trade, Faculty of Management and Business, University of Prešov, Prešov, Slovak Republic
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of the respondents in selected areas of testing for COVID-19 during the first waves of this disease with an emphasis on the age categories.
Methods: The research sample consisted of 806 Slovak respondents and the collection of data took place in February 2021. The study examined six areas, of which five focused on the perception of testing and one area focused on examining the risk of population behaviour. All areas were examined in the first as well as in the last testing for COVID-19. In terms of age, we focused on 4 age categories: up to 24 years, 25-44 years, 45-59 years, and over 60 years. Data were obtained by online survey, using descriptive analysis and nonparametric analysis of differences.
Results: The results of the analysis show that age is a socioeconomic characteristic that is of great importance for the creation and implementation of epidemiological processes and programmes and therefore epidemiologists should pay increased attention to it when creating prevention programmes. Younger people perceived testing more positively than older ones, even though the course of the disease caused by COVID-19 is much more severe in older people. The difference in the perception of testing between age categories was confirmed in the first as well as in the last test study. Respondents perceived the last test more negatively and thus they showed slightly riskier behaviour compared to the first test.
Conclusions: We perceive testing as an efficient way in the fight against pandemics generally, but we point out that testing should be well accomplished in a managerial way, otherwise testing can have a negative impact on society's confidence.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, mass testing, social attitudes, testing experience, behaviour, age
Received: July 13, 2021; Revised: June 23, 2022; Accepted: June 23, 2022; Published: June 30, 2022 Show citation
ACS | AIP | APA | ASA | Harvard | Chicago | Chicago Notes | IEEE | ISO690 | MLA | NLM | Turabian | Vancouver |
References
- Holt E. Slovakia to test all adults for SARS-CoV-2. Lancet. 2020;396(10260):1386-7.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Mahase E. Covid-19: mass testing in Slovakia may have helped cut infections. BMJ. 2020;371:m4761. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m4761.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- McKee M, Nagyova I. Could Slovakia's mass testing programme work in England? BMJ Opinion [Internet]. London: The BMJ; 2020 [cited 2021 Apr 16]. Available from: https://blogs.bmj. com/bmj/2020/12/07/could-slovakias-mass-testing-programme-work-inengland/.
- Pavelka M, Van-Zandvoort K, Abbott S, Sherratt K, Majdan M; CMMID COVID-19 working group, et al. The impact of population-wide rapid antigen testing on SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in Slovakia. Science. 2021;372(6542):635-41.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Boďová K, Kollár R. Spatial scales, patterns, and positivity trends of SARS-CoV-2 pandemics in mass rapid antigen testing in Slovakia. PLoS One. 2021 Aug 25;16(8):e0256669. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256669.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- McKay SL, Tobolowsky FA, Moritz ED, Hatfield KM, Bhatnagar A, LaVoie SP, et al. Performance evaluation of serial SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen testing during a nursing home outbreak. Ann Intern Med. 2021 Jul;174(7):945-51.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Dinnes J, Deeks JJ, Berhane S, Taylor M, Adriano A, Davenport C, et al. Rapid, point-of-care antigen and molecular-based tests for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Mar 24;3(3):CD013705. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013705.pub2.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Deeks JJ, Dinnes J, Takwoingi Y, Davenport C, Spijker R, Taylor-Phillips S, et al. Antibody tests for identification of current and past infection with SARS-CoV-2. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Jun 25;6(6):CD013652. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013652.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- NHIC. National Health Information Center [Internet]. Bratislava: NHIC; 2021 [cited 2021 Apr 16]. Available from: https://covid-19.nczisk.sk/en.
- Bosetti P, Kiem CT, Yazdanpanah Y, Fontanet A, Lina B, Colizza V, et al. Impact of mass testing during an epidemic rebound of SARS-CoV-2: a modelling study using the example of France. Euro Surveill. 2021 Jan;26(1):2001978. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.26.1.2001978.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Mahajan A, Manchikanti L. Value and validity of coronavirus antibody testing. Pain Physician. 2020 Aug;23(4S):S381-90.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Chaimayo C, Kaewnaphan B, Tanlieng N, Athipanyasilp N, Sirijatuphat R, Chayakulkeeree M, et al. Rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection assay in comparison with real-time RT-PCR assay for laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19 in Thailand. Virol J. 2020 Nov 13;17(1):177. doi: 10.1186/s12985-020-01452-5.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Robin C, Symons C, Carter H. Local community response to mass asymptomatic COVID-19 testing in Liverpool, England: a social media analysis. JMIR Form Res. 2022 May 8. doi: 10.2196/34422.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Kahanec M, Lafférs L, Schmidpeter B. The impact of repeated mass antigen testing for COVID-19 on the prevalence of the disease. J Popul Econ. 2021;34(4):1105-40.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Kuniya T, Inaba H. Possible effects of mixed prevention strategy for COVID-19 epidemic: massive testing, quarantine and social distancing. AIMS Public Health. 2020;7(3):490-503.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Blake H, Corner J, Cirelli C, Hassard J, Briggs L, Daly JM, et al. Perceptions and experiences of the University of Nottingham pilot SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic testing service: a mixed-methods study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(1):188. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18010188.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Ferree KE, Harris AS, Dulani B, Kao K, Lust E, Metheney E. Stigma, trust, and procedural integrity: Covid-19 testing in Malawi. World Dev. 2021;141:105351. doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105351.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- McElfish PA, Purvis R, James LP, Willis DE, Andersen JA. Perceived barriers to COVID-19 testing. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(5):2278. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18052278.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Paltiel AD, Zheng A, Walensky RP. Assessment of SARS-CoV2 screening strategies to permit the safe reopening of college campuses in the United States. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(7):e2016818. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.16818.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Chin ET, Huynh BQ, Chapman L, Murrill M, Basu S, Lo NC. Frequency of routine testing for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in high-risk healthcare environments to reduce outbreaks. Clin Infect Dis. 2021;73(9):e3127-9.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Lindner AK, Nikolai O, Rohardt C, Kausch F, Wintel M, Gertler M, et al. SARS-CoV-2 patient self-testing with an antigen-detecting rapid test: a head-to-head comparison with professional testing. MedRxiv. 2021.01.06.20249009. doi: 10.1101/2021.01.06.20249009.
Go to original source...
- Schwartz KL, McGeer AJ, Bogoch II. Rapid antigen screening of asymptomatic people as a public health tool to combat COVID-19. CMAJ. 2021;193(13):e449-52.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Ristic M, Nikolic N, Cabarkapa V, Turkulov V, Petrovic V. Validation of the STANDARD Q COVID-19 antigen test in Vojvodina, Serbia. PLoS ONE. 2021;16(2):e0247606. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247606.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Peña-Rodríguez M, Viera-Segura O, García-Chagollán M, Zepeda-Nuño JS, Muñoz-Valle JF, Mora-Mora J, et al. Performance evaluation of a lateral flow assays for nasopharyngeal antigen detection for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis. J Clin Lab Anal. 2021;35(5):e23745. doi: 10.1002/jcla.23745 9.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Cerutti F, Burdino E, Milia MG, Allice T, Gregori G, Bruzzone B, et al. Urgent need of rapid tests for SARS CoV-2 antigen detection: evaluation of the SD-biosensor antigen test for SARS-CoV-2. J Clin Virol. 2020;132:104654. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104654 10.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...
- Mak GCK, Lau SSY, Wong KKY, Chow NLS, Lau CS, Lam ETK, et al. Evaluation of rapid antigen detection kit from the WHO emergency use list for detecting SARS-CoV-2. J Clin Virol. 2021;134:104712. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104712.
Go to original source...
Go to PubMed...