RESEARCH GROUP 8

John Paul Talosig Mery Joy Matias

Donesthel Pattaguan April Malawis
Sarah Macarubbo Anusha Jigatala
Camille Mago Mokshasri Meesala
Estrella Imperio

Comparison of Level of Health Consciousness among

Medicine Students of Saint Paul University Philippines

before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic

PICO FORMAT

Population Medical Students of SPUP (Year 1 to 4)

Exposure Covid- 19 Pandemic

Outcome Perceived Level of Health Consciousness before and during the

Covid-19 Pandemic
 Review of Related Literature

Following the identification of a novel coronavirus from Wuhan, China, the World
Health Organization (WHO) made an assessment that Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) is
characterized a pandemic. To halt the spread of the virus, nations shut borders and people are
mandated to stay home and adapt to a new normal. However, the decrease in activity could also
affect the health negatively.

This health emergency brings awareness to the people to adapt preventive measures to
avoid contracting COVID-19, which includes maintaining a healthy lifestyle during the
lockdown. Thus, people are said to be health conscious. According to Becker (1977), health
consciousness refers to the behavior and attitude that an individual tends to undertake health
action.

(The novel Coronavirus, Covid-19, made a great impact on human population worldwide, which
made the general population to observe home-quarantine and social distancing. In this time of pandemic,
people would adapt the best actions to take in order to avoid contracting the Covid-19 and one of these is
to maintain a healthy lifestyle.) –DON nifollow ko lang po yung sabi ni doc na paikliin lang and ito yung
nakaya ko po. For checking pa kung akma.

Researches conducted by Cancello et.al (2020) and Anmar et.al (2020) explored the
behavioral and lifestyle changes consequent to COVID-19. Similarly, the researches showed that
social isolation brought a negative effect in terms of eating behavior, physical activity, and sleep
quality. The sedentary lifestyle increased the unhealthy food consumption and led to frequent
binge drinking. It also brought uncertainty and stress of the current health situation. #(ELI)

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

In a study conducted by Pu et. al on the daily routine of Chinese people during pandemic,
the results showed that showed that male, who are married and more than 25-year-old
participants, were more inclined to do home-based exercise during the pandemic. The study also
suggested that Chinese people became health conscious and do home-based exercise as an
important way to improve physical quality and get rid of environmental restrictions. -DON

According to Melanie Deschasaux-Tanguy et. al. (2020), the lockdown has a strong
potential for disrupting nutritional behaviors and it may impact the risk of COVID-19 and its
prognosis. It is therefore necessary to determine the nutritional behavior changes during the
lockdown to assess its related potential consequences to public health. The study showed that
there are trends towards unfavorable nutritional behaviors namely: increased snacking and
consumption of sweets, decreased consumption of fresh food products, decreased physical
activity (53%), increased sedentary time (63%) and weight gain (35%; +1.8 kg on average).
These unfavorable behaviors, if maintained in the long term, may bring more nutrition-related
disease and impact the immunity negatively.
EATING HABITS

Aside from physical activities, diet changes have also been noted during the pandemic.
Botchway et. al. (2015) showed in their study on non-medical students in Ghana that there is a
relationship between health consciousness and eating habits.

In the study of Renzo et. al. (2020) on the eating habits and lifestyle changes during
Covid-19 lockdown in Italy, the respondents have improved eating habits as showed in their
increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, decreased junk food intake, increased sleeping
hours, and reduced in the smoking habits of the smokers. On the other hand, Minghe et. al.
(2020) also suggests everyone to be aware of the importance of weight control during lockdown
since physical activities have been limited.

As this infectious disease is new and its lifespan is not known, there is a need to explore
COVID-19 impacts on shifting food consumption patterns. On a study conducted by Qi, et. al.
(2020), on health consciousness and the impact of the “Coronavirus Disease 2019” (COVID-19)
pandemic on consumers’ green food purchases, the participants felt that they are healthier and
safer while eating green food than consuming conventional food before the pandemic. Because
of their increasing health concerns, respondents turned their green food purchase intentions to
behaviors, translating the positive impact of COVID-19 to their food preferences necessary to
improve their immunity and health.

MENTAL HEALTH, AND SUBJECTIVE WELL BEING

Similarly, In the US, Wolf et. al. (2020) conducted a cross-sectional survey linked to
three active clinical trials and one cohort study aimed to determine Covid-19 awareness,
knowledge, attitudes and related behaviors among US adults who are more vulnerable to
complications of infection because of age and comorbid conditions, the group found out that
many adults with comorbid conditions lacked critical knowledge about Covid-19. They arrived
at a conclusion that despite concerns, many were not changing routines or plans. Noted
disparities suggest that greater public health efforts may be needed to mobilize the most
vulnerable communities.

Pagnini et. al. (2020) studied how Italy responded during the first week of pandemic in
the country. Parameters assessed include level of worries, perceived risk, and preventive
behaviors, which includes health practices to avoid COVID-19. The results showed that health
practices were observed to maintain and improve the physical quality of life among the Italian
population. It also showed that mental aspect of health was challenged during the first week of
pandemic. Hence, cognitive rigidity and emotional stability affected the increased scores on
worries and concerns regarding the pandemic. -DON

Moreover, the impact of COVID-19 on lifestyle behavior and their association with
subject well-being among the general population in mainland China was explored by Hu et. al.
(2020). Results showed that 70% of the participants increased their screen time while only 30%
increased their vegetable or fruit intake. Unhealthy lifestyle changes showed to be related to
lower subjective well-being.