Investigating the role of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) during pandemics: COVID-19 as an example

Abstract Background and objective The coronavirus pandemic, with a wide range of clinical manifestations, is considered a serious emergency in increasing anxiety for vulnerable groups of young people such as students. The purpose of this study is to look into how COVID-19 affects depression and anxi...

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Main Authors: Elaheh Abiri, Rasoul Raesi, Maryam Haji Ghasem Kashani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-01-01
Series:BMC Research Notes
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-025-07102-9
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author Elaheh Abiri
Rasoul Raesi
Maryam Haji Ghasem Kashani
author_facet Elaheh Abiri
Rasoul Raesi
Maryam Haji Ghasem Kashani
author_sort Elaheh Abiri
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background and objective The coronavirus pandemic, with a wide range of clinical manifestations, is considered a serious emergency in increasing anxiety for vulnerable groups of young people such as students. The purpose of this study is to look into how COVID-19 affects depression and anxiety in students at Damghan University. It also aims to determine how non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) education affects COVID-19 anxiety and related aspects. Methods This is a descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study conducted on 276 students from Northeast Iran in 2022 using the convenience sampling method. The data were collected by posting the standard electronic questionnaire of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) on the study site’s popular social media platforms. Participants were also given online access to the data collection (NPI) training protocols. Data were analyzed using SPSS-22 statistical software and descriptive and inferential statistical tests. Results 42.3% of participants in the study did not use or used very little of the Infection Prevention and Control (NPI) education, and considering participants’ concerns about contracting COVID-19, 7.97% were somewhat concerned, while 58.3% were considered highly concerned. This result indicates that not using (NPI) education leads to increased anxiety. Most participants reported being highly compliant with using NPI trainings and COVID-19 prevention guidelines (57.6%), and 68.4% believed that COVID-19 will soon be eradicated. This result shows that (NPI) education lead to increased hope and decreased anxiety. Conclusion In the near future, these findings may be helpful in the creation and execution of preventative initiatives and coping mechanisms.
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spelling doaj-art-c74411c1f7bd466abf51dfac0fba80712025-01-19T12:08:44ZengBMCBMC Research Notes1756-05002025-01-011811910.1186/s13104-025-07102-9Investigating the role of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) during pandemics: COVID-19 as an exampleElaheh Abiri0Rasoul Raesi1Maryam Haji Ghasem Kashani2Department of Microbiology, School of Biology and Institute of Biological Sciences, Damghan Branch, Islamic Azad UniversityDepartment of Public Health, School of Health, Torbat Jam Faculty of Medical SciencesDepartment of Cellular and Molecular Biology, School of Biology and Institute of Biological Sciences, Damghan UniversityAbstract Background and objective The coronavirus pandemic, with a wide range of clinical manifestations, is considered a serious emergency in increasing anxiety for vulnerable groups of young people such as students. The purpose of this study is to look into how COVID-19 affects depression and anxiety in students at Damghan University. It also aims to determine how non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) education affects COVID-19 anxiety and related aspects. Methods This is a descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study conducted on 276 students from Northeast Iran in 2022 using the convenience sampling method. The data were collected by posting the standard electronic questionnaire of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) on the study site’s popular social media platforms. Participants were also given online access to the data collection (NPI) training protocols. Data were analyzed using SPSS-22 statistical software and descriptive and inferential statistical tests. Results 42.3% of participants in the study did not use or used very little of the Infection Prevention and Control (NPI) education, and considering participants’ concerns about contracting COVID-19, 7.97% were somewhat concerned, while 58.3% were considered highly concerned. This result indicates that not using (NPI) education leads to increased anxiety. Most participants reported being highly compliant with using NPI trainings and COVID-19 prevention guidelines (57.6%), and 68.4% believed that COVID-19 will soon be eradicated. This result shows that (NPI) education lead to increased hope and decreased anxiety. Conclusion In the near future, these findings may be helpful in the creation and execution of preventative initiatives and coping mechanisms.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-025-07102-9COVID-19AnxietyDepressionPerceived social support(NPI) education
spellingShingle Elaheh Abiri
Rasoul Raesi
Maryam Haji Ghasem Kashani
Investigating the role of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) during pandemics: COVID-19 as an example
BMC Research Notes
COVID-19
Anxiety
Depression
Perceived social support
(NPI) education
title Investigating the role of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) during pandemics: COVID-19 as an example
title_full Investigating the role of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) during pandemics: COVID-19 as an example
title_fullStr Investigating the role of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) during pandemics: COVID-19 as an example
title_full_unstemmed Investigating the role of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) during pandemics: COVID-19 as an example
title_short Investigating the role of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) during pandemics: COVID-19 as an example
title_sort investigating the role of non pharmaceutical interventions npi during pandemics covid 19 as an example
topic COVID-19
Anxiety
Depression
Perceived social support
(NPI) education
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-025-07102-9
work_keys_str_mv AT elahehabiri investigatingtheroleofnonpharmaceuticalinterventionsnpiduringpandemicscovid19asanexample
AT rasoulraesi investigatingtheroleofnonpharmaceuticalinterventionsnpiduringpandemicscovid19asanexample
AT maryamhajighasemkashani investigatingtheroleofnonpharmaceuticalinterventionsnpiduringpandemicscovid19asanexample