Mental distress, COVID19 vaccine distrust and vaccine hesitancy in South Africa: A causal mediation regression analysis.

Aim: Within the context of increasing mental distress noted since the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic, the study aims at analysing the relationship between mental health, vaccine distrust and vaccine hesitancy in South Africa.

Subject And Methods: The study uses nationally representative panel data of 3241 individuals interviewed prior to and during the COVID19 pandemic. The study uses a range of regression techniques including logit, mediation and gradient-boosted causal mediation models to identify the causal relationship while accounting for selection bias.

Does noncompliance with COVID-19 regulations impact the depressive symptoms of others?

Before vaccines became commonly available, compliance with nonpharmaceutical only preventive measures offered protection against COVID-19 infection. Compliance is therefore expected to have physical health implications for the individual and others. Moreover, in the context of the highly contagious coronavirus, perceived noncompliance can increase the subjective risk assessment of contracting the virus and, as a result, increase psychological distress.

Health indicators and poor health dynamics during COVID-19 pandemic.

It is expected that the coronavirus pandemic will exacerbate inequality in wellbeing compared to the pre-pandemic situation. However, there are theories (e.g.

Food insecurity and health outcomes during the coronavirus pandemic in South Africa: a longitudinal study.

Background: Given that South Africa experienced significant food insecurity even before the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not surprising that the pandemic would result in even greater food insecurity in the country. This paper provides additional evidence on the relationship between food insecurity and health.

Methods: Data came from the National Income Dynamics Study-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey, a longitudinal survey of adult South Africans.

Does Socioeconomic status mediate the relationship between income loss and depression scores? Evidence from South Africa.

This paper examines the role of socioeconomic status (SES) in mediating the effect of job and household income loss on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. We note that even though job loss will invariably reduce household income, the relationship between these factors and mental health may be mediated by SES. Specifically, in the context of COVID-19 induced shock, job loss may not be a threat to survival for an individual with relatively high SES, while this is not the case for individuals with low SES.

COVID19 vaccine intentions in South Africa: health communication strategy to address vaccine hesitancy.

Background: Vaccine hesitancy is emerging as a significant challenge in many parts of the world in the fight against the COVID19 pandemic. The continued infection amongst the unvaccinated can lead to a heightened risk of further virus mutation, exposing even those vaccinated to new virus strains. Therefore, there are social benefits in minimising vaccine hesitancy.

Behavioural response to the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.

Background: Given the economic and social divide that exists in South Africa, it is critical to manage the health response of its residents to the Covid-19 pandemic within the different socio-economic contexts that define the lived realities of individuals.

Objective: The objective of this study is to analyse the Covid-19 preventive behaviour and the socio-economic drivers behind the health-response behaviour.

Data: The study employs data from waves 1 and 2 of South Africa's nationally representative National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS)-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (CRAM).

Job loss and mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown: Evidence from South Africa.

Objectives: Existing literature on how employment loss affects depression has struggled to address potential endogeneity bias caused by reverse causality. The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique natural experiment because the source of unemployment is very likely to be exogenous to the individual. This study assessed the effect of job loss and job furlough on the mental health of individuals in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The relationship between religion and livelihood activities of women: Empirical evidence from the Yilo and Lower Manya Krobo Districts of Eastern Ghana.

The study examines the effect of religious affiliation on livelihood activity choice amongst a sample of 1209 women in the Yilo and Lower Manya Krobo Districts of Ghana. We attempt to disentangle the effect religion would have through its effect on risk preferences, from the effect it would have due to creation of social capital or the effect of clustering due to social identity. We find evidence that there is a strong positive social capital or social identity effect of being Catholic, Pentecostal or Protestant when it comes to farming.

Health shocks, medical insurance and household vulnerability: Evidence from South Africa.

Background: South Africa has a dual system of healthcare model differentiated across socio-economic lines. While on the one hand there exists high quality private facilities that is expensive and accessible to the minority, on the other is the free but stretched and over-crowded public healthcare that the rest of the population relies on. Accessing private facilities requires private medical insurance or requires coping strategies that can lead to household vulnerability.