Psychological Aspects In Time Of Pandemic. Juan Moisés De La Serna

been several outbreaks of the coronavirus strain, as in the case of SARS-CoV which emerged in China in 2002 and whose acronym corresponds to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, referring to its symptomology. The MERS-CoV virus emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and its initials refer to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, describing both its location and symptoms. The acronym for COVID-19, which emerged in China in 2019, refers to the Coronavirus disease of 2019, with no indication as to its symptoms or source.

      It should be noted that COVID-19 was not the first name to be used in the identification of this disease, but it was a term introduced almost two months after the first case was reported to the WHO. This has led some to argue that the motivations for changing and assigning it an ‘official’ name, were done to avoid the negative consequences of associating a type of disease with a region or population (@radioskyl,2020) (See Illustration 8).

      The aim here would be to eliminate the names of ‘China virus’ or ‘Wuhan virus’, terms which point directly to the source of the infection. Some health professionals denounce this deference towards China, since the same consideration has not been shown towards other populations, as in the case of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, for instance.

      As demonstrated in the previous section, despite the fact that an official name of COVID-19 has been assigned, the population has continued to use the terms ‘virus’ and more primarily ‘Coronavirus’ to find out about the symptoms, prevention measures and extent of this disease, and although it is still too early to understand the reason as to why the official name has ‘failed’, it must be taken into account that to create a new brand that is adhered to, a number of variables need to be taken into account, as analysed by Taylor’s University in Malaysia (Pool, 2016).

      Illustration 8. Tweet - Name of Covid-19

      [Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that the name of coronavirus has changed to COVID-19. An abbreviation of the disease that has caused the death of more than 1,000 people. The first vaccination “could be ready in 18 months”].

      This research aimed to uncover the reasons for the success of certain brands versus the rest. To this end, a selection of fifty best-selling everyday products from the two main marketing companies was chosen in order to verify the brand’s effectiveness. After analysing the messages, pamphlets and publicity of the two brands circulated by the press and media networks, it was discovered, via the application of textual analysis and the interpretative method of research, that in order to maintain the loyalty of their customers, these brands underpin their foundations upon two principles The first principle is the ability to generate positive emotions, and the second the aesthetics of honesty, that is, that the product serves the purpose for which it is designed, whilst maintaining the advertised quality standards.

      It should be mentioned at this point that the WHO, together with UNICEF, are the highest valued international agencies worldwide, according to the WIN/Gallup International Survey (WHO, 2014) which indicated that 72% of those interviewed had a positive opinion of these agencies. It would therefore have been expected that, by now, the search term ‘COVID-19’ would have been widely adopted. However, it must be taken into account that the announcement of the new name took place on 11th February (see Illustration 8) , whilst worldwide concern began almost a month earlier, on 20^th January.

      Illustration 9. Tweet - Image of COVID-19

      [The new coronavirus is called SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes is COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019)

      There thus remains a tendency for the terms ‘virus’ or ‘Coronavirus’ to continue to be used (CSIC,2020) (See Illustration 9).

      In the photo, virus of the family Coronaviridae, to which the new coronavirus belongs. (Photo taken by virologist Luis Enjanes (@CNB_CSIC)]

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Adoption of Health Measures

      One of the most difficult phenomena for people to face is in terms of the adoption of healthy behaviour, which requires some time to accept, understand and assume.

      Unlike other phenomena such as the latest trends, which have the ability to motivate the population, when it comes to health, the authorities are often faced with minimal success in their awareness campaigns. Such campaigns aimed at the recommendation of the adoption of healthy habits and behaviour are usually accompanied by restrictions and even penalties for those who do not comply.

      However, the population struggles to see any ‘benefits’ in the short term, resulting in a reduction in any ‘interest’ and motivation for the adoption of these new habits, to the extent they may not even carry them out at all, thus failing to comply with the authorities’ recommendations.

      Whilst health is an aspect of concern to society, the concept of prevention is not always understood and accepted in the same way, especially when it comes to the adoption of some behaviours which tend to go against those which are customary (MinInteriorAR, 2020) (See Illustration 10).

      Illustration 10. Tweet - Prohibited Activities

      [Look after your health and your family’s. Always remember not to share your mate ¹, your utensils and other personal objects. Learn more at bit.ly/Coronavirus-Co ]\]

      In the case of COVID-19, the population has been asked to ‘abandon’ some practices and adopt new ones. Going against ‘routine’, has made it difficult for many at first to adopt these recommended measures. This is because, sometimes, despite medical guidelines, the population does not acknowledge the risks to their health of certain behaviours, as previously mentioned. One such instance is in the practice of artificial tanning with UVA rays, an activity that has greatly increased in certain countries over recent years.

      In some places being tanned has become something of a status symbol. One employee, having enjoyed a few days at the beach may return to work nice and brown, whilst the rest of the office, who have not been so lucky are still white and pale. On the contrary, in other places, being tanned is a sign of a lower social status, since the sun burns the skin of outside workers, giving it that characteristic brown colour, whilst other less manual jobs do not leave that ‘imprint’ on the body. It can therefore become a signal as to the economic status of the consumer, differentiating between those who can afford it and those who can’t.

      In Western society today the first approach dominates, that is people feel good about themselves when tanned, something which takes time and in some cases money, to achieve. To meet this demand, a number of establishments have emerged, with UVA lamps which produce the same effect on the skin after one or more exposure sessions. And so, with this UVA ray system, the same tanned appearance is achieved as if one had gone on a relaxing beach holiday in the sun.

      So, simply by spending a few minutes inside one of these devices, one can enjoy the ‘benefits’ of being considered of a higher economic status.

      Illustration 11. Tweet - Relation between UVA rays and cancer.

      [UVA rays cause cancer]

      Despite the popularity of this system, in recent years medical research has been compiled which has discovered associations between the excessive use of UVA rays and skin cancer. Therefore, people who use and, more importantly, abuse these tanning sessions are voluntarily putting themselves at risk to skin diseases (adgs125, 2019) (See Illustration 11).

      An investigation has been carried out to assess the psychological impacts of the usage of UVA rays by the