Search

The scientific community's understanding of how the SARS-CoV-2 virus is transmitted and how to best mitigate its spread is improving daily. To help protect patients from acquiring COVID-19 from a dental office nosocomial infection, many state or local governments have classified dental treatments as "nonessential" and have paused routine dental care. Dentists have been instructed to perform only procedures designated as emergencies. Unfortunately, there is not a good understanding of what a dental emergency is among governmental leaders. What a government agency may perceive as an elective procedure may be seen as "essential" by the dental clinician responsible for maintaining the oral health of the patient. Each dental specialty understands the effects delayed care has on a patient's oral and systemic health. Dentistry has made extensive progress in improving oral health through prevention of the dental emergency. The dental profession must work together to prevent the reversal of the progress dentistry and patients have made. This American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) White Paper discusses what COVID-19 is and how it impacts dental treatments, presents guidelines for dentistry in general and for dental implant related treatments, specifically. Recommendations for implant dentistry include the following: (1) what constitutes a dental implant related emergency, (2) how patients should be screened and triaged, (3) what personal protective equipment is necessary, (4) how operatories should be equipped, (5) what equipment should be used, and (6) what, when, and how procedures can be performed. This paper is intended to provide guidance for the dental implant practice so patients and dental health care providers can be safe, and offices can remain open and viable during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 21st century data, itself are information, product, and goods. The pandemic situation has given new eyes to the old invention to effectively bridge the gap between history, happenings, and technology as well as past and future. Health is requisite and every one of us would have placed our footstep one way or the another in the healthcare sector. The demand for healthcare professionals is also increasing in our country with an increasing population. To address the health need of society, this paper attempts to exhibit the studies captured on these two broad areas in the healthcare sector with a systematic literature review of bibliometric analysis. This paper will bring out the technological invention, its implications in the 21st century, relevance in the covid 19 pandemic situation, research, and facts explored in this area. Humans are the inventor and users of technology: the good we use the great will be the outcome: It all depends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of a possible health saturation due to the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus, the present paper wants to contribute with some guidelines in order to provide ethical orientation to prioritize patients and maximize the benefits for the majority of the population. This paper aims to generate an acceptable, consistent, and reasonable ethical framework to support the difficult work that health professionals will have in emergency rooms and intensive care units. The criteria and reflections in this paper aim to respect not only ethical-medical principles that focus their efforts on a particular patient, but especially on a broader public health ethics based on the principle of justice. Prioritization is therefore oriented in a utilitarian framework that seeks to save the largest number of lives, of life-years and considering the life stage, without neglecting the people’s dignity. In this sense, it is not only a matter of considering epidemiological criteria, but also of establishing socially acceptable ethical criteria. This proposal is a collective effort to bring together the comparative experience of various international ethical recommendations, adapting them, if pertinent, to the Chilean reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moral injury (MI) refers to the persisting distress which may occur following exposure to potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs). The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to MI in healthcare workers, who have been found to experience more frequent PMIEs in their day-to-day work than those in other occupational groups such as the military. These events may occur on an individual, team, organizational or system level and have been associated with increased clinician burnout and distress, and poor psychological wellbeing. This paper focuses on healthcare workers' experiences of MI, including potential causes and ways to reduce them. There are myriad challenges that influence the development of MI, such as chronic understaffing and the pressure to treat high numbers of patients with limited resources. There are also multiple impacts of MI: at the individual-level, MI can lead to increased staff absences and understaffing, and prolonged patient contact with limited decision-making power. COVID-19 exacerbated such impacts, with a lack of organizational support during a time of increased patient mortality, and uncertainty and heightened pressure on the clinical frontline associated with scarce resources and understaffing. Potential methods for reduction of MI in healthcare workers include pre-exposure mitigation, such as fostering work environments which treat PMIEs in the same way as other occupational hazards and post-exposure mitigation, such as facilitating healthcare workers to process their experiences of PMIEs in peer support groups or with spiritual advisors and, if MI is associated with mental ill-health, talking therapies using trauma-focused and compassion-oriented frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the experiences of US child welfare professionals during the COVID pandemic. Using an online survey, we report on a convenience sample of 444 child welfare workers. The majority reported receiving adequate guidance on staying safe; 86.3% were given access to face masks. Workers reported 75.8% of clients used masks; 10.7% reported contracting COVID through work. About 80% worried that child clients were more at-risk. Workers who felt the most supported and least at-risk were those with stay-at-home orders. Results are discussed in terms of supporting child welfare professionals during periods of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Civil & Cultural Heritage Protection / Ochrona Ludności i Dziedzictwa Kulturowego is the property of Jagiellonian University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Across the Nation, hospitals were experiencing staffing shortages long before the onset of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or COVID-19. However, the pandemic has exacerbated these shortages. The sudden and overwhelming demand of frontline healthcare workers exploded with the surge of critically ill patients funneling into hospitals affecting all fifty states. The pandemic produced a plethora of challenges leading to increased stress levels and burnout, not to mention diminished retention of existing staff. These challenges also lead to adverse effects on patient satisfaction and patient outcomes. Staffing shortages and retention issues result from many factors and remain a complex situation for many hospitals nationwide. In some instances, activation and mobilization of the National Guard and Reserve Forces was necessary, as they offered medics to fill the shortages. Solutions are needed to the issues presented in this paper to keep our frontline healthcare workers mentally, physically, and emotionally healthy so they have the ability to serve others in their time of need. Moreover, this situation cannot be rectified with a one-size-fits-all approach. It will require a multifaceted plan of action to increase frontline healthcare workers' satisfaction and retention, leading to improved patient safety and outcomes. This paper will identify the staffing shortages and retention issues, with information leading to potential solutions, using a proposed implementation plan that has been constructed from literature, research and innovative healthcare programs that have proven effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction/background: Following the SARS-CoV-2 virus outbreak, the goals of the health care system had to be adapted to the changed environment to meet the health care needs of patients and the expectations of Polish health care workers for safe working conditions in emergency situations. The need for change concerning the health workforce, is mainly due to organisational and economic changes affecting health care systems worldwide and affects all forms of health care. The aim of this paper is to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operation of a selected treatment facility. The research resulted in the author's master's thesis. Aim of the paper: The aim of the paper is to determine the changes that may have occurred in the operation of the treatment facility under investigation, influenced by the events taking place as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, and to analyse the assessment of the staff of the treatment facility before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: Literature analysis, analysis of source materials (internal), survey method - technique: indirect survey, tool: survey questionnaire. Results and conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic showed the state of the treatment facilities and the measures taken to cope with the new operating conditions. It is important to address staff shortages: nurses, doctors, economists trained in health system administration. Deficiencies in the health care system were revealed. Working in an environment with a lack of equipment and personnel forces changes in treatment methods. The application of standard treatment methods, developed under normal conditions, turns out to be either suboptimal to protect life and health or impossible. The most obvious conclusion is the lack of equipment, which occurs when the practitioner does not have the necessary tools or protective equipment that are formally authorised for medical use. Another of the identified frailties is the lack of adequate preparation of staff to work under stressful and even 'combative' conditions, contributing to staff overload, which may result in staff wanting to change jobs. Another finding is the lack of a developed procedure in terms of storage policy, which has a significant impact on the shortage of medical equipment in the medical facility. In addition, the sudden increase in the number of patients could have been a reason for employees to feel increased stress or a desire to change jobs. Such feelings, on the other hand, may have been the result of a lack of knowledge regarding the medical management of SARS-COV-2 coronavirus patients, in which certain risky emergency procedures were reserved for specialists or specially trained persons (e.g. intubation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Repeated contact with patients with COVID-19 and working in quarantine conditions has made health workers vulnerable to psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of the present systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the prevalence of the various psychological distresses among health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched for access to papers examining psychological distress among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Heterogeneity among the studies was examined using the Cochran's Q test; because heterogeneity was significant, the random effects model was used to examine the prevalence of psychological distress. Results: Overall, 12 studies with a total sample size of 5265 were eligible and included in the analysis. Prevalence rates of depression, anxiety, and PTSD were 20% (95% CI: 14-27), 23% (95% CI: 18-27), and 8% (95% CI: 6-9), respectively. The highest prevalence rates of depression and anxiety were related to the SDS and the GAD-7, respectively, and the lowest prevalence rates of the two aforementioned variables were related to the DASS-21. Conclusions: The high prevalence of psychological distress among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 epidemic can have negative effects on their health and the quality of services provided. Therefore, training coping strategies for psychological distress in this pandemic seems necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Healthcare workers' work performance and mental health are associated with positive mental health outcomes and directly related to increased productivity and decreased disability costs. Methods We conducted a systematic review to identify factors associated with work performance of healthcare workers during a pandemic and conducted a meta-analysis of the prevalence of mental health outcomes in this context. Primary papers were collected and analysed using the Population/Intervention/Comparison/Outcome framework and using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. To critically appraise the studies included in the review, we used the AXIS appraisal tool to assess each cross-sectional study's quality. Results The study identified nine factors associated with the work performance and mental health of healthcare workers, including experiencing feelings of depression, anxiety, having inadequate support, experiencing occupational stress, decreased productivity, lack of workplace preparedness, financial concerns associated with changes in income and daily living, fear of transmission and burnout/fatigue. Conclusion There is a rapidly rising need to address the work performance and mental health of healthcare workers providing timely care to patients. Regular and sustained interventions, including the use of information and communication technologies such as telehealth, are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment option for severe, treatment-resistant, and life-threating psychiatric illness. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted ECT services. Services across North America, Europe, and Australia have reported decreased ECT delivery, and changes in the ways ECT is delivered. This study aimed to identify the impacts of COVID-19 on ECT services globally by exploring clinicians' experiences about ECT during the pandemic, and their recommendations for reducing the negative impacts of the pandemic. Data were collected using an electronic, cross-sectional survey, which included elicitation of free-text responses. The survey was open from March to November 2021. Clinical directors in ECT services, their delegates, and anesthetists were invited to participate. This paper reports the qualitative analysis of responses provided. Fifty-two participants provided qualitative response/s; 74.5% were clinical directors or their delegates, and 25.5% were anesthetists. Greater than one-third of participants were from Australia/New Zealand, and there was also representation from North America, Europe, and the UK. Participants' responses were detailed, averaging 43 words. Three themes were identified: (1) Service provision, about the importance of ECT services continuing during the pandemic, (2) Preparedness, through guidelines and environmental design, and (3) Personal protection, about strategies to increase staff safety. This is the first multi-site, international study to document the experiences and recommendations of ECT clinical directors and anesthetists about the effect of COVID-19 on ECT practice. The findings inform evidence-based practice, and ensure people with major psychiatric illnesses continue to receive ECT during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND With the outbreak of COVID-19 the emotional health problems of healthcare workers have been further aggravated. If now left unaddressed this can lead to distress as well affect their effectiveness at work. It becomes essential to look at those specific emotional needs of healthcare workers, enabling them experience emotional well –being at different levels. OBJECTIVE This study examines the Human Resource (HR) Champion approach in combating the emotional health problems of healthcare workers. The objectives of the study included identifying the different emotional needs of Health care workers, mapping the various Human Resource Champion roles towards each of the identified emotional needs of workers and the different levels of emotional well-being. The study further looks at the feasibility/availability of the various identified employee champion roles in healthcare. METHODS Based on a mini review the purpose of the paper is to create a unique synthesis and proposal for utility of healthcare organizations The exploration included terms of search in combination and in particular related to emotional fitness of healthcare workers, COVID-19, HR role in managing employee stress, workplace stress, employee champion and HR champion. The potential chances of subjectivity in selection of the papers cannot be overlooked though the various databases used for review include Google Scholar, Web of Science, Semantic Scholar which provides the most cited work RESULTS The study reports a negative influence of pandemic on HCW’s mental health. The identified needs of healthcare workers during the pandemic include caring, protecting, hearing, preparing and supporting them. The identified needs have been mapped towards the various HR champions i.e., physical, social, financial, emotional, work-life integration and meaning in work champion. The various practices that were available and were considered feasible have also been evaluated. The fulfillment of the specific emotional needs of HCW’s can lead to emotional well- being at different levels including essentials, belonging, purpose and flourishing. But the fact remains that many of the champion roles are way far from being implemented in healthcare due to the nature of work and to an extent attitude of the management. CONCLUSIONS The findings of the study reveal that different employee champions can nurture the specific emotional needs of healthcare workers thereby leading to fulfillment of their emotional well-being at different levels. Some champion roles are more visible (physical and financial champions) as compared to work- life integration, social, emotional, meaning in work champions in healthcare organizations. LIMITATIONS The potential chances of subjectivity in selection of papers cannot be overlooked though the study made use of Semantic Scholar, Google Scholar, Web of Science which provides the most cited work. Since the core purpose of this paper is to provide a unique synthesis and proposal of value to healthcare workers, this mini review has its use in contribution towards a conceptual model that can be subject to empirical attestations in future research to further establish the role of different HR champions towards the increased emotional well-being of Healthcare workers at the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In early March 2020, the WHO declared an outbreak of coronavirus infection as a global pandemic. Due to the rapid pace of spread and high mortality rates, the need for a rapid study of this disease by doctors has increased, as well as enhancing the level of knowledge and compiling an algorithm for counteracting the pandemic. That is why the purpose of this academic paper is to study the features of health workers professional development, which have arisen under the conditions of the pandemic COVID-19. The present academic paper aims to analyze the features and difficulties faced by health workers within the conditions of the pandemic. As a result of the analysis, the author proves that the current epidemic situation in the world has directly affected the undergraduate and postgraduate training of the entire medical community. The study of the features of advanced vocational training has been conducted not only among doctors, but also among medical staff. Characteristic features of improvement of professional development among primary, secondary and tertiary doctors of medical care provision have been analyzed. Also, the influence of modern conditions on professional development of nurses and paramedics, students, graduates of higher medical institutions has been traced. The influence of stress, tension and psycho-emotional burnout of medical workers under the conditions of the pandemic has been revealed. The analysis of the issue of this academic paper has included not only studying features of advanced vocational training of domestic medical workers, but also, health care workers of the USA, Europe, Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), recent pandemic initially reported in Wuhan, would be predicted to affect the mental health of frontline healthcare providers. So, there is an urge need to monitor their mood, sleep rate and other mental health problems to introduce the required mental health interventions when needed. Aim: Reviewing plus evaluating the literatures conducted on mental health problems among healthcare workers (HCW) during the COVID-19 crisis. Methods: A systematic research study of literature databases was performed till to June 1st, 2020. All studies published in the period (January 2020 to May 2020) that related to review analysis subject in these databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and EBSCO host) were used to perform this review. Upon initial screening, a total of 35 papers were selected but 14 papers were used finally. Results: The meta-analysis of the fourteen studies that based on analysing many facets of HCW mental health concerning COVID-19 revealed the presence of an extensive strain among them due to stress experience, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance symptoms. Extreme levels of these symptoms were observed in 2.2 % to 14.5% of all participants. Conclusion: As COVID-19 is a global public mental health emergency, every country has to learn from previous epidemics experience and urgently provide multifaceted psychological safeguarding of their healthcare providers' mental health to keep their effectiveness as indispensable resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapidly growing rate of infection among health workers during the current COVID-19 pandemic, is posing a serious challenge to global health systems. Lately, India is also witnessing an intensifying COVID-19 disease burden and its impact on health workers. This paper aims to discuss the challenges to health worker protection in India and the possible ways forward. Given the inadequate and unequally distributed healthcare workforce, it is highly essential for the country to strategize prompt measures for ensuring occupational health and safety of its health workers. Information for this paper were gathered by searching PubMed and Google Scholar databases using "COVID-19", "Infection Control", "Health worker", "India" as search keywords in different combinations. In addition, websites of Government of India, relevant UN agencies and leading news agencies were also searched manually for related reports and publications. India must take timely measures in rapid manufacturing and procurement of essential personal protective equipment (PPE) to ensure adequate stockpiling to meet the rising demands. Comprehensive and repeated training with sharply focussed content including usage of PPE kits as well as active surveillance of adherence to recommended protocol are critical in protecting health workers especially the primary care physicians and frontline health staff from the deadly COVID-19 infection. The provision of psychological and financial support for health workers and their families is absolutely critical in building trust and dedicated work efforts by the health workforce for a continuous fight against the deadly disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this article is to explore the ethical challenges in the treatment of cancer patients at a tertiary care hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: The paper is based on empirical observations apart from a systematic literature review of secondary data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) Novel Corona virus website and central databases like Embase, Scopus and Medline. This paper will discuss the bio-ethics perspective and issues in cancer healthcare management during the Covid-19 pandemic and shall serve as a knowledge base for medical practitioners in general and people related to oncology in particular. Results: The Covid-19 pandemic has been equally challenging for all including patients, healthcare workers and policy makers. Understanding the ethical responsibilities and rational behaviours is critically important for every person facing this challenge. It is possible to emerge victorious from the Covid-19 pandemic in a dignified manner only when the standards of ethics are well understood are held high by the general public, patients, doctors, hospital staff and policy makers equally. Conclusion: Since the oncology patients are immune compromised, they need more attention during the Covid-19 pandemic as they are susceptible to worst of the outcomes of Covid-19 infection. In light of limited resources at a tertiary care hospital where the administration has to look after the other departments as well, it is extremely important to explore, understand and practice the bio-ethical perspective of the cancer healthcare management during the Covid-19 pandemic as the ethical aspects can easily get neglected in a pandemic like Covid-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviewed mediators of psychological well-being among healthcare workers responding to pandemics. After registration on PROSPERO, a systematic review was performed in four databases and 39 studies were included. Worse mental health outcomes, such as stress, depressive symptoms, anxiety and burnout were related to demographic characteristics, contact with infected patients and poor perceived support. Self-efficacy, coping ability, altruism and organisational support were protective factors. Despite limitations in the quality of available evidence, this review highlights the prevalence of poor mental health in healthcare workers and proposes target mediators for future interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper was the first study comparing levels of anxiety and depression and assessing the affecting factors among the general population, frontline healthcare workers, and COVID-19 inpatients in Turkey during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected data from the general population (n = 162), frontline healthcare workers (n = 131), and COVID-19 inpatients (n = 86) using Individual Characteristics Form, Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale, and Beck Depression Inventory in this cross-sectional study. Results: An increased prevalence of depression and anxiety were found predominantly in frontline healthcare workers (p < 0.001). COVID-19 inpatients and frontline healthcare workers were more likely to demonstrate anxiety (p < 0.001) than the general population. In the regression analysis, while fear of infecting relatives was a significant predictor of anxiety and depression in the general population, gender and experiencing important life events were associated with anxiety. Fear of infecting relatives and lack of personal protective equipment while providing care were predictors of anxiety and depression in healthcare workers (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the fear of being re-hospitalised due to re-infection was a predictor of depression and anxiety levels of the COVID-19 inpatients. Conclusion: Policymakers and mental health providers are advised to continuously monitor psychological outcomes and provide necessary health support during this pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to analyze the empirical evidence collected in the form of in-depth interviews, observations, statistics and accounts concerning the assistance provided by female and male religious congregations in the fight against the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland during the first year after the outbreak (March 2020 to February 2021). The paper describes the nature of the assistance rendered by religious congregations to the sick, to those affected by the pandemic and to healthcare facilities during the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in Poland. Our findings reveal that the activities undertaken and the support provided by religious congregations in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland have spanned many areas: medical assistance and nursing within the healthcare system, charitable work (including material, financial and welfare/housing aid), and pastoral, religious, educational, psychological, ecumenical, evangelization and missionary activities. The support provided by religious congregations as part of the coronavirus response efforts proved crucial and invaluable during the first weeks of the pandemic, that is in March and April 2020, when the healthcare system was faced with severe staff shortages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose To explore safe delays for the treatment of common paediatric orthopaedic conditions when faced with a life-threatening pandemic, COVID-19, and to propose a categorization system to address this question. Methods Review of the literature related to acceptable delays for treatment of common orthopaedic conditions, experience of healthcare professionals from low resource communities and expertise of experienced surgeons. Results Guidelines for the management of cancellations of elective surgeries during a period of resource reallocation are proposed. Elective cases must not be postponed indefinitely as adverse outcomes may result. Triage of waiting lists should include continuous monitoring of the patient and close communication with families despite social distancing and travel restrictions. Telehealth becomes a necessity. Common orthopaedic conditions are triaged into four groups according to urgency and safe and acceptable delay. Categories proposed are Emergent (life and limb threatening conditions), Urgent (within seven days), Semi-elective (postponed for three months) and Elective (postponed for three to 12 months). In total, 25 common orthopaedic conditions are reviewed and categorized. Conclusion Given the uncertainty within healthcare during a pandemic, it is necessary to determine acceptable delays for elective conditions. We report our experience in developing guidelines and propose categorizing elective cases into four categories, based on the length of delay. Telemedicine plays a key role in determining the gravity of each situation and hence the amount of delay. These guidelines will assist others dealing with elective cases in the midst of a crisis. This paper initiates a coordinated effort to develop a consensus statement on safe delays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID-19 has challenged health systems worldwide, especially the health workforce, a pillar crucial for health systems resilience. Therefore, strengthening health system resilience can be informed by analyzing health care workers' (HCWs) experiences and needs during pandemics. This review synthesizes qualitative studies published during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic to identify factors affecting HCWs' experiences and their support needs during the pandemic. This review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. A systematic search on PubMed was applied using controlled vocabularies. Only original studies presenting primary qualitative data were included.Results: 161 papers that were published from the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic up until 28th March 2021 were included in the review. Findings were presented using the socio-ecological model as an analytical framework. At the individual level, the impact of the pandemic manifested on HCWs' well-being, daily routine, professional and personal identity. At the interpersonal level, HCWs' personal and professional relationships were identified as crucial. At the institutional level, decision-making processes, organizational aspects and availability of support emerged as important factors affecting HCWs' experiences. At community level, community morale, norms, and public knowledge were of importance. Finally, at policy level, governmental support and response measures shaped HCWs' experiences. The review identified a lack of studies which investigate other HCWs than doctors and nurses, HCWs in non-hospital settings, and HCWs in low- and lower middle income countries.Discussion: This review shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged HCWs, with multiple contextual factors impacting their experiences and needs. To better understand HCWs' experiences, comparative investigations are needed which analyze differences across as well as within countries, including differences at institutional, community, interpersonal and individual levels. Similarly, interventions aimed at supporting HCWs prior to, during and after pandemics need to consider HCWs' circumstances.Conclusions: Following a context-sensitive approach to empowering HCWs that accounts for the multitude of aspects which influence their experiences could contribute to building a sustainable health workforce and strengthening health systems for future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annali di Igiene, Medicina Preventiva e di Comunità is the property of Societa Editrice Universo s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Long-Term Care Nursing / Pielegniarstwo w Opiece Dlugoterminowej is the property of Termedia Publishing House and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

During the COVID‐19 pandemic, first responders and health care workers faced elevated virus‐related risks through prolonged contacts with the public. Research suggests that these workers already experienced lower levels of psychological well‐being linked to occupational risks. Thus, the pandemic's impact might have particularly affected mental health in these groups. This paper analysed data from a large‐scale Welsh population study (N = 12,989) from June to July 2020. Levels of psychological distress were compared across various occupations, including police, fire and rescue, and NHS health care workers. Resilience was also indexed, and its role considered as a protective factor for psychological distress. Surprisingly, health care workers reported lower distress levels than the general population. Further, fire and rescue and police groups had lower distress than most groups and significantly higher resilience. Within police officers, higher resilience levels were protective for distress. Fire and rescue workers were half as likely as others to report distress, even accounting for demographic factors and resilience. The findings offer an optimistic view of psychological resilience in these critical occupations. They illustrate potential benefits to one's mental health of playing a crucial societal role during crises and reiterate the importance of enhancing resilience within groups who encounter high‐risk situations daily. Practitioner points: Our findings provide evidence that health care workers and first responders showed lower levels of psychological distress than the general population during the first period of lockdown due to the COVID‐19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. This may indicate that playing a critical role in society during an episode of crisis, and acting to help others, may be protective of one's own mental health.The research also provides an optimistic view of the psychological resilience of critical first responders and health care workers during a period early on in the COVID‐19 pandemic (June–July 2020). This highlights the benefits of fostering resilience in those working within high‐risk first responder and health care occupations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of disruptions to the organisation and delivery of healthcare services and efforts to re‐order care through emotion management during the COVID‐19 pandemic in the UK. Framing care as an affective practice, studying healthcare workers' (HCWs) experiences enables better understanding of how interactions between staff, patients and families changed as a result of the pandemic. Using a rapid qualitative research methodology, we conducted interviews with frontline HCWs in two London hospitals during the peak of the first wave of the pandemic and sourced public accounts of HCWs' experiences of the pandemic from social media (YouTube and Twitter). We conducted framework analysis to identify key factors disrupting caring interactions. Fear of infection and the barriers of physical distancing acted to separate staff from patients and families, requiring new affective practices to repair connections. Witnessing suffering was distressing for staff, and providing a 'good death' for patients and communicating care to families was harder. In addition to caring for patients and families, HCWs cared for each other. Infection control measures were important for limiting the spread of COVID‐19 but disrupted connections that were integral to care, generating new work to re‐order interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Towards the end of 2019, Wuhan experienced an outbreak of novel coronavirus, which soon spread worldwide, resulting in a deadly pandemic that infected millions of people around the globe. The public health agencies followed many strategies to counter the fatal virus. However, the virus severely affected the lives of the people. In this paper, we study the sentiments of people from the top five worst affected countries by the virus, namely the USA, Brazil, India, Russia, and South Africa. We propose a deep language-independent Multilevel Attention-based Conv-BiGRU network (MACBiG-Net), which includes embedding layer, word-level encoded attention, and sentence-level encoded attention mechanisms to extract the positive, negative, and neutral sentiments. The network captures the subtle cues in a document by focusing on the local characteristics of text along with the past and future context information for the sentiment classification. We further develop a COVID-19 Sentiment Dataset by crawling the tweets from Twitter and applying topic modeling to extract the hidden thematic structure of the document. The classification results demonstrate that the proposed model achieves an accuracy of 85%, which is higher than other well-known algorithms for sentiment classification. The findings show that the topics which evoked positive sentiments were related to frontline workers, entertainment, motivation, and spending quality time with family. The negative sentiments were related to socio-economic factors like racial injustice, unemployment rates, fake news, and deaths. Finally, this study provides feedback to the government and health professionals to handle future outbreaks and highlight future research directions for scientists and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In December 2019, a new coronavirus has emerged out of China, the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus, causing a disease known as COVID‐19, which steadily has progressed into a pandemic. This coronavirus affects many organs, including the skin, whose manifestations are a consequence of the disease itself, as well as the preventative measures taken to avoid the infection. This paper reviews the cutaneous manifestations which currently have been encountered during this pandemic. Methods: A search was conducted on PubMed, and all relevant articles were included. Results: The results show the occurrence of many cutaneous findings, ranging from those related to the infection itself and to various dermatitides related to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) utilized by healthcare workers while attending to infected patients. Discussion: Recognizing these findings is important for the accurate diagnosis of those infected with COVID‐19 as well as the prompt treatment of the side effects caused by PPE that might further impair the effectiveness of healthcare workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Healthcare workers across the world have risen to the demands of treating COVID-19 patients, potentially at significant cost to their own health and wellbeing. There has been increasing recognition of the potential mental health impact of COVID-19 on frontline workers and calls to provide psychosocial support for them. However, little attention has so far been paid to understanding the impact of working on a pandemic from healthcare workers' own perspectives or what their views are about support.Methods: We searched key healthcare databases (Medline, PsychINFO and PubMed) from inception to September 28, 2020. We also reviewed relevant grey literature, screened pre-print servers and hand searched reference lists of key texts for all published accounts of healthcare workers' experiences of working on the frontline and views about support during COVID-19 and previous pandemics/epidemics. We conducted a meta-synthesis of all qualitative results to synthesise findings and develop an overarching set of themes and sub-themes which captured the experiences and views of frontline healthcare workers across the studies.Results: This review identified 46 qualitative studies which explored healthcare workers' experiences and views from pandemics or epidemics including and prior to COVID-19. Meta-synthesis derived eight key themes which largely transcended temporal and geographical boundaries. Participants across all the studies were deeply concerned about their own and/or others' physical safety. This was greatest in the early phases of pandemics and exacerbated by inadequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), insufficient resources, and inconsistent information. Workers struggled with high workloads and long shifts and desired adequate rest and recovery. Many experienced stigma. Healthcare workers' relationships with families, colleagues, organisations, media and the wider public were complicated and could be experienced concomitantly as sources of support but also sources of stress.Conclusions: The experiences of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic are not unprecedented; the themes that arose from previous pandemics and epidemics were remarkably resonant with what we are hearing about the impact of COVID-19 globally today. We have an opportunity to learn from the lessons of previous crises, mitigate the negative mental health impact of COVID-19 and support the longer-term wellbeing of the healthcare workforce worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Continuation of health-care facilities for non-COVID illness during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is mired with apprehension of infection to health care workers (HCWs). The lack of facilities can result in dire outcomes for patients of NCDs such as cancer. The Objective of this paper is to assess the risk of running a healthcare facility during the pandemic. Material and Methods: A retrospective analysis was carried out at a tertiary cancer hospital to understand the quantum of risk to HCWs while providing care to patients of cancer and to SARS-CoV-2 patients, within the same set-up with optimal segregation. Data were collected for 6 weeks during which attendance, exposure, and infection status of doctors and nurses were recorded along with comorbidities. Results: Of 1041 doctors and nurses who attended duties during the study period, 299 worked in dedicated COVID care areas while 742 worked in routine cancer care areas. The proportion of HCWs that developed symptoms or were tested positive for COVID-19 was 3.7% and 3.9%, respectively, with no statistically significant difference between the two. The proportion for the same was found to be 1.2% among the 645 staffs who were on leave. No correlation could be established between pre-existing comorbidities and risk of acquiring infection. Conclusion: Providing COVID care and routine specialty care within the same hospital premises do not put the HCWs at a drastically increased risk of acquiring infection subject to clear demarcation of work areas, screening at gates by trained personnel, regulation of number of hospital visitors, and optimal use of PPEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Digital health technologies enable patients to make a personal contribution to the improvement of their health by enabling them to manage their health. In order to exploit the potential of digital health technologies, Internet-based networking between patients and health care providers is required. However, this networking and access to digital health technologies are less prevalent in sociodemographically deprived cohorts. The paper explores how the use of digital health technologies, which connect patients with health care providers and health insurers has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The data from a German-based cross-sectional online study conducted between April 29 and May 8, 2020, were used for this purpose. A total of 1.570 participants were included in the study. Accordingly, the influence of sociodemographic determinants, subjective perceptions, and personal competencies will affect the use of online booking of medical appointments and medications, video consultations with providers, and the data transmission to health insurers via an app. Results: The highest level of education (OR 1.806) and the presence of a chronic illness (OR 1.706) particularly increased the likelihood of using online booking. With regard to data transmission via an app to a health insurance company, the strongest increase in the probability of use was shown by belonging to the highest subjective social status (OR 1.757) and generation Y (OR 2.303). Furthermore, the results show that the higher the subjectively perceived restriction of the subjects' life situation was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the higher the relative probability of using online booking (OR 1.103) as well as data transmission via an app to a health insurance company (OR 1.113). In addition, higher digital literacy contributes to the use of online booking (OR 1.033) and data transmission via an app to the health insurer (OR 1.034). Conclusions: Socially determined differences can be identified for the likelihood of using digital technologies in health care, which persist even under restrictive conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the results indicate a digital divide with regard to the technologies investigated in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moral injury emerged in the healthcare discussion quite recently because of the difficulties and challenges healthcare workers and healthcare systems face in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moral injury involves a deep emotional wound and is unique to those who bear witness to intense human suffering and cruelty. This article aims to synthesise the very limited evidence from empirical studies on moral injury and to discuss a better understanding of the concept of moral injury, its importance in the healthcare context and its relation to the well-known concept of moral distress. A scoping literature review design was used to support the discussion. Systematic literature searches conducted in April 2020 in two electronic databases, PubMed/Medline and PsychInfo, produced 2044 hits but only a handful of empirical papers, from which seven well-focused articles were identified. The concept of moral injury was considered under other concepts as well such as stress of conscience, regrets for ethical situation, moral distress and ethical suffering, guilt without fault, and existential suffering with inflicting pain. Nurses had witnessed these difficult ethical situations when faced with unnecessary patient suffering and a feeling of not doing enough. Some cases of moral distress may turn into moral residue and end in moral injury with time, and in certain circumstances and contexts. The association between these concepts needs further investigation and confirmation through empirical studies; in particular, where to draw the line as to when moral distress turns into moral injury, leading to severe consequences. Given the very limited research on moral injury, discussion of moral injury in the context of the duty to care, for example, in this pandemic settings and similar situations warrants some consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is facing an unprecedented challenge of the 21st century in the form of COVID-19 outbreak. People across the culture, race, ethnicity, socio-economic background are being affected by the rippling effects of this pandemic. The aim of this narrative review is to briefly describe the impact of the pandemic on mental health, the vicious cycle of social issues and psychological health caused and aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic. We also aim to highlight certain interventions to overcome the mental health challenges posed by the pandemic. For this purpose, a thorough search of all databases was done to gather articles relevant to the objective of this narrative review. Keywords were used in combination and separately to identify the articles on the various psychosocial issues caused by the pandemic. Published articles in various databases like Scopus, Web of Science, Pubmed etc., related to psychosocial effects due to COVID-19 were searched and summarized to justify and support the objective of this paper. The coming months will reveal the extent of damage this pandemic has caused to the socio-economic and health sectors across the globe. It is crucial to recognize the psychosocial impact of this pandemic and necessitate the measures to overcome them by mobilizing the resources we have at hand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of Telemedicine for care delivery is taking off in a big way, transforming the healthcare industry, and redefining the normal. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated adoption for both urgent care as well as non-urgent care. To put things in perspective, a healthcare company's telemedicine platform completed 100,000 successful video visits in 2019, whereas in 2020, it has already completed 2.5 million successful visits by October 2020. In this paper, the researcher looks into the usage statistics of a telemedicine platform, to analyze the type of devices used, and the duration of visits. An Apple iPhone or iPad makes up as much as 56% of devices used by the clinicians and about 46% by the patients. About 35% of visits are completed between 5 and 15 min. While the service is available 24 hours 7 days a week, the busiest times are still weekday business hours. This data looks at 100 visits on a busy day to see what the impact of different types of technology usage on the quality of the visit as perceived by the patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on different emotional well-being difficulties experienced by the elderly population during the Covid-19 pandemic. Literature was searched on both electronic databases including such as PubMed and manually. To resolve the issues there is a need to develop a new medical care system for the elderly in consultation with clinicians, healthcare workers, and researchers. There is a need for more research on the impact of Covid-19 on mental health, particularly in elderly populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand had almost depleted its critical care resources, particularly intensive care unit (ICU) beds and ventilators. This prompted the necessity to develop a national guideline for resource allocation. This paper describes the development process of a national guideline for critical resource allocation in Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: The guideline development process consisted of three steps: (1) rapid review of existing rationing guidelines and literature; (2) interviews of Thai clinicians experienced in caring for COVID-19 cases; and (3) multi-stakeholder consultations. At steps 1 and 2, data was synthesized and categorized using a thematic and content analysis approach, and this guided the formulation of the draft guideline. Within step 3, the draft Thai critical care allocation guideline was debated and finalized before entering the policy-decision stage.Results: Three-order prioritization criteria consisting of (1) clinical prognosis using four tools (Charlson Comorbidity Index, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, frailty assessment and cognitive impairment assessment), (2) number of life-years saved and (3) social usefulness were proposed by the research team based on literature reviews and interviews. At consultations, stakeholders rejected using life-years as a criterion due to potential age and gender discrimination, as well as social utility due to a concern it would foster public distrust, as this judgement can be arbitrary. It was agreed that the attending physician is required to be the decision-maker in the Thai medico-legal context, while a patient review committee would play an advisory role. Allocation decisions are to be documented for transparency, and no appealing mechanism is to be applied. This guideline will be triggered only when demand exceeds supply after the utmost efforts to mobilize surge capacity. Once implemented, it is applicable to all patients, COVID-19 and non-COVID-19, requiring critical care resources prior to ICU admission and during ICU stay.Conclusions: The guideline development process for the allocation of critical care resources in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand was informed by scientific evidence, medico-legal context, existing norms and societal values to reduce risk of public distrust given the sensitive nature of the issue and ethical dilemmas of the guiding principle, though it was conducted at record speed. Our lessons can provide an insight for the development of similar prioritization guidelines, especially in other low- and middle-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: While global pandemics such as the COVID-19 public health crisis are known to increase the likelihood of frontline health care workers experiencing the negative effects of stress and trauma, many health care workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic lack adequate support. This paper presents the findings of a social work led peer support model, COVID-19 Am I Resilient (cAIR), developed and deployed during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This quality improvement initiative was developed and piloted within the Clinical Education and Practice department at a large urban health care system. The pilot included provision of peer support through synchronous video presentations, one-on-one peer support, and resourcing and referral. Pilot outcomes of feasibility and staff engagement were evaluated using participant responses to an online survey as well as attendance records at project activities. Implications: Developed to help frontline health care workers thrive in the midst, and wake, of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pilot study of the cAIR peer support model has implications for further development and implementation of peer support for typically underrepresented health care disciplines working during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as future public health emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus outbreak in Hubei Province, China, has now spread all over the world. People are witnessing the loss of thousands of lives across the world every day. On the one hand, where most of the government advisory aimed at facilitating physical health, the need for mental health promotion was also recognized. The aim of the paper is to review the findings and commentaries of researches during COVID-19. Coming data suggest that COVID-19 pandemic can cause several psychological distresses during and after this pandemic. Stigma, violence, and other social factors can give extra challenges to mental health professionals. Among these challenges, one serious factor is the risk of suicide. Older individuals, females, and health workers have been identified as most prone to the mental health crisis. E-platform has been identified as the best service delivery system; however, service delivery can be compromised by some hurdles. Few suggestions have been made on the basis of available findings for readiness and mental health promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCOV-2). It has been identified as the causative agent of the viral pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019. It has a high human to human transmission capability and primarily targets the human respiratory system. Healthcare providers to common people are in high risks of the contamination of this fatal disease. It spreads person to person through respiratory droplets that produced during talking, coughing and sneezing. It is associated with severe and fatal respiratory disease in humans. At present it becomes great global public health concern. On 11 March 2020, the WHO declared the global COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has entered in a very dangerous phase in April and May 2020, and the severity is increasing day by day. On 26 July 2020, about 216 countries and territories are infected worldwide; total global infections become more than 16.3 million and total recovered about 9.9 million with total deaths 648,477. The disease have not abolished even in the 2021. On 27 March 2021, the disease spread up to 219 countries and territories globally; total confirmed deaths become 2,783,591, total confirmed cases 127,025,229, with total recovery 102,370,710. The paper discusses the social, economic, and health impacts in the world's poorest countries due to COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The study also presents the current economic situation of the world and analyses the potential consequences on global economy. An attempt has been taken here to create consciousness among the common people to reduce the fatality of this killer disease. From the beginning of 2021, COVID-19 vaccines are distributed worldwide and all nations are united to abolish the virus completely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has had negative health and economic impacts on the U.S. population and on marginalized groups in particular. While policy and review papers have noted the unique concerns of LGBTQ+ individuals during the pandemic, these statements have drawn largely from existing data on health and economic disparities, rather than data collected during COVID-19. Research on the unique concerns and experiences of LGBTQ+ people during this time is urgent and yet no culturally relevant, validated measures have been developed to empirically examine these concerns. The current study reports on the development and exploratory factor analysis of a new measure, the LGBTQ+ COVID-19 Concerns Scale (LGBTQ+-CCS). Data was collected online in April 2020 from a sample of 429 LGBTQ+ adults in the United States. The final 15-item scale demonstrated initial validity and reliability and contains four subscales: mental health concerns, financial concerns, health and discrimination concerns, and social isolation concerns. The LGBTQ+-CCS can be used in research and clinical work to measure how concerns related to the pandemic are related to mental and physical health and to examine differences between LGBTQ+ subpopulations and LGBTQ+ people over time. Future research should focus on further validating the measure through confirmatory factor analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Jurídica (0103-3506) is the property of Revista Juridica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although one can argue that they do not represent a radical departure from existing practices, protocols for reverse triage certainly step beyond what is ordinarily done in medicine and healthcare. Nevertheless, there seems to be some degree of moral concern regarding the ethical legitimacy of practicing reverse triage in the context of a pandemic. Such concern can be taken as a reflection of the moral antipathy some exhibit towards current practices of withdrawing treatment—that is, when withdrawal of treatment is arguably in the best interests of patients—and a rejection of the purported normative insignificance of withholding and withdrawing. Given that the relevance of the psychological attitudes of some healthcare professionals to the moral assessment of withdrawing and withholding treatment continues to be debated, it would seem that some thought should be given to the introduction and implementation of reverse triage decisions in response to a pandemic. This brief paper will consider if provision should be made for healthcare professionals to conscientiously refuse to participate in reverse triage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection a global pandemic due to the fast transmission of this disease worldwide. To prevent and slow the transmission of this contagious illness, the public health officials of many affected countries scrambled to introduce measures aimed at controlling its spread. As a result, unprecedented interventions/measures, including strict contact tracing, quarantine of entire towns/cities, closing of borders and travel restrictions, have been implemented by most of the affected countries including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper is to share health care professionals' perspectives who are experiencing COVID19 firsthand in a foreign land. In addition, the role of the Saudi governance to combat the current situation is also discussed. DISCUSSION: Personal and previous experiences as related to Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) by the authors has been compared to the current situation and how it affected our thoughts and management. A review of the evidence-based literature was conducted to investigate the demographics of the region; and to understand the awareness of the various tools that are available and how they were utilized in the present situation of pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Saudi Arabia has been challenged during the pandemic as are other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telemedicine and related e-health facilities facilitate care from a distance through electronic information systems. COVID-19 pandemic is establishing telemedicine in the health care delivery system of countries. Telehealth is contributing significantly in health care delivery during the COVID-19 crisis. For mild-to-moderate symptoms of COVID-19 or any illness, telehealth services might represent a better, efficient way to receive initial care and perform triaging. Telemedicine also has a significant role in screening for COVID-19 symptoms and delivering routine needs and follow-up care. The large-scale adoption of telemedicine in public health care delivery is still not visible in low- and middle-income countries like India. Adoption by patients and healthcare professionals is limited and their concerns need to be addressed to ensure its utilization in future of the care continuum. In the current paper, we aim to review recent measures of Telemedicine adopted during the course of pandemic and its impact on public health in lower-middle income countries like India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) were reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Globally millions of people have been diagnosed with the virus whilst thousands have died. As the virus kept spreading health and social care frontline workers (HSCFW) were faced with difficulties when discharging their duties. This paper was set out to explore the challenges faced by different frontline workers in health and social care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research utilized an explorative qualitative approach. A total of forty (N = 40) in-depth one-to-one semi-structured interviews were undertaken with HSCFW who included support workers (n = 15), nurses (n = 15), and managers (N = 10). Health and social care workers were drawn from domiciliary care and care homes (with and without nursing services). All the interviews were done online. The data were thematically analyzed, and the emergent themes were supported by quotes from the interviews held with participants. Following data analysis the research study found that lack of pandemic preparedness, shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), anxiety and fear amongst professionals, challenges in enforcing social distancing, challenges in fulfilling social shielding responsibility, anxiety and fear amongst residents and service users, delay in testing, evolving PPE guidance and shortage of staff were challenges faced by frontline health and social care workers during COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the current study point to a need for adequate pandemic preparedness within the health and social care sector to protect both frontline workers and the individuals they look after. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The coming various disasters, especially probable pandemics, will need a large number of volunteers with different capabilities. Motivation of volunteers, as a driving force, will be very important for future pandemic disaster planning. The aim of this study was to determine the enablers and barriers to the engagement of healthcare professionals in voluntary activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the General Internal Medicine Departments of Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex in Tehran, Iran. A 44-item questionnaire was designed based on the Literature Review and Experts Panel. Items were scored on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from "strongly disagree (1)" to "strongly agree (5)". Content validity and face validity of the questionnaire were checked by 10 experts and 10 respondents, respectively. Cronbach's alpha of the items of stimulating and inhibitory factors' section was calculated 0.83 and 0.92, respectively. A self-administrated paper-based questionnaire has been distributed among healthcare team members. Results: Out of 105 health care professionals, 80 (76.2%) were female and 41 (39%) were married. The most significant demographic predictor of willingness to volunteering was having no child (p-value=0.001). History of infection, admission, or death of family members or friends in the current pandemic was an important factor to reduce the desire to voluntary activities significantly (p-value=0.019). Depressive disorders and using antidepressants had no relation with the attraction to volunteering, but anxiety disorders had a significant relation with the willingness to be a volunteer (p-value=0.04). Conclusion: The most important demographic variables influencing the unwillingness to participate in voluntary activities during the COVID-19 crisis are parenting role, history of anxiety disorders, and history of hospitalization or death of relatives or friends. Furthermore, the voluntary participation of healthcare professionals is influenced by facilitating factors such as giving rewards, reducing the period of obligatory military service, having a sense of altruism, and helping others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Gazi Medical Journal is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Patients with haemoglobin disorders, particularly β-thalassaemia or sickle cell disease (SCD) or combined forms, on account of their underlying disease pathology and associated (iron load mainly in the case of thalassaemia) co-morbidities are defined as high-risk individuals prone to develop more severe complications from coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Despite the fact that epidemiological evidence concerning severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in these patients is currently limited across the world, it is expected that COVID-19 pandemic will have a very serious, negative impact on national economies, healthcare and social systems and consequently significant respective repercussions on the patients particularly chronic ones, and their families. Although this may be a temporary challenge in some countries of high HDI and robust health, public health and social infrastructures, this can be a long term challenge with serious to tragic consequences in countries particularly devoid of universally covered heath care systems. Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF) in this present paper summarises the key challenges as expressed by the patients, their families and involved health care professionals themselves prior and consequent to COVID-19 pandemic, describes its response during the pandemic and expresses its position in support of its global patient community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since December 2019, the global outbreak of coronavirus disease had a significant impact on humanity. Because of the large number of casualties worldwide, the WHO (World Health Organization) declared the coronavirus disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic, facial masks have become essential as well as mandatory to protect ourselves from COVID-19. As a result of the pandemic, healthcare professionals (HCPs) have been required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) for extended periods. Wearing face masks for an extended period has been shown to have several negative effects on HCPs. Additionally, face masks have hampered the use of digital techniques for facial identification. This paper examines the effects of wearing face masks for an extended period, as well as the effect of wearing face masks on facial identification technology. The Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus databases were searched and screened for relevant studies. According to the current review, prolonged use of masks was found to be associated with adverse effects on the face and skin, including acne, redness, rashes, and itching. The use of masks also resulted in headaches, hypoxic conditions, and changes in voice and speech parameters. This communication in no way intends to advocate the discontinuation of wearing masks, on the contrary, the primary goal of this article is to spread awareness about the adverse effects associated with prolonged use of facial masks (N95, KF94, or surgical). This will help in increasing compliance with mask mandates by helping to develop preventive solutions to the problems that tend to deter the general public. This also demonstrates how the use of masks has become a challenge for facial recognition technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated vulnerabilities and inequalities in children's oral health, and treatment activity virtually ceased during periods of lockdown. Primary care dentistry is still in the post-pandemic recovery phase, and it may be some years before normal service is resumed in NHS dentistry. However, opportunities to support the dental workforce through offering some preventative care in outreach settings may exist. This has the additional benefit of potentially reaching children who do not routinely see a dentist. The aim of this research was therefore to explore views around upskilling practitioners working in early years educational and care settings to support families of pre-school aged children to adopt and maintain preventative oral health behaviours. Methods: Using the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation model of behaviour (COM-B) to structure our data collection and analysis, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 practitioners (dental and non-dental) and analysed the data using deductive framework analysis. Results: The data were a good fit with the COM-B model, and further themes were developed within each construct, representing insights from the data. Conclusion: Early years practitioners can reach vulnerable children who are not usually brought to see a dentist, and have the capability, opportunity and motivation to support the oral health behaviours of families of children in their care. Further research is needed to identify training needs (oral health and behaviour change knowledge and skills), acceptability to parents, and supporting dental practice teams to work in partnership with early years settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmacists around the world are playing an active role in educating the public about COVID-19. First-year pharmacy students taking a healthcare course at Temple University in Philadelphia were asked to write papers based on the nature of a pharmacist's contributions during the pandemic. 90% of the essays outlined the importance of community pharmacists, as they are the most accessible healthcare professional, providing immediate social interaction and drug expertise. They help minimize the need for hospital visits, limiting their time in public, therefore reducing their risk of becoming infected. For the pharmacies that have a drive-thru window, over-the-counter medications and other necessities can be sold to decrease the likelihood of transmission. Many students also proposed the opportunity for more leniency in prescribing power. Unless pharmacists are within a collaborative practice agreement, they cannot prescribe even maintenance medication. Due to the pandemic, it has become increasingly hard to reach the doctor or see them in person, as most offices have switched to telehealth. Clinical pharmacists operating out of hospitals have the opportunity to oversee proposed treatment options or experimental drugs, such as remdesivir. Retail pharmacies are emerging as key resources in this pandemic, and it is important that students see this as a vibrant and important form of pharmacy practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]