Search

The risks perceived by consumers in online shopping can negatively affect the acceptance of electronic commerce, however, the perceived risks are a cultural aspect that can affect consumers differently in different countries. This research examines what dimensions of perceived risk affect the acceptance of electronic commerce in Bolivia, a developing country. The design is quantitative, the TAM model is used with the variables: risk of misuse of information, risk of not obtaining the benefits of the product and risk of inefficiency of the functionality. The results show that the three risks examined do not affect the acceptance of electronic commerce, and that the variables perceived usefulness and ease of use have a positive effect on the acceptance of electronic commerce. The theoretical implications of this study provide empirical evidence from Bolivia, which shows strong variables of perceived usefulness and ease of use, which mitigates the effect of risk´s perception by the consumer, the results are explained in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that accelerated the rapid acceptance of electronic commerce, increasing the perception of usefulness and ease of use of online shopping. As practical implications, this research provides managers and administrators of online businesses with knowledge about the effect of risk variables perceived by consumers., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Carvache-Franco et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Objectives: This paper reviews the mental health policies that have been implemented in Chile in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the international context of countries' responses. Even before the start of the pandemic, there were significant barriers to access mental health services in Chile, coupled with a scenario of nationwide social unrest and protests that questioned the legitimacy of public institutions; now the rapidly worsening outbreaks of COVID-19 are exacerbating the pre-existing mental health crisis. Methods: We conducted a bibliometric and content analysis of the Chilean mental health public policies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and then compared these policies with international experiences and emerging scientific evidence on the mental health impact of pandemics. Results: Our analysis of the policies identifies five crucial points of action developed in Chile: (i) an established framework to address mental health in emergency and disaster situations; (ii) a timely COVID-19 Mental Health Action Plan; (iii) inclusion of mental health in the public health agenda; (iv) development of a presidential strategy during the pandemic for comprehensive mental health and well-being; and (v) emerging research assessing the mental health implications of COVID-19. Conclusions: In Chile, the public policy responses to address the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been characterized by the coordinated implementation of mental health plans, ranging from a health sectoral initiative to inter-agency and intersectoral efforts. However, it is imperative that increased funding is allocated to mental health, and efforts should be made to promote the participation of people with lived experiences and communities in the design and implementation of the proposed actions. This aspect could be of key importance to social peace and community recovery after the pandemic., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Irarrazaval, Norambuena, Montenegro, Toro-Devia, Vargas and Caqueo-Urízar.)

Seye Abimbola and co-authors argue for a transformation in global health research and practice in the post-COVID-19 world., Competing Interests: I have read the journal’s policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: MP serves on the editorial board of PLOS Medicine. None of the other authors have competing interests to disclose.

Background: Since March, Chile experienced an exponential increase in SARS-CoV2 cases, which led to an almost full occupancy of the intensive care units (ICU)., Aim: To characterize patients with SARS-CoV2 disease who required hospitalization in the ICU and invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) in our hospital., Material and Methods: A prospective observational study was performed, which included the first 50 patients, aged 54 ± 13 years (58% men), with SARS-CoV2 disease, with ICU and IMV requirements between March 23 and June 2, 2020. Demographics, comorbidities, symptoms, laboratory and imaging, therapies performed and IMV characteristics were registered. The most relevant outcomes observed were lethality, number of days in the ICU and connection to an IMV., Results: Ninety percent of patients were overweight or obese, 46% had hypertension and many had diabetes mellitus. They had elevated inflammatory parameters and typical patterns of COVID-19 in computed tomography. Most of the patients got protective lung ventilation with a high rate of use of neuromuscular blockade (NMB) and prone position. Antibiotics, hydroxychloroquine, and lopinavir/ritonavir were administered according to the protocol of the institution. Lethality was 16% (8 cases) at the end of this study., Conclusions: The information obtained in this study provides characteristics and early outcomes of hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 and IMV, admitted to the ICU of our center.