Context Of COVID-19 Pandemic Research Articles

Reartikulisanje postpandemijskih granica

This paper theoretically examines the transformation in understanding borders within the COVID-19 (post-)pandemic context. The first part of the paper analyses the immunitary discourse as a new form of governance and interpretation of the "coronocratic" state. The second part explores the advantage of the dynamic/kinetic over static interpretation of boundaries and the importance of their hybrid and polymorphic attributes in the transition to the post-Westphalian international order. In the final part, it considers the implications of the pandemic metanarrative under which COVID-19 is treated as a dominant external threat, a specific type of enemy. Finally, the paper is concluded by identifying a two-fold process in their perception. This process, on the one hand, includes the reduction of the kinetic potentials of borders and, on the other, their externalization to the territories of allochthonous/"third" countries.

COVID-19 associated Kawasaki-like multisystem inflammatory syndrome in an adult

Recently, few reports have described a serious condition linked to SARS-CoV-2 that mimics Kawasaki disease called multisystem inflammatory syndrome, especially in children (MIS-C) and young adults. In this work, we report on a severe form of MIS in a young female adult previously infected by SARS-CoV-2. She was treated by plasmapheresis with albumin and steroids, however outcome was fatal. We discuss the pathogenesis of this rare and life threatening entity and suggest some therapeutic regimen. This syndrome should not be misdiagnosed with an infectious or a drug induced cutaneous rash in the current context of COVID-19 pandemic.

Drivers for Teleconsultation Acceptance in Brazil: Patients’ Perspective during the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT Context: teleconsultation can be a strategic technological tool for patients to access quality healthcare while dealing with resource challenges within health industry. It can be particularly relevant during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, when the social distancing world had to scramble for new technological solutions to offer quality healthcare services with reduced personal contact. Objective: our research proposes an integrative technology acceptance model to evaluate the drivers of teleconsultation adoption by patients, aligning constructs from the technology acceptance model with other drivers, such as technology readiness, trust, and self-efficacy. Methods: analyses included descriptive statistics and structural equations modeling based on survey’s data from a sample of 415 consumers. Results: results indicate significant relationships between the assessed constructs, with particular relevance on the effects of perceived usefulness, anteceded by trust and technology readiness, on attitude and intention to use teleconsultation. Conclusion: our findings provide helpful insights for health organizations and regulators associated with the diffusion of teleconsultation. The study findings also indicate that the challenging COVID-19 pandemic context may be affecting patients’ intention to adopt teleconsultation.

Effects of Health Record Computerization in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Burundi’ Hospitals: Propensity Score Matching

Introduction: A great number of software are currently used to digitalize the patient records in order to optimize the quality of services offered to patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of Electronic Health Records use in Burundi’s hospitals, taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic context. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study based on difference in difference method. Ten district hospitals were included in the study, five of them had the Electronic Health Records and five of which did not yet have the Electronic Health Records. The hospital’s control group were chosen using the propensity score matching method. The period before the project’s implementation was 2014 and the period after were 2019 and 2020. Results: After 5 years of the Electronic Health Record’s implementation, the results showed an increase in outpatient consultation (70%), deliveries (more than 100%), caesarean sections (56%) and major surgeries (43%) indicators. The overall quality score of hospitals’ care had a regressive effect of 37% and the income from performance-based funding had an increase by 31%. The indicators which were affected by the context of the COVID-19 pandemic were especially outpatient consultation, caesarian section, income from performance-based funding decreased by 3%, 5% and 20% respectively. Conclusion: The effects of Electronic Health Records use are effective. As the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the hospital’s indicators negatively, the resilient strategies alongside the potential shocks are recommended.

Managing Efficiency in Digital Transformation – EU Member States Performance during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic context asserted the digitalization process in the European Union member countries five years forward (at least). The digital divide, a frequent debated issue was brought to the fore, and, under these circumstances, the proposed aim of the paper is to analyze the digitalization process, considering the data provided by Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) and, additionally, the Stringency Index, that measure the governmental restrictions during the pandemic for 2020. From a methodological perspective, the empirical study focused on performing the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) non-parametric test. Measuring the digitalization efficiency or inefficiency of the European member states was conducted by using an output-oriented model, focused on output maximization for a given level of input, assuming Constant Returns to Scale (CRS). The results highlighted major discrepancies between the European countries. Solely eight countries out of 27 can be considered efficient in the digitalization processes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the model, the most efficient EU countries could be considered peers/benchmarks for the inefficient ones, which should examine the best practices in order to improve their current situation.

Green bonds and other assets: Evidence from extreme risk transmission

Green bonds (GB) are gaining a prominent role in sustainable development because of their ability to fund environment-friendly projects. This study aims to investigate if investors can benefit from the risk diversification properties of including GB with other assets, particularly within the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. To do so, we utilize a quantile-connectedness approach to examine a set of GB and traditional assets, i.e., commodities, stocks, and bonds, from 2008 to 2020. We find higher total time-varying risk spillovers during extreme high volatility periods than those with average and low volatility. For pairwise risk spillovers, GB offers more diversification opportunities when volatility is very low. Nevertheless, the diversification benefits increase during the COVID period. The strong bidirectional risk spillovers between GB and conventional bonds imply that GB can be considered a good alternative to traditional bonds while benefiting from their diversification potential, particularly with energy and agriculture. Our findings are useful for investors wishing to implement green diversification portfolio strategies in extreme volatility periods and act as an encouragement to policymakers to establish efficient policies to promote green finance.

"A noção de cuidado e as suas possíveis mudanças de significado em contexto pandémico" – Outro olhar sobre a vulnerabilidade dos humanos

This article departs from the COVID-19 pandemic context, which introduced the need to create new terminologies and new glossaries to address other forms of life. In the collective and individual experience, the daily importance of caring for the vulnerable clearly emerged. Care that has historically been devalued for being, mostly, performed by women and linked in a real and symbolic way to the maternal and domestic sphere. An attempt is made to present another way of understanding vulnerability in terms of what it implies in the recognition of the subject's own constitutive fragility.

Psychological Barriers of Vietnam High School Students in Online Learning Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Quantitative Study

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has strongly influenced on education system in Vietnam. Schools' closure was one solution to prevent the spread of the virus that has forced these institutions to transition from traditional learning methods to online learning methods. This circumstance has brought many difficulties for high school students who have not been familiar with online learning methods before. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify some psychological barriers in online learning of Vietnam high school students. On the other hand, the study also found the relationship between these barriers. The differences in gender, areas, feelings and learning outcomes were determined in all three psychological barriers. Data were collected online from high school students. The intent was to get about 310 responses, and 309 returned usable responses. Several analytical methods used to analyze the data include the descriptive statistical analysis method, the Spearman correlation analysis, and the one-way ANOVA. The results provided information on some psychological barriers with their correlation. The significant relationship among three psychological barriers: social interaction, technical skills, and learner motivation attributed the difficulties to Vietnam high school students in online learning, especially in the Covid-19 pandemic context. The differences in gender, areas, feelings and learning outcomes were considered the related factors in the online learning environment. These findings could support further studies for researchers, education administrators, teachers, and related stakeholders such as parents, enterprises, and the community to propose solutions to issues affecting the high school students' learning effectiveness and outcomes.

Entrepreneurial resilience and business continuity in the tourism and hospitality industry: the role of adaptive performance and institutional orientation

Resiliencia empresarial y continuidad empresarial en la industria del turismo y la hostelería: El papel del desempeño adaptativo y la orientación institucionalPropósitoEsta investigación explora la dinámica de la resiliencia en las empresas de turismo y hotelería mediante la investigación de la influencia de factores contextuales internos y externos (es decir, desempeño adaptativo y orientación institucional) en la relación entre la resiliencia de los emprendedores y los indicadores de continuidad empresarial (es decir, percepción de carrera inseguridad e intención de salida del negocio).DiseñoEn el contexto de la pandemia de Covid-19, se recopilaron datos cuantitativos mediante cuestionarios autoadministrados de empresarios (fundadores de pequeños restaurantes y agentes de viajes en Egipto) utilizando modelos de ecuaciones estructurales.HallazgosEl estudio revela que la resiliencia de los emprendedores ante las adversidades se correlaciona directamente con los indicadores de continuidad del negocio, con el desempeño adaptativo y la orientación institucional funcionando como mediadores.Originalidad/valorLa literatura existente carece de evidencia sobre los factores contextuales internos y externos que subyacen al proceso de resiliencia en las pequeñas y medianas empresas y sus resultados. La investigación sobre el espíritu empresarial rara vez ha discutido los antecedentes de la retirada de empresas. Este estudio contribuye a abordar esta brecha de investigación.

Серцево-легенева та церебральна реанімація: нові рекомендації Європейської ради з реанімації 2021 року

У статті викладені сучасні зміни в алгоритмі серцево-легеневої та церебральної реанімації (СЛЦР), прийняті Європейською радою з реанімації у 2021 р. Наведено принципи базової та розширеної підтримки життя, у тому числі з урахуванням Європейських рекомендацій, опублікованих у 2020 р., присвячених проведенню СЛР за умов пандемії COVID-19. Головний акцент у правилах проведення СЛР в умовах пандемії COVID-19 робиться на тому положенні, що ніколи не можна ставити під загрозу безпеку медичних працівників, а час, необхідний для забезпечення безпеки реаніматорів при наданні допомоги, є прийнятною частиною процесу СЛР. Висвітлено принципи проведення електричної дефібриляції, у тому числі в пацієнтів із коронавірусною хворобою, що перебувають у рrone position, фармакологічного забезпечення СЛР; сучасні можливості моніторингу для оцінки якості реанімаційних заходів та виявлення потенційно оборотних причин зупинки кровообігу; використання технологій екстракорпоральної підтримки життя у процесі СЛР. Окремо викладаються сучасні підходи до інтенсивної терапії постреанімаційного синдрому, що дозволяють забезпечити покращення наслідків у пацієнтів, які перенесли зупинку кровообігу.

Burnout Effect Impact over Medical Staff during Actual Covid-19 Pandemic Context

Burnout Effect Impact over Medical Staff during Actual Covid-19 Pandemic Context

Influence of Gender, Age and Field of Study on Hand Hygiene in Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study in the COVID-19 Pandemic Context.

The effectiveness of hand hygiene (HH) on reducing the transmission of contagious diseases is widely known, although its use has been commonly associated with the area of healthcare. During the COVID-19 pandemic, HH was one of the main measures established to contain the transmission of this virus. The identification of the main barriers and facilitators of HH in young adults (aged 18–29 years old) will contribute to the better planning of HH training and its posterior success. A total of 716 young adults participated in the study by completing the ad hoc online questionnaire (#YesWeHand), which analyzed, among other aspects, the age range, gender and field of study that they belonged to. From the total participants, 81.3% indicated knowing how to perform HH correctly, while 49.4% affirmed having received training. The main reason for performing HH was concern for their own safety and that of others (75.8%), while forgetfulness (36.5%) was the main reason for not performing HH. In the group of young adults, being female, aged between 22 and 25 years old, and having studied in the area of Health Sciences, had a positive influence on correct HH. It is deemed necessary to maintain HH beyond the primary education stages, and to adapt it to different fields of education, ages, and genders, in order to maximize its success. Given the overrepresentation of participants from the healthcare field, it would be desirable to conduct more studies to ensure a better representation of the different educational levels and fields of study of the participants, in order to identify, in a more reliable way, the variables that influence HH.

The mediating role of the work-family conflict in the relationship between technostress and psychological well-being in the COVID-19 pandemic context

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought dramatic changes both for work and employees’ personal and family life domains. In this context, this research investigates the mediating role of the work-family conflict in the relationship between technostress creators (techno-overload and techno-invasion) and psychological well-being. We conducted a survey of 217 employees and the results indicated that the work-family conflict fully mediated the relationship between techno-overload and psychological well-being, thus strongly affecting the psychological well-being of employees in the context of exposure to the stress generated by ICTs overload. Similar results were identified regarding the mediating role of work-family conflict in the relationship between techno-invasion and psychological well-being. The findings suggest the need to increase the coping capacity of employees with technostress and their psychological well-being by reducing the work-family conflict and technostress.

Shylock’s ghosts

Compagnia de’ Colombari, directed by Karin Coonrod, fashioned The Merchant in Venice from the stones of the Venetian Ghetto: Shylock's haunting ghost corporealised under moonlight. This 2016 production followed Max Reinhardt's Venetian Merchant in 1934: another lingering ghost of Shylock. These productions intersected in a vision to create bonds between strangers. Looking back on them in the Covid-19 pandemic context of isolation and intolerance, they remind us of the restorative hope in a globalised theatre. This essay engages with the way the Ghetto, Venice and Shylock speak back, inverting the perspective of the ‘other’, framed by personal reflections of the author-actor playing Nerissa.

Extent of and Factors Associated with Self-Medication among Clients Visiting Community Pharmacies in the Era of COVID-19: Does It Relieve the Possible Impact of the Pandemic on the Health-Care System?

BackgroundSelf-medication is one aspect of self-care that has been shown to benefit primary health care. When done correctly, it provides significant benefits to customers, such as self-reliance and cost savings. Inappropriate methods, on the other hand, such as incorrect self-diagnosis and therapy selection, can be disastrous. The COVID-19 pandemic context may benefit the community in easing the burden on the health system. There have been no studies conducted on this possibility in the context of COVID-19 in a selected area, hence the purpose of this study was to determine the extent of and factors associated with self-medication among clients visiting community pharmacies in west Harerghe, Ethiopia from June 1 to 30, 2020.MethodsThis institution-based cross-sectional study used a systemic random sample of 416 community-pharmacy clients. To collect data, face-to-face interviews were conducted using pretested semistructured questionnaires modified from established techniques. EpiData 3.1 was used to enter data and SPSS 24 for analysis. To determine factors associated with self-medications, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. AORs with 95% CIs are used to report associations, and the level of significance was set at P<0.05.ResultsThe proportion of people self-medicating was 73.6% (95% CI 69.2%–77.9%). Self-medications were significantly associated with age 18–24 years (AOR 9.28, 95% CI 3.56–24.21) and 25–34 years (AOR 3.54, 95% CI 1.35–9.27), Amhara ethnicity (AOR 1.72, 95% CI 1.01–2.94), current single status (AOR 0.28, 95% CI 0.15–0.51), government employment (AOR 0.31, 95% CI 0.12–0.82), and limited knowledge (AOR 2.31, 95% CI 1.40–3.79).ConclusionThree in four participants practiced self-medication in the era of COVID-19. Repetition was significantly associated with age, ethnicity, current marital status, type of occupation, and knowledge about self-medications. An alternative medical care–delivery system by all health-care providers and increasing community awareness should be promoted.

COVID‐19: Prevalence evaluation of anxiety, depression, and burden in Argentine family caregivers

BackgroundSince WHO declaration of the COVID‐19 pandemic, the Argentine Ministry of Health considered pregnant women, over 60 years old adults, and people suffering from chronic diseases as cohorts at risk.In this context, older adults diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases as well as their family caregivers were affected by radical changes in the dynamics of health care and a consequent limitation of help resources.The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of anxiety, geriatric depression, and burden in Argentine family caregivers within the COVID‐19 pandemic context. It also aims at evaluating the correlation between these variables.MethodDesign: Non‐experimental, descriptive‐correlational study. Procedure: Between April and August 2020, an online survey was administered to 180 senescent family caregivers of both sexes, living in Argentina. Instruments: Ad‐hoc sociodemographic and psychosocial questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Scale (GAD‐7), Yesavage Geriatric Depression Questionnaire (GDS‐VE), and Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale (Argentine validated version).ResultThe study cohort mean age was 67 years old (sd = 6), 81% were women, and 56% were daugthers of the assisted family member. Regarding analyzed variables, 46% of the survey respondents presented depression, 68% caregiver burden, and 71% anxiety. A positive, moderate correlation was observed between geriatric depression and anxiety (“r”: .468, p: .000).ConclusionThe results provide empirical evidence of the impact of care tasks on emotions of family caregivers within the context of the COVID‐19 pandemic. These findings invite devising necessary and possible anticipated intervention strategies, specially facing the second wave of the pandemic.

Exploring Consumer Resilience during COVID-19: Demographics, Consumer Optimism, Innovativeness and Online Buying

This study investigates the predictors and outcome of consumer resilience given the Covid-19 pandemic and retail context. Predictors are represented by demographic characteristics and underexplored protective factors of consumer optimism and innovativeness, while the outcome variable includes online buying. Empirical research was conducted on the convenience sample of 400 Croatian consumers. Research results show that, given demographic characteristics, gender plays an important role in consumer resilience. In terms of the individual protective factors, both consumer optimism and innovativeness positively influence consumer resilience. In addition, consumer resilience negatively impacts online buying. Findings also have practical implications for companies’ marketing strategies.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Portuguese population: Consumption of alcohol, stimulant drinks, illegal substances, and pharmaceuticals.

BackgroundThe measures implemented by governments worldwide to control and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 have impacted the populations and directly influenced individuals’ quality of life and consumption habits.ObjectiveThis work investigates the Portuguese population’s changes in alcohol, stimulants drinks, illegal substances, and pharmaceutical consumptions habits during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsAn online questionnaire comprising seven groups of questions–with one group referring to alcohol, stimulant drinks, illegal substances, and pharmaceuticals consumption habits–was made available to the general adult population of mainland Portugal from the 26th January through the 31st of March 2021. After applying the inclusion criteria, 1666 questionnaires were selected and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.ResultsOur results show that 48.9% of the participants have alcohol drinking habits and increased their alcohol consumption by 16% after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Furthermore, 8.7% of the respondents felt the need to increase their consumption of stimulant drinks, especially coffee, the most consumed stimulant drink (77.9%). We also observed that of the 3.1% of respondents who are usual consumers of illegal substances, 26.9% increased their consumption of these substances during the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerning pharmaceuticals, 23.2% of the respondents expressed their need to take a therapeutic drug after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The profile of common consumers of alcohol, stimulant drinks, illegal substances, and pharmaceuticals in the COVID-19 pandemic context is contrasting and varies according to gender, age, and employment status.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in the consumption of alcohol, stimulant drinks, illegal substances, and pharmaceuticals prescribed to treat anxiety, depression, and sleep changes in the Portuguese population. These new consumption patterns have probably aggravated domestic violence, mental diseases, and impairment of family quality of life in the Portuguese population.

The Bigger the Storm, the Bigger the Strength: Did Social and Emotional Skills (SES) Make a Difference on a COVID-19 Lockdown Scenario Among Children and Young People?

Little is known about the emotional experience of children and young people during lockdown, their coping strategies on COVID-19 pandemic context and their influence on the emotional state when dealing with the challenges associated with lockdown. In this study, 1031 children and young people (865 aged 8-15 years old and 166 aged 16-25 years old) answered an online self-report survey, specifically designed to assess the perceived potential contribution of SES learned/developed in the Gulbenkian Academies for Knowledge&amp;mdash;a national initiative&amp;mdash;in coping with the consequences of the context of the COVID-19 pandemic during the Portugal first lockdown. There are three main findings. First, the prevalent emotional pattern was predominantly negative (53.7%) for the younger participants (most frequent emotions: boredom 66.9%; worry 47.8%) and predominantly positive (52.0%) for the older participants (most frequent emotions: boredom 70.1% and tranquillity 52.6%). Second, school activities (25.2%, 8-15 subsample; 32.7%, 16-25 subsample) and self-knowledge and self-regulation activities/strategies (24.8%, 8-15 subsample; 20.0%, 16-25 subsample) were the most frequently reported by participants from both subsamples and that this has significantly interfered with their emotional state: among 8-15 subsample, they reported feeling more excited, more calm, more optimistic and more hopeful; among 16-25 subsample, they reported feeling more cheered up, more optimistic, more quiet and more hopeful. Culinary and horticultural activities predict about 4% the possibility of feeling hope, sadness, optimism, irritation, and worry (8-15 years old) and school activities contribute about 17% to the explanation of the emotional states of sadness and optimism (16-25 years old). Third, both the younger and the older participants showed a medium-superior level of socio-emotional skills and those SES predict about 20% the possibility of feeling optimistic, irritation, sad, hopeful, and bored (8-15 years old) and about 12% the possibility of feeling sadness (16-25 years old). The potential of social and emotional skills in exceptional circumstances and vulnerabilities are discussed.

The development and impact of teachers’ collective agency during Covid-19: insights from online classrooms in Canada and China

ABSTRACT Teacher education programmes are embedded in both higher and K-12 education contexts. This study explores how collective teacher agency is developed and manifested within two online teacher education courses in a Canadian university and a Chinese university, respectively, under the Covid-19 pandemic context. Employing a digital ethnographic approach, this study reveals that: (1) the structural changes caused by the pandemic create common goals for collective teacher agency to develop; (2) collective teacher agency is motivated by caring for student well-being and honing of teaching skills; and (3) the asynchronous course structure hindered Chinese student teachers’ collective efforts to improve teaching but afforded the Canadian group greater collective agency in connecting with their schools. Importantly, this study highlights the role of emotions in facilitating collective agency and argues that emotions are an integral but often overlooked part of teacher agency.