Current COVID-19 Context Research Articles

Estudio de caso: Adulto Mayor sedentario en contexto de pandemia a través de teleenfermería.

Introduction: Low back pain is a common occupational disease in Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the population was confined under strict regulations and sanitary controls with the objective of reducing contagion, especially among at-risk age groups, mainly the elderly. The confinement, and the few possibilities that the pandemic would cease, brought consequences related to different aspects, especially those related to their health. The lack of possibility for patients to be present for their periodic checkups contributed to worsen their physical, psychological and mental health situation, so new strategies had to be implemented to attendpatients, in order to provide attentive and quality care. One of these strategies corresponds to tele-nursing, which focuses on healthpromotion, prevention and education. The present study used this strategy for the care of an older adult belonging to the Vínculosprogram, for the subsequent nursing assessment, identification and prioritization of problems. Considering the pandemic context,the main health problem to be addressed is sedentary lifestyle, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and an indicatorof quality of life. For this reason, we worked to contribute to the reflection on the contribution of the tele-nursing process and thedevelopment of soft skills, to create new alternative strategies that can be implemented to perform relevant comprehensive care inolder adults in the current COVID-19 context.

The Efficacy of Hospice Care for Terminally Ill Emergency Patients During the Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic

ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the efficacy of hospice care for terminally ill emergency patients in the COVID-19 context.MethodsA total of 86 terminally ill emergency patients at the authors’ hospital from February 2020 to October 2020 were included in this study, they were randomly allocated into a control (n = 42) and an intervention (n = 44) group, respectively. The control group received routine nursing care, and the intervention group received hospice care.ResultsFollowing treatment, the survival time (as the primary outcome) in the intervention group was longer than in the control group (P < 0.05). Distress thermometer and psychological pain-related factor scores for the intervention group were lower than those of the control group (P < 0.001 for both). The comfort scores of all dimensions in the intervention group were higher than in the control group (P < 0.05). The scores for survival puzzle, symptom distress, independence, and mental well-being in all dimensions related to a sense of dignity were lower in the intervention than in the control group (P < 0.05 for all). The intervention group’s yield, avoidance, and total scores were lower than in the control group, whereas the face score was higher than in the control group (P < 0.05 for all).ConclusionIn the current COVID-19 context, the telehealth (psychological, physical, online remote support, critical illness communication, and death education) approach adopted by the Anning care team for terminally ill emergency patients and other aspects of peace care could help improve the physical and mental health of patients. Hospice care can minimise the physical and psychological pain of terminally ill patients in the emergency department and assist them in their final stage of life by providing a calming and comfortable environment.

Sick at school: Teachers’ memories and the affective challenges that bodies present to constructions of childhood innocence, normalcy, and ignorance

Longstanding impressions of children as innocent to human frailty, alongside the emphasis on efficiency and management in schools, play undeniable roles in the way teachers engage with children experiencing death and illness. This paper draws from a larger study of 116 written childhood memories from prospective teachers and practitioners enrolled across four universities in Canada and the United States and focuses on the 12 memories that specifically reference childhood experiences with death or illness. Bearing witness to death evoked a range of participant responses, including guilt and shame, a sense of childhood immaturity, or the need to “grow up” in the face of mortality. In contrast, memories of illness almost always occurred in school, featuring a neglectful teacher or adult figure with anxiety about disrupting normalcy and order. Drawing on affect studies and psychoanalysis, our examination surfaces three repeating motifs: 1) the management of the bodily ‘normal’ in school, 2) the appeal to childhood innocence as a refusal of affective experience, and 3) the abjection of illness as an opening to thinking about vulnerability in education. Although these memories account for a small portion of the overall collection, they linger in our minds as significant, made even more so by the current context of COVID-19. For educators, the challenge may be how to engage with children as they attempt to make sense of the turmoil they are living, all of which may require teachers to support a wide range of childhood experiences unburdened by the ideal of innocence. A study of these tropes demonstrate the affective challenges that bodies pose to education, and open critical ways to think about the relationship between illness, childhood, and education as the ethical ground to reimagine post-pandemic schooling.

Effects of E-Business Adoption on Organizational Agility in the COVID-19 Context

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a confinement in world society that had no memory of such an event. This event caused the associations to accelerate the online transaction processes, so the continuity of the companies depended on the adoption of e-business systems, which resulted in greater flexibility and agility in the business. Digital transformation and organizational agility are two concepts present in the current COVID-19 context and the adoption of e-business systems depends on the human knowledge existing in the associations. In this context, we developed a study that aimed to study the effects of adopting e-business systems on business agility. For this, we identified that knowledge management is a basis for companies to implement e-business systems. Thus, we carried out an investigation that, through PLS estimation, found that business agility depends on the adoption of e-business systems in a pandemic context such as the case of COVID-19. In this sense, we present theoretical and practical statements of this study. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54663/2182-9306.2022.sn11.45-61

Población estudiantil universitaria: percepción sobre la modalidad de clases en contexto de la COVID-19

Abstract The effects on different human groups caused by social isolation due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic are currently being known. In this context, one of the least favored sectors and that even until the end of 2021 had not resumed activities to a great extent of Latin America was the education sector and, in the face of a new variant of the virus, it is possible that these activities will continue virtually in 2022. In this regard, the present study aims to show the appreciation of the students, mainly university students, in order to know the perception and assessment regarding the class modality types in the context of COVID-19. For this, a quantitative and descriptive study was designed based on the interpretation of information obtained from surveys carried out on 198 students from the National University of San Cristóbal de Huamanga in Peru. The results regarding the qualification of learning in the virtual modality of the theoretical classes show that 58.1% of students mention that it was regular and 31.3% that it was good, regarding learning in the virtual modality of the experimental classes, 43.4% mention that it was regular and 38.9% deficient. Their preferences in most cases is to have theoretical classes virtually and/or blended; and experimental laboratory classes in face to face and/or blended; Likewise, under the current context of COVID-19, 85.4% of students state that they prefer their health over their professional training.

‘This is how we did it’, the strong voice of resilient people: A paradigm shift for risk communication during fatigue phase of COVID-19 pandemic

Almost twenty-four months have passed since the first patient of COVID-19 was reported. COVID-19 is no more felt like a novel, unfamiliar, acute health threat by the public. In the current context of COVID-19, it is not only a health crisis but also a major socio-economic and information crisis. Pandemic and its response are pushing the world to a major global recession. Although public health measures remain the best way to minimize the spread of the virus, people are becoming less adherent to these measures. Pandemic fatigue impacts people, making them complacent and less receptive to risk perception; along with less interest, less trust, and less confidence in their role to control the virus. Therefore, creative and engaging ways to motivate people need to be identified for the local context and implemented to overcome challenges in risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) at this juncture.

Preventing Unequal Health Outcomes in COVID-19: A Systematic Review of Past Interventions.

Background: We sought to identify interventions that reduced disparities in health outcomes in infectious disease outbreaks or natural disasters in the United States to understand whether these interventions could reduce health disparities in the current COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: We searched MEDLINE and other databases to May 2020 to find studies that examined interventions to mitigate health inequalities in previous infectious disease pandemics or disasters. We assessed study quality using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale and the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) Checklist for Qualitative Studies.Results: We included 14 articles (12 studies) and 5 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stakeholder meeting articles on pandemic influenza preparedness in marginalized populations. Studies called for intervention and engagement before pandemic or disaster onset. Several studies included interventions that could be adapted to COVID-19, including harnessing technology to reach disadvantaged populations, partnering with trusted community liaisons to deliver important messaging around disease mitigation, and using culturally specific communication methods and messages to best reach marginalized groups.Discussion: To our knowledge this is the first systematic review to examine interventions to mitigate health inequities during an infectious disease pandemic. However, given that we identified very few disparities-focused infectious disease intervention studies, we also included studies from the disaster response literature, which may not be as generalizable to the current context of COVID-19. Overall, community outreach and tailored communication are essential in disease mitigation. More research is needed to evaluate systemic interventions that target the distal determinants of poor health outcomes among marginalized populations during pandemics and natural disasters.

Time-Varying Financial Performance of Green and Traditional Energy Indices with Special Reference to the Covid-19 Context

This paper comparatively investigates the financial performance of traditional and green energy indices from 2010 up to the current context of Covid-19. In particular, we analyze whether the green finance index supplants the traditional class of energy indices and examine whether consideration of a green index could provide a useful hedging solution in the specific context of Covid-19, a situation marked by a significant health risk and high volatility in the energy sector. Accordingly, we estimate different performance ratios and present some interesting findings. In particular, we find evidence of volatility and time variation in the market beta, suggesting that, whether conventional or green, energy sector sensitivity in fact depends on the market state (bear versus bull). Further, financial performance appears to be time varying and regime-dependent. Indeed, the conventional energy sector outperforms in a bear market, while the green index shows stronger financial performance in a bull market. These results are of interest for both investors and portfolio managers, helping them to balance their investments and optimize their portfolios according to the state of the market or the price regime.

Efficiency of Community Face Coverings and Surgical Masks to Limit the Spread of Aerosol.

In the current pandemic context of COVID-19, people wear different types of masks, particularly in their workplace, to limit the spread of the virus. Depending on their activity and work environment, employees are required to wear community face coverings, cloth masks with a transparent windows, surgical masks, reusable masks, or respirators. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency as source control of these masks, i.e., when worn to protect the environment from the spread of particles emitted by the wearer. An experimental test bench including a dummy head and a breathing simulator associated with a DEHS droplet generator emitting 1 or 3 µm particles in the exhaled stream is used. Source control efficiency is calculated from the total flux of particles emitted in the test section without and with a mask. Seventeen models of masks are tested. Three breathing rate conditions were studied: from rest to heavy breathing, with average rates of 13, 27, and 45 L/min. Source control efficiencies vary from one mask to another. Among community face coverings (seven models) the values ranged from 15.6 to 33.8% for a medium intensity breath. The efficiencies of surgical masks (three models) ranged from 17.4 to 28.3% for the same breathing cycle. The community face coverings and the disposable surgical masks present equivalent values of source control efficiency, respectively, 25.9 and 24.1% at 1 µm and 31.5 and 23.2% at 3 µm. The respirators show higher source control efficiency than the other types of masks (76.7% at 1 µm and 82.5% at 3 µm). The statistical analysis of the data shows no effect of the breathing flow rate and an interaction effect between mask type and particle size. No differences in source control were found for the two particle sizes or the different experimental breathing rates for the respirators and the surgical masks. But the community face coverings and the cloth masks with transparent window present a source control efficiency which increases with the particle size. Varying levels of efficiency were measured with higher source control for respirators than for other types of masks. In the context of a respiratory protection programme, they can provide an effective barrier to the spread of the virus. But these results show also that no mask can stop all the particles emitted by its wearer. Regardless of the type of mask, other barrier measures (ventilation, social distancing, and hygiene) are then necessary.

Engaging the social: Community engaged pedagogy in the context of decolonization and transformation at the University of Cape Town

Globally, higher education is at a crossroads on so many levels: funding, course development, who our students are, what knowledge is relevant for the world of work and beyond, what kinds of students do we want to graduate, and who are we as educators. All these questions (and more) have been around for some time; the current COVID-19 context however brings them even more sharply to the fore.&#x0D; This paper responds to the prompt about how we train professionals for the future so that they don’t participate in systems of oppression and inequality. It was written in 2017 in response to a conference on social and epistemic justice in the wake of the 2015 student protest movements and was written collaboratively by an intergenerational group of educators working on a course in the Engineering and Built Environment (EBE) Faculty at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. All of us have a strong commitment to social justice, and to providing engineering students with an opportunity to think about their professional identity through the lens of community engagement. While written before the onset of COVID-19, we believe that the arguments we make are pertinent to the current context. Drawing on the Honors’ thesis of one member of our group, we sought to reflect on and analyze our work in this context. In particular, the principles of multi-centricity, indigeneity and reflexivity (Dei, 2014) proved useful in making sense of our practice and our work together.

Exploring tourists' motivations, constraints, and negotiations regarding outdoor recreation trips during COVID-19 through a focus group study.

The current COVID-19 outbreak has duly influenced tourists' psychology and subsequently their behavior and decision making to participate in outdoor activities. The purpose of this paper is to illuminate tourists' motivations, perceived constraints, and negotiation strategies to participate in outdoor recreation trips, within the current COVID-19 context. To explore and categorize motivating factors, constraints, and negotiation strategies, we employed a qualitative approach via semi-structured online focus group discussion with 16 tourists (mostly residents of Utah, United States) during late summer 2020. First, COVID-19 related restrictions and fewer opportunities to go outdoors were found to encourage outdoor recreation, for novelty-seeking and experiencing normalcy. Through content analysis, we found that tourists experience a blend of personal, social, practical, and ethical constraints. Additionally, we identified how tourists negotiate their constraints through different ways: by extensive planning and information searching, avoiding crowds, and changing leisure aspirations. Finally, we discuss theoretical and managerial implications of the study, followed by recommendations for future research.Management implicationsUnderstanding of tourists' motivations, constraints, and negotiation strategies—relevant to outdoor recreation trips—provides several managerial implications to destination managers and marketers, as outlined below:•Lack of centralized and reliable information was frequently cited as a constraint in the focus group discussions. In order to provide adequate and timely information to potential participations, we proposed a novel website template including details about information to be presented.•As our study sheds light on tourists' companionship preferences, activity choice, and evaluation of a destination's COVID-related operational practices, we propose several advertising strategies and destination operational guidelines to attract tourists.

The Hierarchy of Walking Needs and the COVID-19 Pandemic.

More than 150 cities around the world have expanded emergency cycling and walking infrastructure to increase their resilience in the face of the COVID 19 pandemic. This tendency toward walking has led it to becoming the predominant daily mode of transport that also contributes to significant changes in the relationships between the hierarchy of walking needs and walking behaviour. These changes need to be addressed in order to increase the resilience of walking environments in the face of such a pandemic. This study was designed as a theoretical and empirical literature review seeking to improve the walking behaviour in relation to the hierarchy of walking needs within the current context of COVID-19. Accordingly, the interrelationship between the main aspects relating to walking-in the context of the pandemic- and the different levels in the hierarchy of walking needs were discussed. Results are presented in five sections of “density, crowding and stress during walking”, “sense of comfort/discomfort and stress in regard to crowded spaces during walking experiences”, “crowded spaces as insecure public spaces and the contribution of the type of urban configuration”, “role of motivational/restorative factors during walking trips to reduce the overload of stress and improve mental health”, and “urban design interventions on arrangement of visual sequences during walking”.

The popular identity of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: An integrative review

Context: The current COVID-19 context has placed nurses at the heart of the pandemic, due to the critical role they play within the population. However, media and professional discourses are influencing the identity and clinical practice of nurses.Objective: Review the literature on the construction of the popular identity of nurses and their roles during the COVID-19 pandemic.Method: Several data sources were consulted: Eureka, Google News, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Sociological Abstracts, Cumulative Index to Nursing Information and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), MEDLINE, and Social Sciences Abstracts. Manual searches of government and professional sites were also conducted.Results: Of a total of 281 papers indexed, 73 were retained. The literature analysis identified the following themes: 1) identity images of nurses during this pandemic and their professional roles; 2) the sometimes paradoxical nature of media and political discourse; and 3) the fact that this discourse seems to influence clinical nursing practice, which is being assigned new roles.Conclusion: This article raises awareness among decision-makers about the multiple roles of nurses and the public image of nurses during a pandemic, and takes a critical look at popular discourses related to nurses' identity and how this identity changes during a pandemic.

Den uhelbredeligt hjemløse kinesiske dagbogsfiktion

This article examines the disease motif in Lu Xun’s “Diary of a Madman” (1918) and in Ding Ling’s “Miss Sophia’s Diary” (1928) in their historical and medical contexts. At its most fundamental, the contemporaneous Chinese conception of health was thermodynamic, vesting the utmost importance in the circulation of energies and substances. This conception had immense social importance because it provided part of the ideological scaffolding for the family structure. Inside the family, established responsibilities and hierarchies purportedly served to guide this circulation in ways supportive of health, and the same considerations charged family members with maintaining strict scrutiny of the family’s barriers against any potentially illness-inducing influences that might penetrate the family fortress. Written at a time when political, social, and scientific verities were crumbling in China, these diaries record the foibles and concerns of two diseased individuals who stand alienated from their families and their immediate surroundings. By focusing on this alienation, as well as on the shared interests of the diarists in boundary crossing flows and anthropophagy, this article suggests that these short stories can profitably be read as explorations of the anxieties facing this generation of young Chinese as they sought to make a world for themselves independently of their families. What these stories dramatize is that leaving the family behind might have medical ramifications in addition to social and financial costs. In the current covid-19 context, we may not need reminding that ideas about disease and health relate in important ways to how we think of the relationship between families, boundaries, and vulnerability.

Māori perceptions of ‘home’: Māori housing needs, wellbeing and policy

ABSTRACT This paper presents the findings of the Perceptions of Papakāinga project, a 12-month, Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga funded project which explores comparative views of ‘home’ for Māori. The findings highlight the emerging themes around the meaning of ‘home’ for three different generations of Māori living in different geographical locations and how these meanings shape or influence the perception of how to ‘be well at home’. By investigating the views and attitudes of Māori community members in two distinct communities regarding what ‘home’ means to them, the research has been able to identify that ‘home’ is more than a spatial or physical notion, and that there are a range of holistically connected aspects that need to be considered if we are to deliver effective and sustainable solutions around Māori being ‘at home’. As Māori meanings of ‘home’ are adapting, developing and changing, especially in the current Coronavirus Covid-19 context, the findings from this research contribute to the significant thinking that needs to influence future policy direction and also highlights areas that require further investigation.

Rhetoric, Accounting and Accountability: COVID-19 and the Case of Italy

The current dramatic context of COVID-19 has urged academics and practitioners to tackle the topic of the pandemic not only regarding its medical side but from the perspective of social sciences, accounting and accountability as well. In this sense, our paper moves from the pivotal work of Higgins and Walker (2012) and Merkl-Davies and Brennan (2017) and tries to trace the use and the extent of accounting communication by companies during the peculiar context of the pandemic. Considering the nature of the elements to be evaluated, we applied a manual content analysis, a more suitable technique than software to capture subjective and emotional elements. Among the main preliminary results of the paper, the volume and the importance of emotional content come to the surface, such as self-assessment and emotional tone. The paper confirms the important role of rhetorical analysis in understanding the quality and the meaning of the information provided by companies and contributes to the stream of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) studies on corporate reporting.

Discussion to the special issue: Supporting the transition of a diversity of students: Developing the “whole student” during and beyond their time at higher education.

Apart from the current Covid19 context, the higher education sectors across the world have been faced with major challenges over the last few decades (Auerbach et al., 2018; Haggis, 2004), including increased numbers and diversity. Considering the many challenges in higher education, especially the rise of students’ mental health issues, I am strongly convinced that education sectors, but in particular the higher education sector, have a societal responsibility to not just focus on students as learners of knowledge and/or professional skills, but to support them in being developed as “whole students”. All these challenges also raise a need for research into the broader context to identify how we can better support the diverse student population as they transition into higher education, but also how to prepare them for a positive experience during and beyond their time in higher education. Overall, it can be said that the contributions to this special issue beneficially addressed some of the main foci to widening the perspectives on diversity related to the transition into higher education. The contribution came from different European countries, including Belgium, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. De Clercq et al. (in this special issue) indicated that environmental characteristics, such as distinctiveness of countries, is often overlooked in research. In this discussion article, therefore, some particular references will also be made to a specific country, New Zealand. This may be of interest and relevant for the particular questions raised in this special issue as focusing on student diversity in educational contexts has been considered important for some time in this country. Aoteraroa New Zealand is a country in the South Pacific colonised by Europeans in the 19th century. In the second part of the 20th century, the focus across the New Zealand education sectors, including higher education, started to develop beyond just a European perspective, and started to focus more on recognition of student diversity. Initially, the main focus was on the indigenous population, the Māori people. In the last few decades of the 20th century, the focus was extended to the Pacific Island people, many of whom migrated to New Zealand from a wide range of different islands in the South Pacific. In the 21st century, the focus on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) groups was further extended, and over the last decade also because of the increase of refugees from the Middle East and Asia. Providing some insights from the other end of the world, in quite a different and de-colonised ex-European nation may help European (and other) countries to reflect on their own approaches.

Biosecurity Perspectives in Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology in Times of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a Literature Review

The aim of this work was to report biosecurity measures in the Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology (OMR) clinic in the current context of COVID-19, based on a literature review. An electronic search for scientific papers was perform ed using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus database. Although the literature related to care in the OMR clinic regarding COVID-19 is still scarce, this unprecedented scenario created by the pandemic generated an urgent need for measures to prevent the transmission of the virus. Dentists are at maximum risk of contagion and, although the practice of OMR generally does not produce aerosols, radiologists and technicians are continually in contact with body fluids, such as saliva. In additio n, imaging exams are often indispensable for emergency or elective dental diagnosis and treatment. Training in infection control practices during major outbreaks of infectious diseases should be quickly reinforced and dental settings have unique characteristics that warrant specific infection control considerations. Some recommendations have been proposed and were discussed, which cover patient flow, equipment handling and environment, radiographic technique and processing, personal protective equipment and preparation and issuance of radiological reports and access to exam results. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, biosecurity measures in the routine of the OMR clinic are indispensable to enable emergency dental care and the perspectives of returning to elective treatment. Biosecurity measures and staff training at the OMR clinic should be instituted immediately, since imaging exams are an important and often indispensable part of dental diagnosis and treatment.

Revisiting the Utility of Dilated Fundus Exams in Patients with Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration Receiving Regular Intravitreal Injections

Patients receiving regular anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) intravitreal injections for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) routinely undergo dilated fundus examination (DFE) at each visit. In this paper, we review the current evidence on the utility of DFE in guiding treatment of established patients with nAMD and discuss novel treatment algorithms that defer DFE assessments with the advent of optical coherence tomography (OCT). We also debate on the value of DFE in the current sanitary context of COVID-19 and highlight important clinical scenarios where it must be performed.

Philosophy for children and mindfulness during COVID-19: Results from a randomized cluster trial and impact on mental health in elementary school students

BackgroundPreliminary evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on children's mental health. Given these problems can have significant impacts throughout the lifespan, preventing the negative repercussions of COVID-19 on children's mental health is essential. Philosophy for children (P4C) and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) show promise in this regard. ObjectiveThe goal of the present study was to compare the impact of online MBI and P4C interventions on mental health, within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a randomized cluster trial to assess and compare the impact of both interventions on elementary school students' (N = 37) anxiety and inattention symptoms as well as on their basic psychological need satisfaction (BPN). ResultsANCOVAs revealed a significant effect of the P4C intervention on mental health difficulties, controlling for baseline levels. Participants in the P4C group showed lower scores on the measured symptoms at post-test than participants in the MBI group. Significant effects of the MBI on levels of BPN were also found. Participants in the MBI intervention reported greater BPN satisfaction at post-test than participants in the P4C intervention. ConclusionResults from this study suggest that, in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a P4C intervention centered around COVID-19 related themes may be helpful to reduce mental health difficulties, that a MBI may be useful to satisfy BPN, and that both interventions were easy to offer online to elementary school students. Future work including a larger sample size and follow-up measures is warranted. Public significancePractice: Philosophy for children (P4C) and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can be used to foster mental health in elementary school students, in the current COVID-19 context.Policy: As we do not anticipate that facilitators will be allowed in schools during the 2020–2021 school year and that children will, most likely, be attending school in the current COVID-19 context, policymakers who want to implement psychological support measures in elementary schools should consider an online modality, which has shown in this study to work well, be feasible, and yield positive results on youth mental health.