Impact Of COVID-19 Research Articles

Will the COVID-19 infection affect the performance of top basketball players? A data-driven analysis

PurposeTo investigate the changes in the game performance of high-level basketball players in NBA league before and after the COVID-19 infection.MethodsAthletic statistics were collected from official database for 68 players (19 forwards, 29 guards, 20 centers; mean age 27.14 ± 3.65 years) in the NBA league for 10 games before and after infection with COVID-19. We used a the Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance to examine the impact caused by COVID-19.ResultsAmong all 68 players, a statistically significant decrease in plus/minus (Z = −2.392, p = 0.017) and free throw shooting (FT% Z = −2.153, p = 0.031), occurred compared to the pre-infection with COVID-19. Among the interior players, we found a statistically significant decrease in free throw shooting FT% (Z = 2.674, p = 0.021), Plus/Minus (Z = −2.371, p = 0.018). Among centers and forwards, there was no statistically significant change.ConclusionThe impact of COVID-19 on players’ fatigue and cardiorespiratory and muscular endurance may have contributed to the decline in performance, and the impact of detraining due to isolation should not be ignored.

COVID-19 Pandemic Detrimentally Affects Craving and Quality of Life in Patients Under Medication-Assisted Treatment with Buprenorphine and Methadone: The Issue of Medication Dose

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has increased the vulnerability and decreased the retention in treatment of patients receiving medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on craving and quality of life (QoL) of MAT patients and to reveal the potential role of medication dose. Thus, 562 volunteers were divided into the control group (n = 100) comprising healthy volunteers without prior contact with substances of abuse, and into the experimental group (n = 462), which included patients receiving MAT, who were stratified into sub-groups of patients under methadone and buprenorphine. The groups were further divided into two sub-groups, based on whether the participants were infected by SARS-CoV-2 or not. The heroin craving questionnaire (HCQ), and the Nottingham health profile (NHP) instrument were used for craving assessment and QoL evaluation respectively. The MAT patients who were infected by SARS-CoV-2 had higher levels of craving compared to their non-infected counterparts, and COVID-19 restriction measures reduced QoL mainly of non-infected MAT patients. Furthermore, low craving and high QoL were largely associated with medium or low medication dose. It appears that focused interventions and modifications to medication doses could lead to better clinical outcomes of the MAT programs and relapse prevention.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Oral Health Behaviors Among Children in Iran.

Parents are responsible for their children's oral health. This study evaluated parents' knowledge, attitudes, and performance on their children's oral health before and after an educational intervention and the impact of COVID-19 on these variables. This quasi-experimental study included 227 children aged 6-8 years who were referred to 11 Shiraz medical centers from July to December 2021. Data were collected from questionnaires and interviews. After completing the questionnaire, oral health education was provided immediately and then monthly thereafter using dental models and pamphlets. After 3 months, a questionnaire assessed the education's effectiveness. Data were analyzed using independent t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), paired t-tests, and Pearson's correlation. A total of 163 participants (71.80%) completed all phases, including the second questionnaire. Participants showed moderate knowledge (77.30%), attitude (89.00%), and performance (80.40%). Neither knowledge nor attitude before the intervention had a significant association with demographic characteristics. Parents' education, number of children, and maternal employment were significantly associated with performance (p = 0.002, p = 0.040, p < 0.001, respectively). The intervention significantly enhanced these variables (p < 0.001). In terms of COVID-19, 72.40% of participants expressed good knowledge about transmission, 52.80% showed moderate concern, and 54% had poor performance. Parental knowledge, attitude, and performance changed significantly following the intervention (p = 0.030, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). Educational intervention significantly improved parents' knowledge, attitudes, and performance toward children's oral health. Because of the poor performance of parents during the COVID-19 pandemic, we recommend the implementation of continuing education and preventive oral health programs.

Temporal Trends of Early COVID-19 Infections in New York City Transit Workers and Residents: March 01, 2020-May 02, 2020.

The continuity of public transportation was necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic so that essential workers could report for duty. Therefore, it is important to consider COVID-19's impact on transit workers themselves. We described COVID-19 incidence rates over time in New York City (NYC) transit workers and the NYC general population during March-May, 2020. NYC transit COVID-19 cases were abstracted from occupational injury and illness logs, and health department data was used to ascertain NYC resident cases. COVID-19 rates among transit workers peaked during the week of March 22-28 (429.8 cases/100,000 workers). The peak in transit workers occurred 1-2weeks before the general public's peak (March 29-April 4: 368.8 cases/100,000 people; April 5-11: 357.8 cases/100,000 people). These data suggest that NYC transit workers may have been impacted by COVID-19 earlier than the general public. Thus, improving early detection and response of respiratory disease outbreaks may be vital to protecting transit workers.

Towards a ‘Newer Normal’? A Bibliometric Analysis Examining Organisational Culture in the Post-COVID-19 Higher Education Landscape in the United Kingdom

Concern continues to grow over the changing nature of work that initially formed a ‘new normal’ within higher education institutions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation is now being further impacted by subsequent economic and political challenges in the sector, which in turn shifts the workplace towards an even ‘newer normal’. The purpose of this article is to: (1) methodically and logically review the extant literature and research linking the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic to the organisational culture of higher education institutions in the United Kingdom; and (2) based on a bibliometric analysis, to offer a road map for further empirical research in the future. Researchers have found that changing workplace norms, such as remote and hybrid working and other forms of flexibility in approaches to learning and the availability of delivery modes, have become increasingly common, which has changed the nature of working practices and underpinning aspects of organisational culture. Therefore, it now appears opportune to update existing knowledge on organisational culture theory within the United Kingdom higher education context to support policy development and enhance workplace practices in the post-COVID-19 period. From a theoretical perspective, this article contributes to organisational culture literature by assimilating a dataset of nascent studies generated through keyword search on Clarivate Analytics Web of Science that have examined the impact of COVID-19 on organisational culture in United Kingdom higher education institutions. This emergent dataset was analysed using VOS Viewer, with the results of subsequent quantitative bibliometric analysis identifying the main existing research fronts as well as potential research directions for the empirical development of organisational culture. Based on this bibliometric analysis, the main suggested future research agendas that need to be addressed linked to organisational culture in the UK higher education sector in the post-COVID period are: (a) to further examine changing cultural norms and expectations; (b) hybrid approaches to working; (c) academic identity; and (d) organisational culture and the changing psychological contract. Such research is important as the UK Higher Education sector now progresses towards an even ‘newer normal’.

A Hierarchical Bayesian Model for Estimating Age-Specific COVID-19 Infection Fatality Rates in Developing Countries.

The COVID-19 infection fatality rate (IFR) is the proportion of individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 who subsequently die. As COVID-19 disproportionately affects older individuals, age-specific IFR estimates are imperative to facilitate comparisons of the impact of COVID-19 between locations and prioritize distribution of scarce resources. However, there lacks a coherent method to synthesize available data to create estimates of IFR and seroprevalence that vary continuously with age and adequately reflect uncertainties inherent in the underlying data. In this article, we introduce a novel Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate IFR as a continuous function of age that acknowledges heterogeneity in population age structure across locations and accounts for uncertainty in the estimates due to seroprevalence sampling variability and the imperfect serology test assays. Our approach simultaneously models test assay characteristics, serology, and death data, where the serology and death data are often available only for binned age groups. Information is shared across locations through hierarchical modeling to improve estimation of the parameters with limited data. Modeling data from 26 developing country locations during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we found seroprevalence did not change dramatically with age, and the IFR at age 60 was above the high-income country estimate for most locations.

Stress and Self-Efficacy in Parents/Caregivers and Oral Health of Individuals with Down Syndrome During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

The family of individuals living with Down Syndrome (DS) often demonstrate high levels of stress associated with the demand for care and difficulties experienced in everyday life. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess perceived stress by parents/caregivers of individuals with DS and its association with general perceived self-efficacy and dental outcomes, considering the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on family’s daily activities and finances. A sample of 257 parents/caregivers answered a questionnaire with socioeconomic, dental, and behavioral variables and the short version of the Perceived Stress Scale and the General Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale. The sample was divided into three groups based on perceived stress levels. Associated variables were evaluated using multinomial logistic regression (level of significance 5%), adjusting for socioeconomic factors. The mean perceived stress score was 17.84 ± 5.75 (0–39). Medium stress (second tertile) was associated with finger/nail biting in individuals with DS (OR = 2.05; 95%CI 1.04–4.03; p = 0.038), difficulty in performing oral hygiene (OR = 2.39; 95%CI 1.23–4.65; p = 0.011) and medium and high self-efficacy (OR = 0.12; 95%CI 0.05–0.31; p &lt; 0.001 and OR = 0.38; 95%CI 0.15–0.98; p = 0.046, respectively); high stress (third tertile) was associated with medium and high self-efficacy (OR = 0.25; 95%CI 0.09–0.67; p = 0.006 and OR = 0.05; 95%CI 0.02–0.15; p &lt; 0.001, respectively) and negative impact of COVID-19 in family finances (OR = 3.00; 95%CI 1.39–6.44; p = 0.005). It was concluded that parents/caregivers’ perceived stress was averaged and associated with self-efficacy, finger/nail biting, oral hygiene demands, and the financial impact of COVID-19.

The impact of COVID-19 on private healthcare service utilisation: time series analysis in the capital region of Finland during 2020–2022

BackgroundMost current studies on COVID-19 have focused on the first weeks or months of the pandemic or have addressed specific diseases. The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare services are insufficiently understood. We analysed the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on outpatient healthcare utilisation in the full spectrum of diseases in Uusimaa, the capital region of Finland.MethodsOur data included 632 466 individual patients between the ages of 18 and 65 and 6 521 394 visits to healthcare personnel from electronic health records. We fitted an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model to pre-2020 data to predict the expected quantity of diagnoses for the period between 1 January 2020 and 16 June 2022. Expected and observed quantities of diagnoses were compared.ResultsThe overall quantity of diagnoses declined by one-fourth immediately following the onset of the pandemic and remained around 15% below predicted values for most of the pandemic. After the pandemic-related restrictions were lifted, the total diagnostic activity started to recover to pre-pandemic projection levels. However, this recovery has been mainly driven by upper respiratory system-related activity. The number of diagnoses for many diagnosis groups has remained below the predicted levels, even after the concurrent removal of mobility restrictions and increased coverage of vaccinations in this population.ConclusionsThe pandemic resulted in an overall reduction in outpatient healthcare utilisation which persisted for 30 months. While the overall diagnostic activity has eventually recovered to predicted levels, many classes of diagnoses display reduced levels in the study population over the follow-up period. Some diseases that may have long-lasting effects when left untreated seem to remain underdiagnosed, potentially increasing pressure on the healthcare system in the future.

Unraveling the protective genetic architecture of COVID-19 in the Brazilian Amazon

Despite all the efforts acquired in four years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the path to a full understanding of the biological mechanisms involved in this disease remains complex. This is partly due to a combination of factors, including the inherent characteristics of the infection, socio-environmental elements, and the variations observed within both the viral and the human genomes. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the correlation between genetic host factors and the severity of COVID-19. We conducted whole exome sequencing (WES) of 124 patients, categorized into severe and non-severe groups. From the whole exome sequencing (WES) association analysis, four variants (rs1770731 in CRYBG1, rs7221209 in DNAH17, rs3826295 in DGKE, and rs7913626 in CFAP46) were identified as potentially linked to a protective effect against the clinical severity of COVID-19, which may explain the less severe impact of COVID-19 on the Northern Region. Our findings underscore the importance of carrying out more genomic studies in populations living in the Amazon, one of the most diverse from the point of view of the presence of rare and specific alleles. To our knowledge, this is the first WES study of admixed individuals from the Brazilian Amazon to investigate genomic variants associated with the clinical severity of COVID-19.

Impact of Covid-19 on Early Childhood Education in Botswana

This paper examined the impact of COVID-19 on the Botswana public Early Childhood Education Programme during the pandemic in the period of 2019 - 2022. COVID-19 impacted various sectors of Botswana, the education sector included. However, the education system was not adequately prepared to cater for young learners’ education and therefore this had serious consequences on the lower levels of learning. The study adopted the qualitative approach and used the chaotic theory to guide the line of argument in the paper. Data were collected using open-ended questionnaires, structured interviews, focus group discussions and observation of outside equipment. The findings indicated a backlog of pupils entering the Early Childhood Education programme and Standard One after the Covid-19 pandemic. Standard One accepted learners of different competencies and parents refused to send their students back to school after re-opening because of fear of reinfection. The paper concludes that the Ministry of Education, like other levels of education, could have put something in place for ECE learners to keep on learning at home during the pandemic after three years of suspending teaching and learning

The Impact of COVID-19 on Cholesteatoma Diagnosis and Treatment

The Impact of COVID-19 on Cholesteatoma Diagnosis and Treatment

The impact of COVID-19 on the financial sustainability of the municipalities of the district of Braga

The financial sustainability of organizations, whether public or private, has become an increasingly relevant issue in the context of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study aims to present preliminary results on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial sustainability of municipalities and to analyze which contextual factors may determine this impact. Following a qualitative methodology, a documentary analysis was carried out of the management reports of the 14 municipalities belonging to the district of Braga, in the period between 2018 and 2021. The results show that the financial sustainability of the municipalities was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, particularly in terms of debt, which increased significantly during the pandemic, and the decrease in tax revenue. On the other hand, financial autonomy improved during the period in question, due to the transfers and capital subsidies obtained from the state to deal with the pandemic. These impacts were felt more acutely in small and medium-sized municipalities. Political competition also proved to be a variable with a significant influence on the financial sustainability of municipalities. The aim of this study is to understand the lessons learned during this period in order to apply them to possible future crises, supporting politicians and managers in managing their organizations in crisis contexts.

Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on Early Intervention Service Provision for Military Families: A Brief Report

Understanding the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted birth-to-three early intervention (EI) service provision is critical as these services play an essential role in ensuring positive long-term developmental outcomes for children with disabilities, including those who are military dependents. The present study leveraged an interrupted time series approach to compare monthly service provision rates before and after the onset of the pandemic for a subset of children served by the Army Medical Department’s Educational and Developmental Intervention Services EI program. Analysis identified 77% and 93% immediate step decreases in EI referral and enrollment rates, respectively, following the onset of the pandemic in March 2020; however, rates returned to, or exceeded, prepandemic levels by late 2020. There were limited differences by race or ethnicity. Additional research is necessary to explore the mechanisms underlying these changes and to understand the long-term impact of missed referrals and enrollments on military children.

Impacts of COVID-19 on SDGs implementation and service delivery in South Africa

Impacts of COVID-19 on SDGs implementation and service delivery in South Africa

The impact of COVID-19 on routine child immunisation in South Africa

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic disrupted immunisation programs worldwide, reversing gains that had brought vaccine-preventable diseases largely under control. This study explored the impact of COVID-19 on the uptake of routine child immunisation services in South Africa.MethodsWe conducted qualitative research using in-depth interviews with 51 purposively selected parents/caregivers of children below the age of five who missed or delayed one or more scheduled immunisation doses in 2020–2022 and with 12 healthcare providers who provided public immunisation services during the pandemic.ResultsDuring the pandemic lockdowns, most caregivers perceived the risk of their child being infected with COVID-19 during a clinic visit as more salient than the risk of missing immunisation doses. Caregivers reported minimal exposure to routine immunisation communication, as well as shortages of routine vaccines for children at public health facilities, healthcare workers experienced anxiety and burnout. There was a post-pandemic shift to more active decision-making about immunisation, which had previously been an almost automatic behaviour, leading some caregivers to delay vaccinating their children. There was also evidence of a “bad vaccine” mental model among some caregivers regarding COVID vaccinations, which could lead to doubts about the safety of routine childhood vaccinations.DiscussionThe shift from default to active decision-making highlights a risk that routine immunisation will backslide in future pandemics. Governments should build resilient health systems at all levels and communicate clearly about the benefits and availability of RIs and the safety of vaccinations in general, alongside supply-side interventions.ConclusionRoutine immunisation is widely accepted in South Africa, driven by generational norms and provider recommendations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many caregivers faced the dilemma of balancing COVID-19 exposure risk with the risk of their child developing a deadly VPD, leading to missed RI visits. This shift to active decision-making highlights a future pandemic risk. Governments should build resilient health systems and focus on understanding and engaging procrastinating and doubtful caregivers. Clear communication about RI benefits and vaccine safety is crucial, as misinformation can lead to distrust in new vaccines.

The economic impact of COVID-19 and the rise of artificial intelligence: A comprehensive analysis

The economic impact of COVID-19 and the rise of artificial intelligence: A comprehensive analysis

Evaluating AIS implementation to improve accounting information quality: the prospect in Jordanian family SMEs in the post-Covid-19 age

PurposeAs organisations rely more on systems to protect their accounting data, it is critical to investigate whether cutting-edge “Accounting Information Systems (AIS)” technologies increase “Accounting Information Quality (AIQ)” in post-Covid-19 era.Design/methodology/approachThe current study examined how Covid-19 modified the expected links between AIS implementation and AIQ factors. To make the “structural model”, a “web-based survey” was used. A “Multi-group Analysis” (MGA) with “AMOS.26” was employed to test the regulating effect. To look at their regression values, the 412 participants from “Family Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises FSMEs” in Jordan who took part in the MGA were split into two groups: those who had a high experience of Covid-19 impact (N = 143) and those who had a low experience of Covid-19 impact (N = 269). The study of 412 completed surveys shows that MGA uses a modified t-test to determine the significant difference between regression coefficients.FindingsThe results of the moderation effect confirm that Covid-19 has a substantial effect on AIS adoption and AIQ. All hypotheses about how AIS implementation affects AIQ in post-Covid-19 era were approved. The study finds that adopting AIS is critical for enterprises to maintain successful operations and efficiency.Practical implicationsThis model may assist businesses in comprehending the relationship between AIS and AIQ, how it affects it in the current technological adoption phase under extremely unpredictable economic conditions and what characteristics support its widespread usage. This research offered the theoretical underpinning for examining AIS’s ability to improve AIQ among Jordanian family firms. The results can also be applied to other Middle Eastern countries and AIQ, how it affects this relationship during this period of technological adoption under extraordinarily unpredictable economic conditions and what factors support its widespread use. Practitioners and scholars must recognise how AIS can develop organisational values and impacts as the AIS environment grows. This study recommends a holistic AIS-implementation methodology and evaluates organisational implications to address this empirical challenge.Originality/valueThis study investigates whether adopting AIS results in significantly higher AIQ in the post-Covid-19 era. To the best of the author’s knowledge, there have been a few attempts to investigate how AIS influences data quality. Still, there is little evidence of how this relationship has evolved in the aftermath of the Covid-19 tragedy. As a result, much work remains to be done, particularly in analytical decision-making culture, which is critical to the development of the growing economies of the Middle East and Jordan. To address this knowledge gap, the Covid-19 and AIQ criteria were incorporated into the model utilised in this study. This research adds to existing knowledge and may be valuable in areas with low AIS framework frequency.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Patterns of Fractures Presenting to Pediatric Emergency Departments.

To examine differences in pediatric fracture prevalence, severity, and mechanisms of injury before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a subanalysis of data from a multicenter, cross-sectional study of all injury-related visits to 40 urban pediatric emergency departments (EDs) for children younger than 18 years occurring January 2019-December 2020. ED visits for injuries including fractures were identified by International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes. Comparative analyses of patient demographics, fracture prevalence, severity, and mechanisms of injury for March 17, 2019, to December 31, 2019 (pre-COVID), versus March 15, 2020, to December 31, 2020 (during COVID), were performed. Fracture-related visits comprised 21.0% (n = 123,684) of all injury visits (n = 589,083) during the study period. There were 16,190 fewer fracture-related visits (-23.2%) in 2020 than 2019. There were differences in the proportion of fracture-related visits by age (P < 0.0001), with increases in children younger than 5 years and decreases in children 5 to 18 years old. There were higher proportions of visits in 2020 among female patients, White children, non-Hispanic children, and those with private insurance (P < 0.0001, respectively). Patients with fractures in 2020 were more severely injured, with higher proportions of hospitalizations (P < 0.0001), intensive care unit admissions (P < 0.0001), deaths (P = 0.007), and higher injury severity scores (P < 0.0001). Fracture mechanisms shifted to more motor vehicle crashes, bicycles, and firearms in 2020 (P < 0.0001). Despite a decrease in fracture-related visits to urban pediatric EDs during the early COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in the proportion of ED visits for children younger than 5 years and higher severity injuries. These findings highlight injury epidemiology pattern shifts that occurred during the pandemic. Identifying higher-risk populations for fracture may help guide targeted education and prevention efforts.

Older Adults and Gentrification: The Positive Role of Social Policy.

Supportive public policies are suggested as ways to lessen gentrification's impact for older adults. While explicit policies designed to help older adults with gentrification are rare, literature on age-friendly cities is a close proxy. We utilized three North American cases undergoing gentrification: New York City, NY, and Denver, CO, in the United States and Hamilton, in Ontario, Canada, to present existing neighbourhood-based policies as social determinants of health in housing, resource access, healthcare, transportation, and communal places. Age-friendly policy application gap examples and COVID-19's impact were included. Using a qualitative comparative case study method, we found policies were not specifically designed to address older adults' gentrification needs. With the call for age-friendly designations, the role of gentrification in neighbourhoods with older populations must be included. We call for gentrification-specific policies for older adults to provide greater safeguards especially when events such as COVID-19 compete for existing, over-stretched resources.

From plate to waste: a cross-sectional study of food waste trends in Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia

BackgroundFood waste is a global concern that needs special attention and urgent actions to reduce the amount of wasted food. This study aims to investigate the trend of food waste in Al Ahsa.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study designed to analyze the factors associated with the generation of wasted food within Al Ahsa community.ResultsThe results showed that out of 257 participants, 82.9% were of Saudi nationality, 83.3% were females, 69.6% below 34 years and the family sizes mean was around 6. The majority of study participants were unemployed (62.3%), the employed ones were in healthcare field (56.4%). No significant gender differences was found in terms of other food waste-related variables. No significant association was found with age and occupation. Non-Saudi participants significantly report a lower frequency of wasting food and a higher rate of attitudes toward food waste sorting with p = 0.02 and p = 0.02, respectively. Working participants showed significant differences in terms of attitudes toward food waste sorting (p = 0.002), attitudes toward reducing food waste (p = 0.042), and the amount of food wasted per day (p = 0.010) when compared to those who are not working. Doctorate level of education exhibited significant (p = 0.002) attitudes toward food waste sorting and those who are in the commerce field of education had higher mean scores (M = 2.81, SD = 0.84) to reduce food waste. The cause of food waste was related to expiry date (61.1%). The common cause of wasting food when eating out or ordering online, was related to participants’ preference for trying a variety of dishes (40.1%). The participants adherent to home-cooked food during pandemic (mean 3.85, SD 1.40). Males reported a slightly higher impact of COVID-19 on their dietary habits when compared to females (p = 0.04). The majority of participants agreed that sharing food with neighbors decreases food waste (Mean = 3.96, SD = 1.32). Moreover, they do not throw food due to religious and cultural beliefs (Mean = 3.36, SD = 1.60).ConclusionCreating educational campaigns, promoting sustainable waste management and integrating technology to reduce food waste are recommended to achieve Saudi vision 2030.