Longer-term Assistance Research Articles

Recovery of activities of daily living in COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care unit or medical care unit: an observational study on the role of rehabilitation in the subacute phase.

This study aims to describe the functional status of a cohort of subacute COVID-19 patients treated in a dedicated rehabilitation unit and to compare functional outcomes between patients previously hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU group) and patients assisted in the medical care unit (MCU group). Clinical and functional evaluations were performed at admission and discharge. The functional status was assessed using Barthel index (BI), functional ambulation categories (FAC), trunk control test (TCT), and dysphagia outcome and severity score (DOSS). All patients received multidisciplinary tailored rehabilitation. We evaluated 171 patients (with a mean age of 67.7 ± 11.9 years, 117 were males), 110 coming from the ICU (with a mean age of 63.24 ± 10.9 years), and 61 coming from the MCU (with a mean age of 75.75 ± 9.09 years). The ICU group showed a worse functional status at admission compared with the MCU group [BI 2.5 (0-20) vs. 20 (10-60), FAC 0 (0-0) vs. 0 (0-2), TCT 61 (42-100) vs. 100 (61-100), DOSS 5 (1-7) vs. 7 (7-7)] and had significantly longer hospital stay. At discharge, all functional scales were improved with no statistically significant differences between the two groups. Early rehabilitation of COVID-19 survivors improves functional recovery closing the initial gap between the ICU and MCU groups. In addition, it is effective to improve the functional outcome reducing the costs for longer-term assistance of COVID-19 patients.

Gendered impacts of the war in Ukraine: identifying potential, presumed or actual women victims of trafficking at the Italian borders

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) data, approximately 8 million people, mostly women and children, entered and registered in Europe since the beginning of the war on the 24th of February, 2022. It is well-known that human trafficking tends to increase during conflicts and humanitarian crises due to the spread of impunity, destruction of institutions, and breakdown of law. The EU and many international organizations have warned those fleeing Ukraine about the high risk of trafficking and adopted policies to prevent and detect trafficking. The EU anti-trafficking coordinator along with other EU agencies have developed the Common Anti-Trafficking Plan to specifically address this risk and support the potential victims fleeing the war in Ukraine meeting one of the goals set in the 10 Point Action Plan issued by the European Council in March to better coordinate EU actions for people leaving Ukraine. Among other goals, the 10 Point Action Plan aims to improve early identification of the victims of human trafficking as provided by the 2021–2025 Strategy on Combatting Trafficking and the 2011 Anti-trafficking Directive. This paper investigates the actions which the Italian government has put in place to detect and prevent the trafficking of women among the Ukrainians fleeing the war from the beginning of the conflict until September 2022, with a focus on the identification process. More specifically we explored the perceptions of front-line workers and street-level bureaucrats at the Slovenian and Austrian borders, where Ukrainians cross to enter Italy. Through interviews we collected data to shed light on the identification procedures adopted. The need to learn more about the current war in Ukraine corroborates this study. The proposed qualitative analysis has identified three main findings: (1) conflicts create increased opportunities for trafficking that in the case of Ukraine are greater due to the scale of those fleeing; (2) temporary Italian residence permit reveals some criticalities that could lead to greater vulnerability; (3) gaps in the identification process can increase the risks of trafficking, especially in the absence of longer-term assistance programs.

Life after Trafficking in Azerbaijan: Reintegration experiences of survivors

Assisting survivors of trafficking is considered one of the pillars of a human rights-based response Shelter, medical, psychological and legal assistance in the short term and job placement, accommodation and reunification with family and community in the long term are critical steps for helping them recover and feel in control of their lives and futures. This paper examines survivors’ experiences of trafficking and recovery in the Azerbaijani context, using questionnaire responses from 22 women who were trafficked for sexual exploitation between 2006 and 2009 and who were assisted upon their return. It finds that while Azerbaijan has been quite successful at short-term assistance, there are still significant gaps in longer-term assistance, especially with regard to job placement and family reunification. Survivors point to these gaps as significant impediments to full reintegration into society. Looking at their experiences can provide insights into improvements in assistance programmes that can be implemented in both Azerbaijan and elsewhere.

Interrelationships among length of stay in a domestic violence shelter, help received, and outcomes achieved.

Survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) have a variety of reasons for turning to domestic violence shelter programs. Some are seeking temporary respite and immediate safety while others are seeking longer term assistance to heal from their trauma and begin new lives. In line with these differing needs, some survivors only stay in shelter for a few days, while others may need to stay for months or even years. The current study involved secondary data analysis of an 8-state study that collected information from survivors shortly after they arrived in shelter and shortly before exit. The relationships between length of shelter stay and survivors' needs, help received, and outcomes achieved were examined. As hypothesized, length of stay was related to the number of needs reported by survivors at shelter entry, as well as the type of needs identified. Length of stay did not relate to outcomes achieved nor overall satisfaction with help received, supporting the argument that many shelter staff work from an empowering, survivor-driven philosophy to meet the myriad needs of shelter residents, and that the help they provide leads to positive outcomes. These findings substantiate the assertion that domestic violence shelters are critical resources that address far more than immediate safety needs of IPV survivors. (PsycINFO Database Record

The Role of Foreign Aid in the War on Terrorism: Examples From Pakistan

The United States and its partners in the war on terrorism have respond ed to the terrorist attacks with a three-pronged strategy short run military, medium term aid to vulnerable countries and groups, and longer term assistance programs that directly focus on !he sources of terrorist motivation. Using Pakistan as a case study, it appears that the best way to imple· ment the medium and longer term phases are assistance for education reform in the medium term, with the focus on institutional reform, and governance strengthening in the longer term. In most cases, grants are superior to aid in assuring effective and efficient implementation of the country's assistance related programs.