Second Shift Research Articles

디지털 노마드와 워케이션 생태계의 부상에 관한 실증 연구 - 태국 사례를 중심으로

This study explores the emerging lifestyles and work patterns of digital nomads and “workation” (work + vacation) enthusiasts. By analyzing search trends from Google Trends and Naver DataLab, along with related book listings from major online bookstores in South Korea, this study assesses the growing public interest in these phenomena. Field investigations of coworking spaces and surveys with foreign users in Thailand provide insights into the micro-characteristics of digital nomad ecosystems. The findings reveal a surge in public interest in digital nomadism after the COVID-19 pandemic, which signals a paradigm shift in work and life in the post-pandemic era. Case studies in Chiang Mai and Bangkok highlight the crucial role of coworking spaces in fostering digital nomad communities and enhancing work productivity. Surveys uncover heterogeneity among digital nomads, with differences in work styles and lifestyles based on age and gender. However, the sustainability of digital nomadism as an alternative lifestyle requires addressing challenges at individual, social, and institutional levels. The study‘s significance lies in its timely exploration of an emerging topic, multi-level analysis, and evidence-based insights. Although the findings may have limited generalizability mainly due to the small and contextual samples, the study offers valuable contributions to academic discourse and policy discussions. Future studies should examine the long-term impacts of digital nomad lifestyles, conduct cross-national comparisons, and investigate strategies for developing nomad-friendly policies and infrastructure.

Night shift work, poor sleep quality and unhealthy sleep behaviors are positively associated with the risk of epilepsy disease

BackgroundNight shift work and poor sleep quality are gradually becoming more prevalent in modern society. Nevertheless, there have been limited studies assessing the association between night shift work, sleep behaviors, and risk of epilepsy. The aim of our study was to ascertain whether a positive association exists between night shift work, sleep quality, sleep behaviors, and risk of epilepsy.MethodsOur study included a total of over 270,000 individuals with or without epilepsy from the UK Biobank, followed up over a period of 13.5 years. Information on current night shift work and major sleep behaviors was also obtained. We used Cox proportional hazard models to assess the association between night shift work, sleep quality, sleep behaviors, and the risk of epilepsy after adjusting for multiple variables.ResultsNight shift work was positively associated with a higher risk of epilepsy (P for trend = 0.059). There was a gradual increase in epilepsy risk from ‘never/rarely’ to ‘usual/permanent’ night shifts, with ‘usual/permanent’ night shifts work presenting the highest risk [hazard ratio (HR) 1.29, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01–1.65). Additionally, there was a significant association between sleep quality and risk of epilepsy (P < 0.001). Among the five major sleep behaviors, sleep duration (< 7 or > 8 h/day), frequent insomnia, and daytime sleepiness were significantly associated with a higher risk of epilepsy (HR 1.19, 95% CI 1.11–1.28; HR 1.19, 95% CI 1.09–1.30; HR 1.46, 95% CI 1.24–1.72, respectively). Furthermore, sleep duration exhibited a ‘U-shaped’ association with epilepsy risk. Nevertheless, no significant association was found between sleep chronotype and snoring and the risk of incident epilepsy (HR 1.04, 95% CI 0.96–1.12; HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.89–1.04).Conclusions‘Usual/permanent’ night shifts and poor sleep quality were positively associated with a greater risk of incident epilepsy. Major sleep behaviors, including unhealthy sleep duration (< 7 or > 8 h/day), frequent insomnia, and daytime sleepiness, also tended to increase the risk of epilepsy.

The Use of Information and Communication Technologies Among Generation X in Serbia: A Comparison Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

The aim of this paper is to examine the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) among Generation X in the years before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic brought significant changes in digital technology usage and accelerated shifts in work, communication, and societal functioning. Generation X, comprising individuals born between the 1960s and 1980s, grew up during a time when digital technologies and the internet were not as prevalent. Given that they now live and work in a digital era, it is crucial to understand how they adapt to the rapid changes driven by digitalization. For this research, microdata from the study "The Usage of Information and Communication Technology by Individuals/Households in the Republic of Serbia" was analyzed for the years 2019 and 2023. Results show a slight increase in internet and computer use, particularly among younger members of Generation X. Additionally, 2023 saw a noticeable rise in online shopping and the use of communication services that gained popularity during the lockdown. Regarding public administration services, respondents in 2023 primarily accessed services related to the pandemic, such as vaccine information and green certificates. However, a significant number of respondents, 49%, did not use public services in either 2019 or 2023, suggesting potential issues with trust or perceived complexity. The main contribution of this paper is a detailed analysis of this group's behavior before and after the pandemic, focusing on ICT use and responses to changes triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Online Instructional Supervision in an Advanced Higher Education

The continuity of learning in graduate and post-graduate education was ensured through online instructional supervision during the COVID-19 pandemic. This initiative aligns with the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4), emphasizing the preservation of quality education amidst unprecedented challenges. The pandemic-induced shift to online learning environments underscored the critical need for robust supervisory practices that promote equitable and inclusive education for all students in the graduate studies. Employing a phenomenological approach, this study explored the experiences of 15 internal stakeholders involved in online instructional delivery at a state-funded university. The thematic analysis yielded five key insights: the lived experiences of internal stakeholders during the pandemic, transformative shifts in work and learning dynamics, perceptions of the internal stakeholders on online supervision, strategies for effective online supervision, and the opportunities and challenges inherent in this modality. Despite inherent limitations, online instructional supervision in advanced higher education during the pandemic proved to be both complex and transformative. The study recommends ongoing investment in human capital and technological infrastructure by educational institutions to secure sustainable educational outcomes for graduate and post-graduate students in the long term.

Screening for mental disorders in health workers

Introduction: mental health is presented as an essential element in work capacity and productivity, and, similarly, psychosocial risks at work can generate detrimental effects on mental health. Objective: To determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and panic disorders among healthcare professionals at the Regional Hospital of Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico. Methods: quantitative, observational, descriptive, cross-sectional and analytical study, with stratified probabilistic sampling. Sample of 299 health workers. For data collection, the instrument for detecting anxiety, depression and panic disorders, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4+PHQ-TP), was used; and for the analysis the statistical program SPSS version 27.Results: it is shown that 59,5 % of the participants are women, 76,3 % work in the morning shift, and 51.8% are single. With 66.9% the nursing job category predominates, 76,6 % have an academic level greater than a bachelor's degree. A quarter of them work two jobs and suffer from chronic illnesses. 25,8 % have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety and/or panic, predominating in the morning shift and in the female gender. Most are assigned to emergency services. The risk of panic predominates at 39,5 % and 53,4 % correspond to nursing staff. Cases of anxiety and depression occur in 47,8 % and 55,7 % respectively in resident doctors. Conclusion: the study shows a high prevalence of mental disorders in health workers in Culiacán, Sinaloa, with significant differences depending on the shift and job category. These findings are consistent with international literature, highlighting the urgent need to implement psychological support programs and improve working conditions.

Association between Sleep Duration, Social Jetlag, and the Metabolic Syndrome by Shift Works.

Lifestyle factors, including sleep characteristics, have been implicated in the development of metabolic syndrome, particularly among shift workers. This study aimed to explore the relationship between shift work, sleep duration, social jetlag, and the risk of metabolic syndrome among U.S. workers and the moderating effect of sleep duration and social jetlag on this relationship. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 2017-2020 March were analyzed. Poisson regression models were employed to examine associations. Among 4136 U.S. workers, 53.3% had metabolic syndrome, with a higher proportion of shift workers (63.8% vs. 56.7%, p = 0.001) and those sleeping less than 6 h or more than 9 h per week (22.3% vs. 19.1%, p = 0.044) in the affected group. Shift workers were initially found to have an increased risk of metabolic syndrome (Coef. = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.16); however, this association was mitigated when accounting for the interaction with social jetlag. Specifically, 1 to <2 h of social jetlag interacted significantly, increasing metabolic risk (Coef. = 0.15, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.22), whereas 1 to <2 h alone showed a protective effect (Coef. = -0.11, 95% CI: -0.17, -0.06). These findings suggest that optimizing sleep schedules and addressing social jetlag may be crucial in mitigating metabolic syndrome risks among shift workers.

Big data analytics for quality variation over work shifts in manufacturing systems

ABSTRACT In the manufacturing industry, mass production enables manufacturers to produce parts with high precision and lower costs. Multiple shifts operate production processes to maximize efficiency. Several researches have been conducted on the impact of shift work on labor’s health and habits. However, there have been few studies on the influence of shift work on the consistency of product quality. This paper provides a methodology to analyze the impact of different work shifts in a real electronic board manufacturing industry. The study uses big data and analytics to assess product quality from data. Non-parametric kernel density estimation is used to approximate the distribution of good products in each work slot. Then several metrics are used to measure the dissimilarity between the estimated densities. The approach can be leveraged in various problems related to process performance and quality. The obtained results show that there is no significant difference in terms of product quality between work shifts. These prove the consistency of the manufacturing processes and the homogeneity of performance across work shifts in the studied factory. Compared to the literature, the paper presents the first quantitative analysis to compare production process performance and product quality over shift works.

Effect of stiffness-optimized ankle foot orthoses on joint work in adults with neuromuscular diseases is related to severity of push-off deficits

BackgroundPeople with plantar flexor weakness generate less ankle push-off work during walking, resulting in inefficient proximal joint compensations. To increase push-off work, spring-like ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) can be provided. However, whether and in which patients AFOs increase push-off work and reduce compensatory hip and knee work is unknown. MethodsIn 18 people with bilateral plantar flexor weakness, we performed a 3D gait analysis at comfortable walking speed with shoes-only and with AFOs of which the stiffness was optimized. To account for walking speed differences between conditions, we compared relative joint work of the hip, knee and ankle joint. The relationships between relative work generated with shoes-only and changes in joint work with AFO were tested with Pearson correlations. ResultsNo differences in relative ankle, knee and hip work over the gait cycle were found between shoes-only and AFO (p>0.499). Percentage of total ankle work generated during pre-swing increased with the AFO (AFO: 85.3±9.1% vs Shoes: 72.4±27.1%, p=0.026). At the hip, the AFO reduced relative work in pre-swing (AFO: 31.9±7.4% vs Shoes: 34.1±10.4%, p=0.038) and increased in loading response (AFO: 18.0±11.0% vs Shoes: 11.9±9.8%, p=0.022). Ankle work with shoes-only was inversely correlated with an increase in ankle work with AFO (r=-0.839, p<0.001) and this increase correlated with reduction in hip work with AFO (r=-0.650, p=0.004). DiscussionAlthough stiffness-optimized AFOs did not alter the work distribution across the ankle, knee and hip joint compared to shoes-only walking, relative more ankle work was generated during push-off, causing a shift in hip work from pre-swing to loading response. Furthermore, larger ankle push-off deficits when walking with shoes-only were related with an increase in ankle work with AFO and reduction in compensatory hip work, indicating that more severely affected individuals benefit more from the energy storing-and-releasing capacity of AFOs.

Isolating the Contributions from Moments of Inertia in Isotopic Shifts Measured by High-Resolution Cyclic Ion Mobility Separations.

The unexpected finding that isotopomers (i.e., isotopic isomers) can be separated with high-resolution ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (IMS-MS) has raised new structural considerations affecting an ion's mobility, namely its center of mass (CoM) and moments of inertia (MoI). Unfortunately, thus far, no studies have attempted to experimentally isolate either CoM or MoI, as they are intrinsically linked by their definitions, where MoI is calculated in relation to CoM. In this study, we designed and synthesized four isotopically labeled tetrapropylammonium (TAA3) ions, each with a unique mass distribution. Three of the synthesized TAA3 ions were labeled symmetrically, thus having identical CoM but differing MoI, which we verified using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Consequently, we were able to isolate the effect of MoI changes in high-resolution IMS-MS separations. Cyclic ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (cIMS-MS) separations of the isotopically labeled TAA3 variants revealed isotopic mobility shifts attributable solely to changes in MoI. A 60-m cIMS-MS separation demonstrated that two nominally isobaric TAA3 pseudoisotopomers could be partially resolved, showcasing potential feasibility for isotopomer separations on commercially available IMS-MS platforms. With our previously established collision cross section (CCS) calibration protocol, we also quantified the relationship between MoI and CCS. Our results represent the first demonstration of IMS-MS separations based solely on MoI differences. We believe these findings will contribute important evidence to the growing body of literature on the physical nature of isotopic shifts in IMS-MS separations and work toward more accurate CCS predictions.

Conferencing in times of climate crisis and Covid-19: feminist and queer reflections on the digital shift in academic work

ABSTRACT This article employs a holistic understanding of environmental, social, and economic sustainability to explore the interaction between neoliberalism, climate crisis, digitalization, and academic work with a focus on its everyday aspects. Drawing our experience of organizing an online conference during the Covid-19 pandemic and our dialogue with conference participants, we first problematize the presumed disembodiment of digital exchange and suggest a nuanced understanding of physicality’s role in knowledge production. We then explore the impact of the changing times and spaces of academic work on bodies and minds and the boundaries between private and public realms. Finally, we challenge the notion of digital solutionism by highlighting the implications of inhabiting digital platforms as spaces for knowledge production. While there is no simple solution to the problems around the digital shift in academic work and conferencing, we argue, downsizing can be a counteraction to platform capitalism in times of the climate crisis.

Characteristics the Living, Working Conditions, and Nutrition of Seafarers Working on Transoceanic Ships: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract Introduction: Seafaring is a particularly strenuous and hazardous profession. When sailing at sea, the ship is both a living place and a working place for the seafarers. Working conditions at sea are extremely difficult, they often have to work in harsh conditions of nature and workers have to suffer loneliness, isolation from the mainland. The aim of this research is to describe the living, working conditions, and nutrition of seafarers working on transoceanic ships. Subjects and Methods: Four hundred Vietnamese crew members working on 21 ocean freighters docked at Hai Phong and Cai Lan ports in Quang Ninh province, Vietnam in 2021. Using cross-sectional, descriptive, epidemiological methods through observation and measurement of the room area, the area of the gym, the equipment for exercise on the ship of the crew; direct interviews with all crew members about living, working and nutritional conditions on board: Recreational conditions; physical training; drink beer, wine; smoke; shiftwork; time a sea trip; micro-social environment on board; the crew’s nutrition. Results: Micro-social environment on board (100% male), 100% crew working in shifts work; the living room and the gym room are narrow; monotonous, boring life, poor cultural and spiritual activities; inadequate and lack of exercise equipment. 61.5% of crew members smoke; 48.7% of seafarers do not exercise, 32.5% exercise infrequently, 18.8% exercise regularly; 88.7% of seafarers drink alcohol, of which 22.5% of seafarer’s abuse alcohol. The crew’s nutrition is unreasonable and unbalanced, excess protein, lipid, and lack of green vegetables: Unreasonable diet (79.2%); excess energy diet (68.8%); diets high in protid (58.5%), high in lipids (54.8%), unbalanced in the ratio of animal/vegetable protid (50.2%), and lack of fiber (79.2%). Conclusion: The living and working conditions of crew members are still difficult and not guaranteed. Improper and unbalanced nutrition, excess protein, and lipid but lack of fruit and fiber.

From pixels to prognosis: unveiling radiomics models with SHAP and LIME for enhanced interpretability

Radiomics-based prediction models have shown promise in predicting Radiation Pneumonitis (RP), a common adverse outcome of chest irradiation. Τhis study looks into more than just RP: it also investigates a bigger shift in the way radiomics-based models work. By integrating multi-modal radiomic data, which includes a wide range of variables collected from medical images including cutting-edge PET/CT imaging, we have developed predictive models that capture the intricate nature of illness progression. Radiomic features were extracted using PyRadiomics, encompassing intensity, texture, and shape measures. The high-dimensional dataset formed the basis for our predictive models, primarily Gradient Boosting Machines (GBM)—XGBoost, LightGBM, and CatBoost. Performance evaluation metrics, including Multi-Modal AUC-ROC, Sensitivity, Specificity, and F1-Score, underscore the superiority of the Deep Neural Network (DNN) model. The DNN achieved a remarkable Multi-Modal AUC-ROC of 0.90, indicating superior discriminatory power. Sensitivity and specificity values of 0.85 and 0.91, respectively, highlight its effectiveness in detecting positive occurrences while accurately identifying negatives. External validation datasets, comprising retrospective patient data and a heterogeneous patient population, validate the robustness and generalizability of our models. The focus of our study is the application of sophisticated model interpretability methods, namely SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) and LIME (Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations), to improve the clarity and understanding of predictions. These methods allow clinicians to visualize the effects of features and provide localized explanations for every prediction, enhancing the comprehensibility of the model. This strengthens trust and collaboration between computational technologies and medical competence. The integration of data-driven analytics and medical domain expertise represents a significant shift in the profession, advancing us from analyzing pixel-level information to gaining valuable prognostic insights.

Predictors and disturbances of sleep quality between men and women: results from a cross-sectional study in Jordan

BackgroundSleep disturbances, a public health concern that may lead to critical physiological conditions, are associated with personal characteristics such as gender. Limited evidence is available from the Middle East population on the gender disparities in sleep quality. Therefore, the current study examined gender-specific differences in sleep quality and disturbances among Jordanian citizens.MethodA cross-sectional design was used to recruit a convenient sample of 1,092 adults from different Jordanian cities. Data was collected using a self-reported questionnaire comprising the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which was distributed online via social media networks. The participants were categorized according to their global PSQI scores into poor (PSQI ≥ 5) and good sleepers (PSQI < 5). The analysis focused on finding differences between women and men in terms of sleep quality and the effects of demographic, lifestyle, and socioeconomic factors on reported sleep problems.ResultsWomen were revealed to have a higher prevalence of all types of sleep disturbances than men. Women who were over 55 (compared to younger than 20 years), did not smoke, had multiple jobs or part-time employment (compared to unemployed women), and had a monthly income of more than 500 JD (compared to those with an income of < 500 JD) were less likely to experience poor sleep than other women. In contrast, men who neither smoked nor drank coffee, ate no sweets or only one to two pieces daily (compared to participants who ate more than two pieces daily), and worked fixed night shifts (compared to alternating shifts workers) were less likely to experience poor sleep than other men.ConclusionThis study builds a more nuanced understanding of how different demographic, lifestyle, and socioeconomic factors - such as a participant’s age, time of working duty, income, daily sweet consumption, daily caffeine consumption, and smoking - affect the sleep quality of men and women. Thus, promoting a healthier lifestyle for both genders by modifying risk factors - such as smoking cessation, as well as reducing their intake of caffeine and sweets - is the first step toward improving their sleep quality. Further studies are needed to examine how the social role of Arabic women affects their sleep.

Shift work promotes adipogenesis via cortisol-dependent downregulation of EGR3-HDAC6 pathway

The disruption of circadian rhythms caused by long-term shift work can cause metabolic diseases such as obesity. Early growth response 3 (EGR3) is a member of early growth response (EGR) family, which is involved in several cellular responses, had been reported as a circadian rhythm gene in suprachiasmatic nucleus. In this research, EGR3 was found to be widely expressed in the different tissue of human and mice, and downregulated in adipose tissue of obese subjects and high-fat diet mice. Moreover, EGR3 was found negatively regulated by cortisol. In addition, EGR3 is a key negative modulator of hADSCs and 3T3-L1 adipogenesis via regulating HDAC6, which is a downstream target gene of EGR3 and a negative regulator of adipogenesis and lipogenesis. These findings may explain how circadian rhythm disorder induced by shift works can cause obesity. Our study revealed a potential therapeutic target to alleviate metabolic disorders in shift workers and may provide better health guidance to shift workers.

The Relevance of Ferenczi in the Integrated Model of Brief Psychotherapy

This paper presents Sandor Ferenczi’s contributions to Short-Term Psychotherapy in general, specifically concretized in the Integrated ShortTerm Psychotherapy Model that has been developed at the SPPB (Portuguese Society of Brief Psichotherapy). Ferenczi’s proposal for the active participation of the therapist allows for a reformulation of the analytic framework, preventing the development of transfer neurosis and prioritizing the therapeutic relationship. The changes experienced and introduced by Ferenczi led to shifts in therapeutic work that remain relevant even today. We refer to the brevity of the therapeutic process, the focus on clients' needs, the interaction between patient and analyst, and the constant search for modifications to technique as ways to overcome therapeutic impasses and address patients' needs. The resonance of his clinical work is particularly evident in the therapeutic interventions, notably in the construction and development of the Therapeutic Alliance (TA). In summary, Ferenczi introduced a new level of therapeutic engagement within the inter-personal/inter-human sphere, relating to ethical issues and implications for the therapist’s personal requirements and training.

Effects of a simulated maritime shift schedule on vigilance, sleep, and sleepiness

ABSTRACT Shift work is associated with circadian misalignment, which causes sleep loss, impairs performance, and increases the risk of accidents. Shorter, more frequently shifting watch schedules, widely used in industries such as maritime operation, defense, and mining, may mitigate these risks by reducing shift length and providing sleep opportunities for all workers across the biological night. However, the effects of frequently shifting work on sleep and performance still need to be clarified. The current study investigated the vigilance, sleepiness, and sleep patterns of fifteen participants who lived in a controlled and confined laboratory that mimicked a maritime environment for 14 d following a simulating frequent shift schedule. The results of psychomotor vigilance tasks (PVT) suggest that this shift schedule may lead to an accumulation of vigilance detrimental across watch days, with both reaction speed impairment and error growth. Furthermore, the circadian phase significantly affects PVT performance, with the afternoon shift section showing relatively better performance. Overall, more working hours per day resulted in poorer PVT performance. As the shift progressed, total sleep duration reduced slightly, and wake after sleep onset (WASO) increased. Sleep during the biological night was generally longer than sleep in the daytime. Less on-watch time was linked to longer overall sleep duration. Additionally, although the subjective sleepiness obtained by the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) varied insignificantly across days, the KSS score was negatively correlated with PVT performance. This research can serve as a foundation for developing countermeasures to mitigate frequently shifting schedules’ potentially detrimental effects and safety risks.

Prevalence and correlates of meeting the Canadian 24-hour movement guidelines among a sample of Canadian parents during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundParents’ own movement behaviours can influence those of their children, thus contributing to the health and well-being of the whole family. Parents experienced a shift in work and childcare responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This may have led to a reduction in their healthy movements. This study examined the prevalence and correlates of meeting vs. not meeting the individual and combined recommendations within the Canadian 24-hour movement guidelines for adults among a sample of Canadian parents during the second wave (October 2020) of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsParents of children aged 5–17 years (n = 1,477) responded to a cross-sectional survey conducted in October 2020. A total of 21 self-reported correlates, including parental and child demographics, and change in family movement behaviours/characteristics were assessed. Parental movement behaviours were reported and classified as meeting or not meeting each of the guidelines. Associations between correlates and meeting each of the guidelines were examined using multiple logistic regression.ResultsThe proportion of parents who met the moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), recreational screen time, sleep duration and combined guidelines were 21.2, 51.0, 66.1, and 9.1%, respectively. Being a parent ≥ 45 years old, having a university education, and higher levels of outdoor play were associated with meeting the combined guidelines. Age, dwelling type, family hobbies, and outdoor play were associated with meeting the MVPA recommendation. Employment status, education level, dog ownership, children’s age, family physical activity, and levels of distress were associated with meeting the recreational screen time recommendation. Geographical region, dwelling type, and levels of distress were associated with meeting the sleep duration recommendation.ConclusionsFew Canadian parents were meeting the combined 24-hour movement guidelines recommendations for MVPA, recreational screen time, and sleep six months into the COVID-19 pandemic. Several socio-demographic, behavioural, and COVID-19-related factors emerged as significant correlates of meeting vs. not meeting the individual and/or combined recommendations within the guidelines. The findings provide various avenues for which to target future movement behaviour interventions and guideline adoption for parents.

Untangling the Professional Web: Understanding the Impact of Work-Related Factors on the Mental Health of Healthcare Professionals During the Late Stages of Covid-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has determined an extraordinary challenge to healthcare systems worldwide. The extraordinary circumstances, characterized by elevated stress levels, prolonged working hours, new medical procedures, media attention, and high population expectations, have created an extremely stressful situation for healthcare professionals. This period has offered a unique opportunity to examine the medical system and the responses of healthcare practitioners to stress. This research aimed to identify the work-related factors that significantly impact the mental health of healthcare professionals. Three mental health variables were assessed: anxiety, depression and stress. The work-related factors considered were professional degree, type of medical unit (COVID or non-COVID), the number of hours spent at work in a single shift, type of shifts, monthly on-call frequency, and number of COVID-19 treated patients per month. In the spring of 2022, three inventories and a demographic survey were distributed and completed online by 300 healthcare professionals from Timisoara's public hospitals in Romania. Among the respondents, 47.7% reported mild symptoms of anxiety, 65.3% reported moderate levels of stress, and 33% of the participants reported mild symptoms of depression. The intensity of anxious, depressive, and stress symptoms varied significantly depending on the professional degree, number of on-calls per month, the type of medical unit where the participants worked, and the number of SARS CoV-2 patients treated in the previous month. Current data underlines the urgency of implementing effective strategies to reduce the stress and anxiety of medical practitioners who work with COVID-19 patients. Possible interventions encompass a variety of approaches, such as improving working conditions, reducing working hours where possible, increasing access to mental health services, and promoting team-building activities to enhance social support among colleagues. Digital mental health interventions, including online counseling and stress management programs, have also shown promise in these challenging times. Sustaining the mental health of medical practitioners is vital to support the continued provision of first-rate care to patients and to build a resilient healthcare workforce capable of navigating future health crises.

Individual, social and environmental factors influencing dietary behaviour in shift workers with type 2 diabetes working in UK healthcare: A cross-sectional survey.

The present study aimed to understand the individual, social and environmental factors influencing dietary behaviour in shift workers with type 2 diabetes (T2D) working in UK healthcare settings. A cross-sectional study was conducted using data collected from an anonymous online survey. Participant agreement was measured using five-point Likert scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree) against 38 belief statements informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) of behaviour change. From the complete responses (n = 119), 65% worked shifts without nights, 27% worked mixed shift rota including nights and 8% worked only night shifts. The statements ranked with the highest agreements were in the TDF domains: Environment Context/Resources (ECR) - mainly identified as a barrier to healthy eating, Behaviour Regulation (BR) and intention (IN) - identified as enablers to healthy eating. For the belief statement 'the available options for purchasing food are too expensive' (ECR), 80% of night workers and 75% non-night workers agreed/strongly agreed. Taking their own food to work to prevent making unhealthy food choices (BR) had agreement/strong agreement in 73% of non-night and 70% night workers; 74% non-night workers and 80% of night workers agreed/strongly agreed with the statement 'I would like to eat healthily at work' (IN). Mixed shift workers agreed that following dietary advice was easier when working a non-night compared to a night shift (p = 0.002). Access and affordability of food were identified as important determinants of dietary behaviour during shifts. The findings support interventions targeting the food environment for shift workers with T2D.

Tweeting with colleagues: A study of an institutional hashtag

Higher education work is often conducted in silos without the in-person interactions that characterize other educational settings. This is increasingly evident since the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant shift in online communication and remote work. Educators might grow from understanding the types and quality of interactions that social media could facilitate. We investigate a dataset of 557 tweets from 51 participants over 2-years of an institutional hashtag in a College of Education. We analyze who tweets, the frequency of interactions, and supportive reasoning from seven participant interviews. Shaped by networked participatory scholarship utilizing a mixed-method research design, we discern tweeting differences based on role and found the most common reason to tweet is for affective reasons. Faculty and the college Twitter account encompass 66% of Tweets, with the least likes from the college, department, and university. Tweets receiving the most likes were generally positive and focused on faculty and student accomplishments. Individual interviews indicate the institutional hashtag led to a sense of connectedness, with regret toward not using the hashtag more frequently. We describe why participants tweeted, and offer benefits, drawbacks, possibilities, and suggestions for the use of an institutional hashtag to connect a networked institutional community.