ABSTRACT
Pre-COVID-19 pandemic years have seen an increase in experience-related services such as travel, events, or creative pursuits. Spending on such services increased four times faster than those on goods, signaling shifts in consumer behavior (Goldman et al., 2017). Due to COVID-19, nations restricted mass gatherings, limiting group activities. Large group musical performance activities, such as choral singing, were severely affected by public health restrictions. Meanwhile, leisure activities were found to be essential for participants' well-being (Jacob et al., 2009). As restrictions lift, the question remains: will large group activities regain their place amongst leisure activities in the post-pandemic world? We examine the motivations and perceived benefits of choir membership to evaluate the practices and strategies for chorister recruitment and retention in the pre- and post-pandemic environment within the context of a Northern Ontario-based university-community choir-Near North Voices (NNV) (North Bay, ON). Data was collected via online survey through NNV's email list and member-only Facebook page. The study is comprised of two stages. In Stage 1 (Fall 2015), we examined choristers' perceived benefits, motivation, and involvement in the choir. The results, derived from the final sample of 55 participants (RR: 44.7%), revealed a range of personal and community benefits that affected participants' decisions to join the choir. Positive emotions, physical health, sense of belonging, personal challenge, and self-accomplishment were the strongest perceived benefits. The choristers were strongly motivated by love for singing, music, and/or performance, as well as personal connections, need for belonging, and personal challenge. In Stage 2 (Spring 2022), we examined the impact of the COVID-19 imposed suspension on choristers' perceptions of benefits of choral participation, on their well-being, and the anticipated challenges of recruitment and retention for the post-COVID resumption of choral activities. The results, based on the final sample of 34 respondents (RR: 41.9%), indicate that almost half the sample (47.1%) undertook new leisure activities (e.g., TV streaming, virtual church and community choirs, yoga, skiing, cooking/baking). The suspension of choral activities had a major/severe impact on 39.3% and moderate impact on 36.3% of the participants. ‘Feeling of loss', absence of social contact, and ‘missing singing with others' were among the most frequently mentioned impacts of the suspension, which also helped the participants appreciate ‘how much they were benefitting' from choir participation. When asked about their well-being two weeks prior to the survey, 30.3% fell into the lower end of the WHO-5 Well-Being Index (Topp et al., 2015), while 27.3% reported the best imaginable well-being. The majority (72.7%) indicated that they would rejoin NNV rehearsals once restrictions are lifted. Fear of infection, availability of safe and appropriate venues to ensure distancing and air circulation were among frequently cited concerns for recruitment and retention in the post-pandemic environment. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
There is no proven preventative therapy or vaccine against COVID-19. Theinfection has spread rapidly and there has already been a substantial adverse impact on the global economy. Healthcare workers have been affected disproportionately in the continuing pandemic. Significant infection rates in this critical group have resulted in a breakdown of health services in some countries. Chloroquine, and the closely related hydroxychloroquine, are safe and well tolerated medications which can be given for years without adverse effects. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have significant antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2, and despite the lack of benefit of hydroxychloroquine treatment in patients hospitalised with severe COVID-19, these drugs could still work in prevention. The emerging infection paradigm of an early viral peak, and late inflammation where there is benefit from corticosteroids. If these direct actiing antivirals are to work, they have the best chance given either early in infection infection occurs. We describe the study protocol for multi-centre, multi-country randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial to answer the question can chloroquine/ hydroxychloroquine prevent COVID-19. 40,000 participants working in healthcare facilities or involved in the management of COVID-19 will be randomised 1:1 to receive chloroquine/ hydroxychloroquine or matched placebo as daily prophylaxis for three months. The primary objective is the prevention of symptomatic, virological or serologically proven coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The study could detect a 23% reduction from an incidence of 3% in the placebo group for either drug with 80% power. Secondary objectives are to determine ifchloroquine/hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis attenuates severity, prevents asymptomaticCOVID-19 and symptomatic acute respiratory infections of another aetiology (non-SARS-CoV-2). © 2020. Schilling WH et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
ABSTRACT
Cyberbiosecurity, the aspect of biosecurity involving the digital representation of biological data, had already been emerging as a matter of public concern even prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Key issues of concern include, among others, the privacy of patient data, the security of public health databases, the integrity of diagnostic test data, the integrity of public biological databases, the security implications of automated laboratory systems and the security of proprietary biological engineering advances. © 2021, The Author(s).
ABSTRACT
Background/Purpose: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread worldwide, children may account foronly 2.16% of conrmed cases. Previous studies may underestimate the true incidence of COVID-19 in childrenas they are more likely to be asymptomatic, and thereby less likely to be tested. We aimed to determine theincidence of COVID-19 in pediatric patients presenting for surgery. Methods: After universal preoperativescreening for COVID-19 was instituted at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Seattle Children's, and TexasChildren's Hospital, children <19 years age without known COVID-19 were tested using a reverse-transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Patient characteristics wereevaluated to determine factors associated with positive testing. Results: 1,295 pediatric surgical patients werescreened (mean age 7.35 years). The overall incidence of COVID-19 was 0.93% (12/1,295), but ranged from0.22% to 2.65% across hospitals (p=0.001). At one institution, 5/9 positive patients presented from a singletownship with a positive risk rate of 55.6% vs. 1.51% in all other patients (p=0.001). 50% of COVID-19 patients presented with preoperative symptoms vs.12.24% in negative patients (p=0.002) (Table 1). Fever (25.0% vs. 6.7%, p=0.044), rhinorrhea (16.7% vs. 2.8%, p=0.005), and known COVID-19 exposure (20.0% vs. 1.7%, p=0.014) were more common in COVID-19 patients. After multivariate regression, age (OR 1.10, p=0.048) and ASA emergent classication (OR 5.66, p=0.001) were associated with COVID-19. Conclusion: The overall incidence of COVID-19 in children undergoing preoperative universal screening was <1%. However, this varied greatly between the regions represented by our hospitals, and even by township within the catchment area of a single hospital. The value of universal COVID-19 screening appears greatest in areas with higher prevalence. As elective surgery resumes, it will be important to consider universal testing in the context of regional prevalence, local testing capability, and availability of personal protective equipment.
ABSTRACT
Objective: The effect of the economic crises on the demand for fertility services remains to be understood. This is particularly relevant nowadays as fertility centers prepare for the economic impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Using the 2008 financial crisis and resulting economic downturn as a proxy, this study describes and quantifies the impact of recessions on the demand for fertility services in the US. Design: Retrospective study. Materials and Methods: We used the SART dataset (2007-2011) to evaluate demand for fertility services in the period surrounding the 2008 economic crisis. Number of cycles per thousand women (cycles/1k) was standardized using the US Census data on the number of females of reproductive age (20-44 years). States with at least 500 cycles/year were included in the study. The historical unemployment rate was obtained from the US Bureau of Labor and its projection for 2020 from the Congressional Budget Office. Statistical associations were assessed using generalized least squares and significance set at P<.05. Results: There were 1,119,806 cycles performed in these states during the study period. While the number of cycles increased throughout the period an average of 2.3% per year, the growth significantly decreased during the economic downturn from 4.8% in 2007 to 0.2% in 2009 (Table). The number of cycles in 2009 decreased in more than half of the states, with a median change of -0.4% (Table). The change in the number of cycles/1k was significantly associated with the change in state unemployment rate. On average, an 1% increase in unemployment was associated with a decrease of 0.94% in the number of cycles, accounting for expected growth. A conservative estimate indicates that about 10,000 cycles were forgone in 2008-2010. Under the same assumptions and a projection of 5% additional unemployment in 2020, around 15,000 ART cycles are estimated to be forgone this year. Conclusions: We used the recession of 2008 as a framework to estimate the potential impact of the current economic crisis in the demand for fertility services. Our results suggest that while fertility care is not as affected as other industries, changes in unemployment rate are associated with decreases in demand for fertility treatments. Further research is needed to evaluate the additional impact of the unique situation programs and patients are facing in the current COVID-19 pandemic, including temporary halt of fertility services, reduced mobility, and variation in state policies. [Formula presented]