Neuroeconomics of decision-making during COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic reveals the decision-making challenges faced by communities, governments, and international organizations, globally. Policymakers are much concerned about protecting the population from the deadly virus while lacking reliable information on the virus and its spread mechanisms and the effectiveness of possible measures and their (direct and indirect) health and socioeconomic costs. This review aims to highlight the various balanced policy decision that would combine the best obtainable scientific evidence characteristically provided by expert opinions and modeling studies. This article's main goal is to summarize the main significant progress in the understanding of neuroeconomics of decision-making and discuss the anatomy of decision making in the light of COVID-19 pandemic.

Prevalence of COVID-19-related anxiety among healthcare workers: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 was labeled as a pandemic in March 2020. Healthcare workers (HCW) are confronting great mental stressors in coping with the crisis. In Saudi Arabia, research on the psychological effect of COVID-19 on HCW is lacking. AIM: To evaluate COVID-19 psychological impact on HCW and determine anxiety predictors to identify high-risk individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on HCW in First Health Cluster Institutes in Eastern Province. An English self-administered questionnaire was adopted from similar research done in China. The original questionnaires were modified to meet the objectives of our study and suit Saudi sociodemographic differences. Generalized anxiety disorder-7 scale was incorporated to be the main tool for assessing the psychological impact. RESULTS: One-third of HCW were classified as having anxiety disorder. In univariate analyses, the age group in years (P = 0.026), gender (P = 0.001), nationality (P = 0.033), and living with family (P = 0.007) significantly influenced anxiety disorder. However, in the multivariate regression model, gender (P = 0.004), living with family (P = 0.021), family history of COVID-19 (P = 0.022), and been suspected or confirmed with COVID-19 infection (P = 0.018) remained statistically significant when compared to anxiety disorder. CONCLUSION: During early COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety disorder among HCW was noticeable. Being a female, living with family members, and having a family history of COVID-19 increased the risk for anxiety disorder.