ABSTRACT
Introduction. The rapid shift to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges for physical therapy (PT) education worldwide. This article aims to explore the factors influencing the well-being of the PT faculty and department chairs involved in delivering PT programs during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Review of Literature. The literature has focused on the pedagogical impacts of the rapid shift to online learning. Little is known about the social and psychological impacts of this rapid transition on the well-being of the faculty involved in implementing PT programs. Subjects. Physical therapy faculty and department chairs at 3 universities in metropolitan Sydney, Australia who taught into or led PT programs in 2020. Methods. Focus group methodology was used to explore the experiences of PT faculty and department chairs during the initial stages of the COVID pandemic. The focus groups were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim and the transcripts analyzed thematically. Results: The main finding of this study was the extent of stress experienced by PT program faculty and chairs during this period. Both work-related institutional and faculty factors and non-work-related personal factors contributed to perceived high levels of stress. Overall, there was a feeling that the stressors had not improved over the duration of the pandemic and that this had left the faculty and chairs feeling more fatigued, less collegiate, and may have ongoing impacts on their mental health. Discussion: The pandemic created stresses for faculty and program chairs over and above the usual stress of faculty and college work. The reality of taking steps to reduce the stressors in the current climate is very difficult. Conclusion. Moving forward, it is vital to secure increased institutional support, including the support for creating realistic boundaries without the risk of penalty, to address the psychological health and well-being of PT faculty and chairs to enable high-quality education in the future. Copyright © 2023 Academy of Physical Therapy Education, APTA.
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We contribute to the corporate capital structure and bank specialness literatures by studying the effects of bank debt on corporate value. We apply novel methodology to almost 60,000 firms in 110 countries over 17 years – over 300,000 total observations. We find that bank term loans and credit lines are strongly positively associated with firm value, but only when employed very intensively – at 90% or more of total corporate debt. These effects are consistent with bank specialness at high-intensity levels. These findings support previously untested theoretical predictions that bank specialness would be stronger or exist only at high bank debt intensities. Our results hold broadly, but are stronger for credit-constrained firms – small firms and those in low-income countries. Channel analysis suggests that term loans boost short-term firm performance more, while credit lines better promote long-run growth. The findings suggest future research topics and have policy implications, particularly during the COVID-19 crisis.
ABSTRACT
Despite the devastating worldwide human and economic tolls of the COVID-19 crisis, it has created some positive economic and financial surprises and opportunities for research. We highlight two such favorable surprises – the shortest U.S. recession on record and the avoidance of any banking crisis – and a number of research opportunities. We tie the “economic surprise” of the short recession to the speed and size of U.S. stimulus programs during COVID-19 – faster and larger than for the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). We connect the “financial surprise” of the resilient banking sector to prudential policies put in place during and after the GFC that fortified U.S. banks prior to COVID-19. These twin “surprises” are also mutually reinforcing – if either the economy or banking system had failed, so would the other. We also review extant COVID-19 banking research and suggest paths for future research. We recommend particular attention be paid to research outside of the U.S. – where fewer favorable “surprises” may be present – to best advance the knowledge.
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Background: The epidemiology of psychiatric symptoms among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 is poorly characterized. Objective: This article sought to identify the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and acute stress disorder among hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019. Methods: Adult patients recently admitted to nonintensive care unit medical ward settings with coronavirus disease 2019 were eligible for enrollment. Enrolled patients were screened for depression, anxiety, and delirium. Subsequently, patients were followed up by phone after 2 weeks and rescreened for depression, anxiety, and acute stress disorder symptoms. Subjects' medical records were abstracted for clinical data. Results: A total of 58 subjects were enrolled;of whom, 44 completed the study. Initially, 36% of subjects had elevated anxiety symptoms and 29% had elevated depression symptoms. At 2-week follow-up, 9% had elevated anxiety symptoms, 20% had elevated depression symptoms, and 25% had mild-to-moderate acute stress disorder symptoms. Discharge to home was not associated with improvement in psychiatric symptoms. Conclusions: A significant number of patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety. While anxiety improved after index admission, depression remained fairly stable. Furthermore, a significant minority of patients experienced acute stress disorder symptoms, though these were largely mild to moderate.
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Introduction: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, large geographic differences in mortality rates have emerged, with higher rates in predominantly Black and Latinx neighborhoods. In this analysis we examined community-level differences across the city of Chicago to better understand how geographic differences are associated with COVID19 mortality. Hypothesis: We hypothesized there would be an association between higher community-level social vulnerability and COVID19 mortality rates. Methods: We examined publicly available data from the Cook County Medical Examiner data (Illinois) of all known COVID-19 deaths as of August 21, 2020. Decedent addresses (N = 2397) were restricted to the city of Chicago, geocoded, and classified according to the 77 recognized community areas in the city. Poisson regression models were used to determine significant community-level predictors of COVID19 mortality based on community-level demographic, social, health, and healthcare characteristics collected from the Chicago Health Atlas. Results: There was at least one COVID19-related death in each Chicago community area, with a crude mortality rate ranging from 0.571-24.5 deaths per 10,000 persons. In the fully adjusted model with 14 community-level predictors, higher community-level population density, percentage of males, living in crowded housing, and limited food access were associated with higher rates of COVID19 mortality. Higher community-level proportion of the population aged 65+ years and havinga primary care provider were associated with lower COVID19 mortality. Differences by Black and Latinx race/ethnicity community-level demographics were not significant in the final model. Conclusions: Community-level factors of greater social vulnerability (crowded living conditions,limited food access) are strong predictors of community-level COVID19 mortality. These factors maylimit effective social distancing and increase the necessity to enter public areas, raising community-level COVID19 mortality.
ABSTRACT
Rationale The pulmonary vasculature is critical for gas exchange, impacts both pulmonary and cardiac function, and has renewed importance due to COVID-19. Pulmonary blood volume is, however, technically difficult to assess, generally requiring invasive methodology for quantification. Prior studies are limited in size and participant enrollment was selective;therefore, variation in the general population is largely unknown. We performed contrast-enhanced dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) in a multicenter, community-based cohort to describe variation in pulmonary perfused blood volume (PBV) in the community. MethodsThe Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) recruited adults from six sites. The MESA Lung Study invited all MESA participants attending Exam 6 (2017-18), excluding those with kidney disease and contrast allergy, to undergo DECT at functional residual capacity via Siemens Flash or Force scanner: CareDose on, pitch 0.55, 0.25 sec exposure, 0.5mm slice thickness, iterative reconstruction (Admire) with Qr40 Kernel. Half concentration 370mg/ml Iopamidol was delivered at 4ml/s for the full scan, starting 17 seconds prior to scanning, including a ∼4 sec breath hold. PBV was calculated by material decomposition and normalized with iodine concentration in the pulmonary trunk. Generalized linear regression models included age, sex, race/ethnicity, height, weight, smoking status, site, and education.ResultsDECT scans were acquired for 714 participants, 36 of which were excluded due to image quality. Mean age of the remaining 678 participants was 71 years (range 63 - 79), 55% were male, 51% were ever smokers, and the race/ethnic distribution was 41% White, 29% Black, 17% Hispanic, and 13% Asian. Mean PBV was 468 + 151mL. The strongest demographic correlate was lower PBV with greater age (-30 mL per 10 years, 95% CI: -43, -18, p<0.001). Pulmonary PBV was positively associated with height, weight, and male sex (all P<0.001). PBV was lower in former compared to never smokers (p =0.04) and in Black than White participants (p=0.002), but not in Hispanic or Asian participants. There were no consistent differences across education or study site. Results were similar after adjustment for lung function and percent emphysema on CT.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first assessment of pulmonary PBV in a large, multiethnic, general community sample. Pulmonary PBV assessed by contrast-enhanced DECT was substantially reduced with advancing age and varied with body size, sex, former smoking, and, to a lesser extent, Black race. Understanding variation in pulmonary PBV in the general population may elucidate risk of cardiopulmonary disease and physical function.