THE IMPACT of the COVID-19 PANDEMIC on HEALTH and LIFESTYLE in INDIVIDUALS with KNEE PAIN, A HALLOA STUDY

Background: Covid-19 has affected everyday life, health and lifestyle among the general population and vulnerable groups. Individuals with knee pain are recommended an active lifestyle to reveal pain but fnd it difficult to maintain health and lifestyle compared to the general population due to the cause of chronic pain, impaired physical function and a diminishes quality of life. This adds to the importance of exploring how to preserve health and lifestyle among individuals with knee pain during the pandemic. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the health and lifestyle in individuals with knee pain. Methods: Nineteen participants with current knee pain, and with no earlier diagnosed radiographic osteoarthritis, and no rheumatologic disorder or cruciate ligament injury, were recruited from The Halland Osteoarthritis (HALLOA) Cohort Study, twelve female and seven males, between 41-62 (median 51) years of age. Data were collected through individual interviews with open-ended questions: 'What impact have you experienced with your health and lifestyle during covid-19?', and 'What activities or strategies have you changed to maintain your health and lifestyle during covid-19? '. Qualitative content analysis was used, where two categories and five sub-categories emerged (Table 1). Results: The result from this study explored how behaviour and attitude towards valuing life have been adjusted to maintain health and lifestyle among individuals with knee pain during covid-19. The category adjusted behaviours emerged with the sub-categories: spending more time at home, becoming digitally, and spending more time outdoors. These sub-categories determine how a more reclusive behaviour have appeared due to the pandemic, where digital platforms and outdoor activities have facilitated companionship and togetherness when feelings of loneliness and isolation were present. The category valuing life emerged with the sub-categories: having a positive outlook of life and sharing responsibility. These sub-categories establish the importance of trying to be grateful for maintaining health and lifestyle and trying to be solution-oriented to fnd the best possible outcomes to continue with everyday life, despite the pandemic. While having a responsibility towards others arose as a facility to manage to keep social distance during the pandemic. Conclusion: In conclusion, the behaviour was adjusted to continue with everyday life and maintain health and lifestyle among individuals with knee pain during covid-19. Valuing life was also considered important to maintain health and lifestyle as well as supporting others maintain their health and lifestyle. The result may in the future contribute to alternative ways of maintaining health and lifestyle in different vulnerable groups and may be used in situations other than the pandemic.

An interrupted time series analysis of gambling behavior based on gambling operator revenue-based taxation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden.

OBJECTIVES: The impact of COVID-19 on gambling behavior and the gambling industry itself has been widely speculated. Prior studies have shown how boredom, social isolation, poor mental health, and financial hardships, all of which have been associated with COVID-19, can aggravate problem gambling behaviors in patients with gambling disorders while also luring newcomers. Few studies have used methods other than self-report to assess longitudinal behavioral changes in gambling behavior before versus during the pandemic. STUDY DESIGN: The present study addresses this gap by using an interrupted time series approach on data obtained from the Swedish Gambling Authority measuring taxation on gambling vendors' revenue between January 2019 and November 2021. METHODS: March, June, and October 2020 were chosen as interruption points as they correspond to the pandemic's commencement, the return of elite sports, and the second wave of cases in Sweden, respectively. We hypothesized that the pandemic would be associated with both temporary changes for select gambling types and long-term increases in online gambling. RESULTS: Results revealed the pandemic's onset was associated with transient effects at each point of interruption, as well as long-term upward trends in total gambling and commercial online gambling, excluding horse betting and the state-owned operator for online casinos and betting. CONCLUSIONS: The present study's findings, although consistent with the theory that gambling activity could increase during the pandemic, contradict previous studies that found no changes or a decrease from pre-COVID-19 levels. Findings indicate that the pandemic and Sweden's reaction to it were associated with increased use of some gambling products.

'So many "virologists" in this thread!' Impoliteness in Facebook discussions of the management of the pandemic of Covid-19 in Sweden - the tension between conformity and distinction

This paper embarks on a functional analysis of impolite language use in discussions about the response to the pandemic of Covid-19 on the official Facebook page of the Swedish national public television broadcaster in the spring of 2020. Having combined the existing models of impoliteness (Culpeper 2016) with the Appraisal theory (Martin and White 2005) in a both quantitative and qualitative investigation, the study finds remarkable differences between supporters and opponents of the Swedish tactic in terms of enactment of value orientations categorized as different attitudes within the Appraisal framework. More specifically, opponents tend to voice more subjective and affectual sentiments, whereas supporters generally derive their attitude from the Swedish institutional norms and cultural standards, resulting in more judgement. As the study concludes, these findings are related to the inherent dichotomy of the Swedish welfare state paradigm, which integrates the concepts of both state and individual citizen liability.