ABSTRACT
Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media (SM) use saw a sharp raise, especially for obtaining information regarding COVID-19 during the lockdown. SM platforms also led to misinformation about the disease which caused negative psychological effects on individuals. Bank employees (BE) are special workgroups who experience various levels of mental stress at their workplace due to workload. During lockdown and till date many of the BE work from home which enabled them to use SM accordingly. Objective: The study was conducted to assess the stress levels and anxiety levels due to usage of SM in young BE during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, an online Google form questionnaire was distributed to the participants using convenient and snowball sampling method. The final sample consisted of 126 Goan young BE. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive analysis. Results: The results of the study revealed that SM use had significant impact on the BE, with a potential negative effect on developing stress and anxiety. 10.3% (13) of the participants experienced low stress and 89.7% (113) experienced moderate stress. 51.6% (65) of the participants had mild anxiety, 10.3% (13) had moderate anxiety, and 38.1% (48) had severe anxiety. Conclusion: The present study concludes that increased SM use among the BE was associated with negative psychological outcomes. Anxiety and stress were associated with the time spent on using SM sites.
ABSTRACT
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is still the most common infectious disease globally, affecting 1.5 million people per year. Prior to COVID-19 outbreak, India was struggling with a rampant attack of Tuberculosis. With the surge of COVID-19 implementation of all national health programs including NTEP was disrupted. Prioritization of services, the challenges to reaching all types of communities and the role of stigmatization, and the possibility of increased disease transmission were few problems in the implementation of DOTS during the lockdown. Aim(s): To assess effect of pandemic on DOTS treatment during COVID-19 lockdown. Method(s): A cross-sectional study was conducted among 254 tuberculosis patients who were under DOTS during Covid-19 lockdown in Belagavi district. Participants who were on DOTS during 2019-2021 period. Result(s): Of 254 participants, only 5 (2.0%) were supervised while taking drugs, 67 (26.4%) of subject's empty blister packs were taken back by health personnel and 106 (41.7%) participants were regularly followed up for treatment by health department. The variables like gender, literacy status, socioeconomic status, and occupation were all significantly associated with hampered access to DOTS during the lockdown period at p < 0.05. Conclusion(s): This study concluded that the participants had hampered accessibilities to DOTS during lockdown. Copyright © 2022 Tuberculosis Association of India