Effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on elite volleyball athletes

Objective: To investigate how elite female and male volleyball players spent their time during lockdown in terms of keeping up their physical training and maintaining wellbeing as well as their beliefs, attitudes and expectation/perceptions about the upcoming season. Materials and Methods: 331 elite volleyball players took part in the study. A survey, consisted of single and multiple-choice questions was applied. The Chi-square test was used to compare groups' frequency data. Following Chi-square test, Bonferroni correction was made and the statistical significance level was accepted as p<0.01. The significance level was set as p<0.05 for the rest of statistical analyses. Results: 147 (44.4%) male and 184 (55.6%) female players participated in the study. The mean age was 24.8±5.0 (15-37). Female athletes (97.3%) stated that they did more physical activity than male athletes (83.7%) (p<0.001), 40.8% of male athletes thought that they could not maintain their physical condition (p: 0.043). Female players participated exercise programs designed by their conditioners more than male counterparts (p<0.001). Sleep quality which was rated as "good” decreased from 89.8% to 44.2% for male athletes, while it has been decreased from 94.6% to 37.5% for females (p<0.001 for both genders). Conclusion: Majority of athletes had motivation to be physically active during the 9-week lockdown period. Athletes showed that they could overcome training barriers by adapting their exercises and training routines. Female volleyball players were more cautious in terms of being active and avoiding risk of infection.

The Psychological Effects of the COVID-19 on Students Who Choose the Medical Profession With Different Motivational Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated mental and psychological health problems worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine whether the psychological effects of COVID-19 were different in medical students who chose the medical profession with different motivational factors. In the study, there were 389 medical school students. The survey asks about sociodemographic features and the students' reasons for choosing the medical profession. The study also included a self-assessed Hospital Anxiety-Depression Scale and Beck Hopelessness Scale. While 41% of students chose the medical profession for economic reasons, the ratio of whom have an extrinsic and intrinsic source of motivation was 37% and 22%, respectively. It was found that there was a statistically significant difference in the distribution of motivational factors by gender. Almost 50% of males were affected by economic motivation factors. The difference in motivational factors between genders was found to be statistically significant. Anxiety in females, depression in students with low-income families, and hopelessness in students older than 22 years and interns were higher than in the others (P < .05). Median scores for anxiety, depression, and hopelessness were higher for students with extrinsic motivational sources. However, only the difference in scores of anxiety and hopelessness was found statistically significant (P < .05). We found that the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic varied according to both sociodemographic characteristics of the medical students and reasons for choosing medical profession. According to our results, the idealistic students interested in the medical profession, who want to support others and prioritize economic benefits, had fewer psychological issues than those who chose the medical profession due to family pressure or external factors.

Evaluation of parents' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding self-medication for their children's dental problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Self-medication refers to taking medicine without consultation with a doctor or dentist, and it is an important health issue, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are no data about parents' SM practices for their children's dental problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims to evaluate parents' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding self-medication for their children's dental problems during the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Turkey. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in the pediatric dental clinic at Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, immediately after the COVID-19 lockdown ended. A total of 389 parents who agreed to participate in the study completed the questionnaire from July 1 to October 1. A questionnaire with 18 items was designed to collect information on the parents' knowledge and attitudes regarding when, why, and how to use drugs and on their practices on medicating their children. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics (chi-square test). RESULTS: The majority of parents (n = 273; 70.2%) practiced self-medication for their children's dental problems. Self-medication with a previously prescribed medications was usually preferred by parents (n = 179; 62.2%). Analgesics (98%) were the most commonly used medicines by parents in their self-medication for their children's dental problems. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of self-medication practices for children's dental problems is high in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, new healthcare services, such as teledentistry, may be useful to overcome problems related to the self-medication of children during times when the ability to reach healthcare providers is limited, such as during pandemics.

Evaluation of Perceived Stress Levels of Radiology Workers Regarding COVID-19 Outbreak

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceived stress levels of radiology workers and associated factors during the Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) outbreak. Methods: A descriptive questionnaire prepared by the researchers was completed online by employees who work in the radiology department of various health institutions in Turkey. In our study, the perceived stress scale was used. The necessary ethics approval was obtained for the study. SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp) was used for statistical analysis of the data. Results: The average age of 573 radiology workers participating in the study was 34.0±9.3 years and 50.1% were women. The scores received by radiology workers from the perceived stress scale were 27.8±6.4 (median: 27.0, minimum-maximum: 6-50). In our study, it was determined that the perceived stress score was statistically significantly higher (p<0.05) in women and in those who lived with individuals over the age of 60, those working as radiology technicians, those who had a chronic disease, those who increased smoking, those who used social media more often than before, those who had not received training on COVID-19 infection, those who thought that the measures taken against COVID-19 infection were insufficient, and those who had contact with a patient with COVID-19. Conclusion: In our study, we identified the perceived high stressrelated factors that we thought could be useful for psychological support during the COVID-19 outbreak. With early detection of radiology workers at risk, we believe that both the mental health of the employees can be protected and workload loss can be prevented. (English) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı koronavirüs hastalığı-19 (COVÍD-19) salgını sırasında radyoloji çalışanlarının algılanan stres düzeylerini ve bununla ilişkili faktörleri incelemektir. Yöntemler: 15 Nisan-18 Nisan 2020 tarihleri arasında araştırmacılar tarafından hazırlanan tanımlayıcı tipte anket Türkiye'deki çeşitli sağlık kuruluşlarının radyoloji departmanlarında görev yapan radyoloji çalışanları tarafından online dolduruldu. Çalışmamızda algılanan stres ölçeği (perceived stress scala) kullanıldı. Çalışma için gerekli etik izin alındı. Verilerin istatistiksel analizlerinde SPSS 22.0 paket programı kullanıldı. Bulgular: Çalışmaya katılan 573 radyoloji çalışanının yaş ortalaması 34,0±9,3 yıl olup, %50,1'i kadındı. Radyoloji çalışanlarının algılanan stres ölçeğinden aldıkları puan 27,8±6,4 (median: 27,0, minimummaksimum: 6-50) idi. Çalışmamızda kadınların, 60 yaş üstü bireylerle birlikte yaşayanların, radyoloji teknisyeni/teknikeri olarak çalışanların, kronik bir hastalığa sahip olanların, sigara kullanımı artanların, sosyal medyayı eskisinden daha sık kullananların, COVÍD-19'lu hastayla teması olanların, COVÍD-19 enfeksiyonu ile ilgili bir eğitim almayanların ve COVÍD-19 enfeksiyonuna karşı alınan önlemlerin yetersiz olduğunu düşünenlerin algıladıkları stresin istatistiksel olarak anlamlı düzeyde daha yüksek olduğu belirlendi (p<0,05). Sonuç: Çalışmamızda, COVÍD-19 salgını sırasında psikolojik destek için kullanılabileceğini düşündüğümüz algılanan yüksek stres ile ilişkili faktörleri tanımladık. Risk altındaki radyoloji çalışanlarının erken tespit edilmesiyle hem çalışanların ruh sağlığının korunabileceğini hem de iş yükü kaybının önlenebileceğini düşünüyoruz. Bununla birlikte risk gruplarına yönelik yapılacak etkili müdahaleler için daha kapsamlı çalışmalara ihtiyaç vardır. (Turkish) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Bezmialem Science is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on physicians' psychological resilience levels.

BACKGROUND: Health-care workers exposed to coronavirus19 disease could be psychologically stressed. The objective of this study is to assess the anxiety, depression levels, and psychological resilience of physicians working during the Covid-19 outbreak and to evaluate the related factors that are associated with their psychological resilience. METHODS: The sample of this descriptive study was composed of medical doctors and dentists. The data were obtained online between April 13-23, 2020 through a survey prepared by the researchers. In addition, a questionnaire about the participants' sociodemographic characteristics, the Psychological Resilience Scale and Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HAD-A/HAD-D) was given. RESULTS: The average age of the 671 participants was 44.0 ± 9.0 years. Psychological resilience scores were significantly higher in those who had children, who had worked for 15 years or more, and who had received training about COVID-19 (p < 0.05). Depression scores were higher among women and in those who reported having a chronic disease, whose workload increased after the outbreak, and who had physical contact with COVID-positive patients. The anxiety scores were also higher among women and in those whose workload had increased and who had contact with COVID-positive patients (p < 0.05). The physicians with scores below the cutoff point on the HAD-D/HAD-A had significantly higher scores on the Psychological Resilience Scale (p < 0.05). DISCUSSION: Depression and anxiety levels were found to be significantly lower in physicians with greater psychological resilience. Psychological and social support of all health-care workers, especially physicians, is important in the struggle with the pandemic. It is thought that determining the variables related to psychological resilience in health-care workers will be a guide for psychosocial services.

Attitudes of Anesthesiology Specialists and Residents toward Patients Infected with the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): A National Survey Study.

Background: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. This study aims to evaluate the knowledge of anesthesiology specialists and residents in Turkey about COVID-19 and their attitudes toward the strategies and application methods to be used for a suspected/confirmed COVID-19 case that needs to be operated on or followed up in an intensive care unit, as well as to raise awareness about this issue. Methods: This descriptive study comprised anesthesiology specialists and residents working in various health institutions in Turkey. The data used in this study were obtained online between March 13, 2020 and March 25, 2020 through the website SurveyMonkey (SurveyMonkey, San Mateo, CA) by using a survey form. We contacted members of the Turkish Anaesthesiology and Reanimation Society through the social media platforms Twitter, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp, as well as through their e-mail addresses and invited them to participate in the study. Those who agreed to participate responded to the aforementioned survey. We used SPSS 22.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY) to analyze the survey data statistically. Results: A total of 346 anesthesiology specialists and residents participated in the study. Although the majority of the participants exhibited the correct attitudes toward airway management, research assistants with little professional experience were observed to be undecided or had the tendency to make incorrect decisions. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading rapidly worldwide. The incidence of COVID-19 cases is increasing daily, and this disease can cause patient death. Anesthesiology specialists and residents who perform emergency operations on these patients in settings other than intensive care units should follow simple and easy-to-understand algorithms to ensure safety. The provision of theoretical and practical training to healthcare providers before they meet patients will help ensure patient-healthcare provider safety and prevent panic, which can cause distress among healthcare providers.