Promoting resilience in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic with a brief online intervention.

INTRODUCTION: The psychological wellbeing of healthcare workers has been impacted by the high levels of stress many have experienced during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a brief online course focused on introducing evidence-based skills that could increase resilience and decreases emotional distress in healthcare workers during the pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Employees of a large healthcare system completed a mental health survey at baseline, and then one month and two months after some employees participated in an online resilience-enhancement course consisting of three 12-19 min videos focused on mindfulness, mentalization, and self-compassion. RESULTS: A total of 554 participants completed the baseline survey, endorsing moderate to high levels of emotional distress. Of those who completed all three assessments and participated in the course (n = 38), significant improvements in resilience and reductions in emotional distress were found one and two months later, in comparison to those who did not participate in the course (n = 110). DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that a brief, online intervention can improve the mental health of healthcare workers during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Education in forest sciences in Argentina. relevant aspects in the training and profile of its graduates

This paper derives from a workshop about education in forest sciences, organized by the Argentinian net in forest science and technology (in Spanish: Red Argentina de Ciencia y Tecnologia Forestal, i.e. REDFOR.ar). The aim of the workshop was to analyze several aspects related to the teaching in forest programs in Argentinian Universities. We analyzed the current demand for enrolment, graduation rates and employability of the graduates of forestry degree programs. We also discussed about the professional background in the forest programs and we identified consensus, debates, and questions. We analyzed current trends at the university-level forestry education worldwide as well as the role and the need of training of the faculty emphasizing some perspectives and pedagogic strategies. Within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the educational strategies adopted to ensure continuity of education, we included a section about distance learning during the pandemic and we analyzed some weak points and future perspectives. This document is a contribution to both the topics being discussed nowadays and others that will probably be relevant in the medium term in university-level education in forestry.

Teledermatology during de COVID-19 pandemic in a public hospital

Telemedicine refers to the use of information and communication technologies to provide health care. Dermatology is particularly suited for this virtual modality. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased the use of telemedicine worldwide which has demonstrated to be useful in promoting social distancing and in avoiding the overload of the healthcare system. This is an observational study about the use of teledermatology during the pandemic in the area of connective tissue diseases in a public hospital in Buenos Aires City. The main objective was to assess if teledermatology is useful to resolve patient's consultation and thus to avoid the referral to the hospital. There were 120 teledermatological consultations included, from which 93.3% were made by women. The average age was 38.4 years. The 57.5% of the consultations were from patients of the outskirts of Buenos Aires and 33.3% from Buenos Aires City. The 47.5% of consultations were from patients with no medical insurance. Of the total, 17 (14.2%) required referral to a health center. Most of the consultations were follow-up's and in a lower percentage, due to reactivation of the underlying disease or another reason. Patients who completed the survey reported not having difficulties and were able to resolve their consultations through virtual care. Doctors involved in this study were totally satisfied with the experience and they felt that teledermatology was a valid resource to continue with their medical training and would choose to use it in the near future. La telemedicina es la prestación de servicios de salud mediante tecnologías de la información y la comunicación. La dermatología es la especialidad clínica que más se adapta a esta modalidad de atención. La pandemia de COVID-19 aceleró el desarrollo de la telemedicina en todo el mundo. Esta última demostró ser una herramienta útil para promover el distanciamiento social y evitar la sobrecarga del sistema de salud. Presentamos un estudio observacional de teledermatología en el sector colagenopatías de un hospital público de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires durante esta pandemia. El objetivo principal fue evaluar si la teledermatología es una herramienta útil para resolver el motivo de consulta del paciente y así evitar la derivación al hospital. Se incluyeron 120 consultas. El 93.3% fue de mujeres. El promedio de edad fue 38.4 años. El 57.5% de las consultas fueron de pacientes de Gran Buenos Aires y 33.3% de Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. El 47.5% provenían de pacientes sin cobertura de salud. Del total, 17 (14.2%) requirieron derivación a un centro de salud. La mayoría fue por seguimiento y un porcentaje menor por reactivación de la enfermedad de base u otro motivo. Todos los pacientes que contestaron la encuesta re firieron no haber presentado dificultades y haber resuelto su consulta de manera virtual. Todos los médicos se sintieron conformes con la teledermatología, opinaron que fue un recurso válido para continuar con la formación médica y elegirían usarla en un futuro próximo.