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Global food service industry has tremendously been challenged due to evolving conditions of COVID 19 pandemic. Under new normal condition, servicescape gets greater sentience from potential customers in search of risk-free dining. This study aims at exploring the evolving servicescape of Sri Lankan restaurant industry. A series of in-depth interviews with restaurant operators were conducted and thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. A wide gap between challenges and measures taken was evident. Regaining the faded customer trust and continuing operations under restrictions were threatening. The study recommends exclusive and realistic approaches to advance the evolving servicescape of restaurants. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
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Introduction: Since the declaration of COVID 19 pandemic by the WHO, the mental health toll the virus has taken on the globe, affects the health care workers in many folds which is reflected by mounting evidence on high levels of anxiety, depression, and stress among HCW.1,2,3 Psychological stresses among HCWs measured in terms of burnout provide valuable evidence to initiate support services in COVID care settings.4 The psychological distress among HCW during a pandemic of current nature, is attributed to being parents of dependent children, being junior in service, longer quarantine period, lack of practical support and stigma5 Though the health system in Sri Lanka is overwhelmingly burdened by the disease little is known about psychological issues of HCW in the country. Objectives: To Evaluate the prevalence of burnout and to identify some factors associated with burnout among health care workers attached to COVID 19 management settings in Sri Lanka Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 8 selected COVID care settings in the country. Data from HCW dealing with COVID care were collected using google forms. Burnout was assessed using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory with 0-100 scale. A score above 50 is considered as the presence of burnout. Some selected factors associated with burnout was tested with Z test and chi square test. Results: There were 473 respondents (doctors (33.4%), nurses (51.6%), physiotherapists (4.2%), radiographers (4.2%) and other staff (7.4%)). Sixty-three percent of HCW worked in intensive care facilities. There were 342 (72.5%) females and 125 (26.4%) males. Majority (61%) were between 21 to 30 years. Eighty percent of HCW had no comorbidities and 91.8% of them were vaccinated against COVID-19. The overall prevalence of burnout was 70.6 % while the prevalence of personal related, work related and client related burnout were 61.5%, 75% and 71.2% respectively. Burnout of doctors was 65.8% of nurses was 72.5% of physiotherapists was 70% of radiographers was 87.5 and the burnout of other staff was 25%. Mean burnout score was significantly higher among nurses compared to doctors (p, 0.0033) and female compared to male workers (p, 0.014). Conclusions: High prevalence of burnout is evident among all categories of HCW in COVID care settings in Sri Lanka. Establishment of necessary support services prioritizing nurses and administrative interventions are recommended.
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Introduction: Intensive care units (ICU) health care professionals working in a challenging environment during the Covid 19 pandemic.1 Expansion of ICU provision, working long shifts with limited resources with precarious infrastructure expose them to more stressful environments and potentially affect their mental health.2 Objectives: To identify the prevalence of psychological impact and assess the associated factors among ICU health care professionals (doctors and nurses) in five Sri Lankan hospitals from July to August 2021. Methods: It's a descriptive study carried out in five hospitals in Sri Lanka caring for covid 19 patients. Data were collected anonymously and voluntarily using web-based (Google form) and printed standardized questionnaires examining anxiety symptoms (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7)), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)), and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-6)). Results: Overall, 233 health care professionals participated, compromising 54 (23.2%) doctors and 179 (76.8%) nurses. Prevalence of moderate to severe anxiety, depression, and PTSD was 42.1%, 51.5%, and 37.8% respectively. Sub-group analysis showed the risk of developing PTSD was more among nurses than doctors (p <0.05). Among doctors, moderate to severe depression prevalence was high (55.5%), while anxiety and PTSD were 31.45% and 24.07%, respectively. In nurses, moderate to severe depression, anxiety, and PTSD were 50.27%, 45.25, and 41.89%. Years of experience in patient care, working long shifts, inadequate personal protective equipment, inadequate staffing of ICU does not associate with significant psychological impact. Conclusion: A high prevalence of psychological impact was observed in the health care professionals in ICU during the COVID-19 pandemics. Efforts should be made to implement interventions for the mental well-being of the staff.
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COVID-19 pandemic has given insights into the systemic risks of a hazard, demonstrating the potency of biological hazards to not only render one sector dysfunctional but also fail the entire system. The grave and devastating impacts of the current COVID-19 call for the need to assess the state of global and national preparedness for future pandemics. This chapter provides an outline of Sri Lanka's response to the COVID-19 pandemic while delving into the current status and gaps concerning preparedness for pandemics in the country. The analysis is aimed at providing key recommendations for policymakers to improve national-level preparedness for anticipated pandemic threats. This chapter has drawn on a review of secondary literature and primary data gathered through in-depth interviews conducted with key informants in the disaster management and public health sectors in the country. Findings show that while preparedness planning for biological hazards is predominantly a responsibility of the health sector in the country, there is a pressing need to strengthen such preparedness through a unified legal framework and system of governance that allow for the transfer of relevant expertise, infrastructure, and lessons learned from previous hazards contexts to situations of pandemics;the incorporation of pandemic preparedness into national-level DRR efforts and subnational-level DRR planning;intensifying national focus on building economic and social resilience;emulating a multisectoral approach, enhancing private sector participation, and establishing a national framework to foster preparedness for parallel hazards. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Introdução A pandemia COVID-19 está sendo considerada uma das mais devastadoras e desafiadoras crises da saúde pública mundial, impactando na saúde mental e no bem-estar psicológico. Somado a isso, a sociedade impõe padrões exigentes com elevadas e desgastantes expectativas, tornando a universidade um ambiente estressor capaz de prejudicar não só a formação, mas também a qualidade de vida do estudante. Desta forma, a avaliação de fatores associados a alterações na saúde mental poderia contribuir para a promoção de medidas preventivas. Objetivo Avaliar a prevalência de alterações na saúde mental (depressão, ansiedade e estresse) de estudantes universitários da área da saúde e fatores associados em tempos de pandemia COVID-19. Método Foram avaliados 140 estudantes do curso de biomedicina de uma universidade do interior paulista. Para tanto, os participantes responderam a um instrumento com questões estruturadas, organizados em: caracterização da população de estudo;uso de tabaco e álcool (ASSIST) e avaliação da saúde mental (DASS-21). A associação das variáveis do estudo foi realizada através dos testes do qui-quadrado, Fisher ou qui-quadrado de continuidade. Para avaliar os fatores associados às alterações da saúde mental foi utilizada a razão de chances (odds ratio/OR). Foi considerando significativo p < 0,05. Este trabalho foi aprovado pelo CEP (13359019.3.0000.5515). Resultados Dentre os estudantes universitários avaliados, 44,85% apresentaram sinais de depressão, enquanto 55,22% de ansiedade e 71,54% de estresse. A associação entre as caraterísticas da população e avaliação do DASS-21 demonstrou que o sexo feminino tinha uma chance 0,40 vezes (p = 0,0387) maior de apresentar sintomas de estresse;idade entre 18 e 20 anos uma chance 2,645 vezes (p = 0,0462) maior em relação à 21 a 24 ano e uma chance 5,429 vezes (p = 0,0035) maior em relação à maiores de 24 anos de apresentar sintomas de estresse;estar solteiro uma chance 4,966 vezes (p = 0,0111) maior de apresentar sintomas de ansiedade;usar tabaco uma chance 2,270 vezes (p = 0,0318) maior de apresentar sintomas de depressão e, uma chance 2,740 vezes (p = 0,0151) maior de ansiedade;usar álcool uma chance 3,504 vezes (p = 0,0265) maior de apresentar sintomas de depressão, uma chance 4,013 vezes (p = 0,0088) maior de ansiedade e, uma chance 5,005 vezes (p = 0,0012) maior de estresse. Conclusão Estudantes universitários apresentam uma elevada prevalência de alterações da saúde mental, associadas principalmente à pouca idade e ao uso de tabaco e álcool.
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University dropout has increased significantly in Peru before and even more so after the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why public universities need to identify and implement programs to reduce it. The purpose of the work is to determine the Machine Learning algorithm that has the best performance to detect university dropout. This analysis was based on the study of university dropouts in Peru between 2018 and 2021. The population is made up of 652 students, 30% were used for training data and 70% for test data from a data set of 106 valid data, for the development of the classification models, the Anaconda Python language was used through its different libraries, the type of research is applied and descriptive design. It was obtained as a result that the K-Nearest-Neighbor algorithm with an accuracy of 0.91, has better performance to predict university dropout with the academic and socioeconomic variables of the students. In conclusion, the model obtained can help predict, in the first cycles of studies, the students most likely to drop out of their studies, as well as alert the welfare office, the need and attention of individual and group tutoring. © 2022. Revista de Ciencias Sociales. All Rights Reserved.
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Washrooms are a ubiquitous, yet essential element connected with day-to-day living environments. Public washrooms or restrooms are a common feature in all public buildings. They are often linked to the notion of 'unclean' environments, due to the sheer number of people who use its services. From a health and safety perspective, it is imperative to maintain hygiene standards that will provide confidence to its users. This is especially true in the Covid-19 pandemic situation, where disinfection is of prime importance. Several elements contribute to a clean washroom, and some elements can benefit from Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. This paper introduces a framework for the use of IoT technology for implementing a Smart Washroom. Our research further explores public perception of clean washrooms and introduces a novel mobile app-based approach to locate clean public washrooms. © 2021 IEEE.
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Neurologic manifestations of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in pediatric patients have been reported in the acute and postinfectious stages of coronavirus disease 2019. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) typically presents in children after a viral illness at a mean age of 3 to 7 years. A total of 60% to 90% of literature-reported pediatric patients with ADEM have minimal to no neurologic deficits at long-term follow-up. We present a 17-month-old developmentally typical girl with parental complaints of irritability, upper extremity weakness, and gait disturbance. She presented to the hospital afebrile and irritable with right-sided nasolabial fold flattening, neck stiffness, left upper extremity rigidity, right upper extremity paresis, bilateral lower extremity hyperreflexia, and truncal ataxia. During her hospital course, she became somnolent with autonomic instability and was transferred to intensive care. Contrasted brain MRI revealed diffuse patchy T2 hyperintensities without contrast enhancement. Nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction and serum antibody testing results were positive. Cerebral spinal fluid analysis was unremarkable. Respiratory viral panel and autoimmune encephalitis and demyelinating disorders panel results were negative. She was started on high-dose methylprednisolone and intravenous immunoglobulin, with improvement in mental status, focal deficits, and ambulation. After hospital discharge, she received inpatient rehabilitation for 2 weeks and at 2 month follow-up had a full neurologic recovery. We report the youngest case of postinfectious ADEM due to SARS-CoV-2 in a toddler. Early recognition of autoimmune and inflammatory complications of SARS-CoV-2 is vital for early aggressive immunomodulatory treatment and, consequently, improved morbidity in these patients.
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COVID-19/complications , COVID-19/diagnosis , Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated/diagnosis , Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated/virology , Female , Humans , InfantABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil has demonstrated an important public health impact, as has been observed in the world. In Brazil, the Amazon Region contributed with a large number of cases of COVID-19, especially in the beginning of the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in the country. Thus, we describe the epidemiological profile of COVID-19 and the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 strains circulating in the Amazon Region. We observe an extensive spread of virus in this Brazilian site. The data on sex, age and symptoms presented by the investigated individuals were similar to what has been observed worldwide. The genomic analysis of the viruses revealed important amino acid changes, including the D614G and the I33T in Spike and ORF6 proteins, respectively. The latter found in strains originating in Brazil. The phylogenetic analyzes demonstrated the circulation of the lineages B.1 and B.1.1, whose circulation in Brazil has already been previous reported. Our data reveals molecular epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in the Amazon Region. These findings also reinforce the importance of continuous genomic surveillance this virus with the aim of providing accurate and updated data to understand and map the transmission network of this agent in order to subsidize operational decisions in public health.