ABSTRACT
Aim: To assess impairment in health status and psychological burden, subjects with Long Covid enrolled in a multidisciplinary follow-up outpatient programme underwent a multidimensional psychological assessment including Zung's Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDIII), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy, Fatigue subscale (FACIT-F), 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12). Result(s): Ninety-nine subjects (36M;age 52.6+/-14.5) participated to a self-administered multidimensional psychological evaluation from january2021 to january 2022 (5.5+/-4.4 months after acute infection). Sixty-one out of 99 (61.6%) subjects (20M, age 48.7+/-14.5y) were treated at home during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thirtyfive patients (35.4%) had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 21 patients (21.2%) had moderate to severe depressive symptoms, 47 (47.4%) exhibited clinically significative anxiety. No significant differences in symptoms and psychological evaluation were found in home treated, compared with the subgroup of 38 (38.3%) hospitalized subjects (16M, age59.0+/-13.0y). Irrespective of hospitalization, persistent asthenia was reported in 34 out of 63 females (54.0%), and in 11 males (30.6%) (p=.005);Clinically significant anxiety was found in 37(58.7%) females and in 7(19.4%) males (p=.001). Gender associated significant differences were found as well in FACIT-F, SAS, SF-12, but not in BDI-II and IES-R scores. Conclusion(s): Among a cohort of long covid subjects, gender differences were observed in symptoms reported and in psychological well-being.
ABSTRACT
Online-learning is a feasible alternative to in-person attendance during COVID-19 pandemic. In this period, information technologies have allowed sharing experiences, but have also highlighted some limitations compared to traditional learning. Learning is strongly supported by some qualities of consciousness such as flow (intended as the optimal state of absorption and engagement activity) and sense of presence (feeling of exerting control, interacting with and getting immersed into real/virtual environments), behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement, together with the need for social interaction. During online learning, feelings of disconnection, social isolation, distractions, boredom, and lack of control exert a detrimental effect on the ability to reach the state of flow, the feeling of presence, the feeling of social involvement. Since online environments could prevent the rising of these learning-supporting variables, this article aims at describing the role of flow, presence, engagement, and social interactions during online sessions and at characterizing multisensory stimulations as a driver to cope with these issues. We argue that the use of augmented, mixed, or virtual reality can support the above-mentioned domains, and thus counteract the detrimental effects of physical distance. Such support could be further increased by enhancing multisensory stimulation modalities within augmented and virtual environments.