ABSTRACT
This paper presents a spatial analysis of the incidence rate of COVID-19 cases in the state of Parana, Brazil, from June to December 2020, and a study of the incidence rate of COVID-19 cases associated with socioeconomic variables, such as the Gini index, Theil-L index, and municipal human development index (MHDI). The data were provided from the Parana State Health Department and Parana Institute for Economic and Social Development. For the study of spatial autocorrelation, the univariate global Moran index (I), local univariate Moran (LISA), global Geary (c), and univariate local Geary (ci) were calculated. For the analysis of the spatial correlation, the global bivariate Moran index (Ixy), the local multivariate Geary indices (CiM), and the bivariate Lee index (Lxy) were calculated. There is significant positive spatial autocorrelation between the incidence rate of COVID-19 cases and correlations between the incidence rate of COVID-19 cases and the Gini index, Theil-L index, and MHDI in the regions under study. The highest risk areas were concentrated in the macro-regions: east and west. Understanding the spatial distribution of COVID-19, combined with economic and social factors, can contribute to greater efficiency in preventive actions and the control of new viral epidemics.
ABSTRACT
With the COVID-19 pandemic, we all suffered from several restrictions and measures regulating interaction with one another. We had to wear masks, use hand sanitizer, have open-air meetings, feel a combination of excitement and frustration, and eventually depend on online video calls. The combinations of these additional requirements and limitations, while necessary, affected how we could involve users in the different stages of design. It has profoundly hindered our chances of meeting in person with people with temporary or permanent disabilities. In our project, involving people with intellectual disabilities in the museum context, we also had to deal with museums being closed and physical exhibitions being canceled. At the same time, guardians and caregivers often turned to a stricter interpretation of anti-COVID measures to protect people with intellectual disabilities. This paper aims to discuss these challenges and share our lessons about coping with challenging and unpredictable situations by using improvisation. © 2021 Owner/Author.
ABSTRACT
Background Annual influenza vaccine uptake is recommended by the Portuguese General-Directorate of Health to certain priority groups. In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, some exceptional measures were adopted to operationalize the Portuguese influenza vaccination campaign, like the extension and phasing of the vaccination period. No major changes were introduced in the vaccination of healthcare workers. In Baixo Tâmega health cluster (Portugal), it was perceived that these workers' vaccine uptake had markedly increased in 2020-2021. This study aims to compare their influenza vaccination coverage rates in 2020-2021 to the last 10 seasons. Methods A cross-sectional study of the vaccine uptake among the health workers of Baixo Tâmega health cluster was developed. A descriptive analysis was carried out, calculating annual influenza vaccination coverage rates from 2010-2011 to 2020-2021, in doctors, nurses and other health workers. Inferential analysis was performed through chi-squared tests in IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0.1.0., considering significant p-values<0.05. Results The difference between health workers 2020-2021's influenza coverage rate and the last season's average rates was 22.81%. Before 2020-2021, average vaccination coverage rates were 51.60% (standard deviation 7.34%, 44.26-58.94%), 60.44% (standard deviation 4.12%, 56.32-64.56%) and 51.20% (standard deviation 7.66%, 43.54-58.86%), in doctors, nurses and other health workers, respectively. In 2020-2021, vaccination rates significantly increased to 79.34%, 79.52% and 74.24% in doctors, nurses and others, respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusions Influenza vaccination uptake increased in 2020-2021 among health workers. Further studies should be developed to evaluate this tendency on a larger scale and to better understand its associated factors, which could have been unstructured awareness-raising campaigns, perception of protection against COVID-19 or avoidance of COVID-19-like symptoms and coinfection. Key messages Influenza vaccination coverage rates increased in 2020-2021 among the healthcare workers of a Portuguese health cluster. The COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to the increase in the influenza vaccination coverage rates.
ABSTRACT
The need to better understand how to support and provide accessibility has increased dramatically in recent years, whether in industry or education. Higher education institutions have an essential role in raising awareness of how important accessibility is and, at the same time, can provide students with examples of good practice in building inclusive experiences. This work aims to assess the state of the art of accessibility in Switzerland, from teaching to administrative staff. Our findings show that the majority (77%) do not teach accessibility because it is not a core part of their courses and 21% declared to don't know enough to teach. 62,5% of who is teaching accessibility teach to evaluate web pages accessibility standards and heuristics and half of them help understanding technology barriers faced by people with disabilities. Likewise, our administrative staff respondents had four times more guidelines to deal with physical access than with technology enhancements. We also found out that with the COVID-19 outbreak, our instructors mainly used extra software and were more available online. CCS CONCEPTS •Human-centered computing → Accessibility theory, concepts and paradigms;•Accessibility technologies;•Social and professional topics → People with disabilities. © 2020 ACM.