ABSTRACT
In the last six decades, the concept of mindfulness has been widely studied, researched, and practiced in mainstream psychology, mental health, and health disciplines. Over a period of time, clinical practitioners have integrated meditation and mindfulness practices or techniques in the mainstream psychological interventions for emotional and behavioral disorders such as anxiety, depression, chronic pain, borderline personality disorder, and eating disorder. This chapter highlights the application of Mindfulness-Based Interventions in various clinical and non-clinical samples. It also covers the importance of mindfulness practices for the crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, discusses integrating technology into mindfulness training, and presents various issues and challenges related to mindfulness practices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Mental health has been a growing concern in society but recently has further come to light due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on societal well-being. With mental health issues such as depression on the rise, professionals need to implement new techniques that are effective in reducing psychological problems and enhancing psychological well-being. The integration of meditation and mindfulness techniques presents new methods for providing psychological intervention to alleviate psychological distress. Clinical Applications of Meditation and Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Mental Health presents mindfulness-based interventions in clinical and non-clinical conditions. This book disseminates evidence-based practices in the area of meditation and mindfulness to mental health professionals for the advancement of the mental health discipline and the benefit of students and trainees. Covering topics including mindful parenting, mediation, trauma-informed work, and psychological trauma recovery, this book is essential for mental health practitioners, therapists, psychologists, counselors, meditation specialists, professionals, students, researchers, and academicians. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Background & objectives: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are considered to be at a high risk of contracting COVID-19 infection. Besides, control of nosocomial infections transmitted from HCWs to the patients is also a cause of concern. This study was undertaken to investigate the seroprevalence of antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus among the hospital staff of a tertiary care health facility in north India. Methods: The HCWs were tested for SARS-CoV-2 serology (IgG+IgM) using chemiluminescence immunoassay between June 22 and July 24, 2020. Venous blood (2 ml) was collected and tested for SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM antibodies. Results: Of the 3739 HCWs tested, 487 (13%) were positive for total SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The highest seroprevalence was observed in administrative staff (19.6%) and least in physicians (5.4%). The staff who used public (20%) and hospital transportation (16.9%) showed higher seroprevalence compared to staff using personal transportation (12.4%). No difference was observed between HCWs posted in COVID versus non-COVID areas. All seropositive symptomatic HCWs in our study (53.6%) had mild symptoms, and the remaining 46.4 per cent were asymptomatic. The antibody positivity rate progressively increased from 7.0 per cent in the first week to 18.6 per cent in the fourth week during the study. Interpretation & conclusions: The presence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in a significant number of asymptomatic HCWs, association with the use of public transport, relatively lower seroprevalence compared with the non-HCWs and rising trend during the period of the study highlight the need for serosurveillance, creating awareness for infection control practices including social distancing and study of infection dynamics in the community for effective control of an infectious pandemic.