Intention of young travellers to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic

The global health pandemic (COVID-19) has led to a significant decline in tourism activities and challenged existing norms and practices of the tourism sector. As international travel is restricted, the tourism sector is trying to promote domestic tourism by following health guidelines. This study aims to measure the relationships among social media travel content, perceived social risk of travel, attitude toward travel, and intention to travel during the pandemic time. The data were collected from young travellers in Bangladesh. The structural equation modelling (SEM) technique was used to estimate the relationships among the constructs. The results show that both social media travel content and perceived social risk of travel are significantly related to attitude toward travel and intention to travel. The association between attitude toward travel and intention to travel is also found significant. Destination managers are recommended to implement social media activation programs (e.g., a persuasive advertising campaign) and promote safe travel on their social media platforms (e.g., Facebook) to reduce perceived social risk of travel and create a positive attitude of travellers toward travel domestically during the global pandemic. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Remote capillary blood collection for HbA1c measurement during the COVID-19 pandemic: A laboratory and patient perspective.

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical performance and user acceptance of capillary blood samples prepared remotely using the MiniCollect® capillary blood collection device as an alternative to blood collection by venepuncture for glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c ) analysis. METHODS: Following written informed consent, a cross-sectional study was conducted in individuals aged ≥18 years with any type of diabetes who routinely self-monitor their blood glucose. Eligible participants recruited whilst attending their routine clinical appointments were required to provide a venous blood sample, prepare a capillary blood sample at home (remotely) and complete a bespoke questionnaire. HbA1c in whole blood collected in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid was determined by capillary electrophoresis on the Sebia Capillary's 3 Tera analyser following standard operating procedure. RESULTS: HbA1c results from both venous and capillary collection demonstrated good agreement. Passing-Bablok regression: y = 0 + 1x (p = 0.18), Spearman correlation r = 0.986, p < 0.0001. The Bland-Altman difference plot provided a mean difference of 0.3 mmol/mol (2.2%). Over half of the participants found the MiniCollect device easy to use. The majority of participants were in favour of the remote capillary blood collection service and would use it if routinely available. CONCLUSION: The home collection of capillary blood for HbA1c determination is a valuable and convenient alternative to standard venous blood collection as it provides an opportunity to support routine HbA1c monitoring, whilst mitigating the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. This service would additionally allow individuals to attend clinic visits with a HbA1c value, ensuring optimal continuance of patient care for individuals with diabetes.

Healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: Experiences of doctors and nurses in Bangladesh.

Healthcare workers, who are in low-resource settings, are critically vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. The increasing rate of coronavirus infection in a developing country such as Bangladesh caused the highest death rate of doctors among frontline service providers and resulted in fear and anxiety among healthcare workers. Even with the preliminary measures of hospitals and clinics to protect healthcare workers, the growing casualties are alarming. This research uses case study approach to explore the issues doctors and nurses face in 'priority intervention areas' (PIA) in order to improve the health system quality. Qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted from 12 May to 4 June 2020 among doctors and nurses from two different private hospitals in Dhaka city. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The two significant areas that required immediate attention were identified from the PIA framework as 'patient and staff safety, infection control' and 'cultural aspects and community engagement'. Each area of the PIA framework showed previously ignored issues in the current health system. The adaptation of the PIA framework helped identify critical health system issues. Possible corrective actions including proper planning and management of isolating the infected patients and provision of adequate personal protective equipment are recommended to management and policymakers to save the lives of healthcare workers and to minimise the spread of infection.