ABSTRACT
Viewed through the lens of the Revelation Risk Model (RRM), we examined whether the perceived riskiness of an activity, relationship type (family, romantic, or friends), and location in the US (California, Oklahoma, or Ohio) influenced whether and how people communicated with close others when refusing an event invitation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, we examined how these factors affected their likelihood of attending an event, their likelihood of refusing an invitation, and their anticipation of the effect of the disclosure of their refusal on future interactions. States varied widely in their response to the pandemic and our results suggest this affected participants' responses to the activity scenarios we presented. People from Ohio and California reported less likelihood of attending the event in the high-risk condition than people from Oklahoma. Participants were more likely to make up false excuses for low-risk events to avoid conflict. A three-way interaction between riskiness of the scenario, closeness of the relationship type, and location predicted the effect on future interactions. Implications for the effects of refusals on relationships are discussed.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The aim of this feasibility pilot was to develop and adapt an ACT group for adolescents with epilepsy for virtual delivery in the context of Covid-19 restriction. The psychological theory and strategies used as part of the group content was based on an ACT approach and its efficacy in chronic health settings. Method: A virtual platform was used to deliver five weekly 1.5 hour sessions to adolescents aged between 12-17 years living with epilepsy. The CompACT and Peds-QL (Teenager) were used to collect quantitative outcome data. We received 18 referrals across two groups;one in July 2020 and one in January 2021. 11 adolescents attended the group in total with the mean age being 15.18 years. Results: Across attendees who completed both pre and post measures (N=2), psychosocial health scores improved by 29%, and psychological flexibility scores improved by 46% following completion of the group. The group was described as 'friendly', 'helpful', 'informing' and a 'sense of community' during qualitative feedback collection. Discussion: The accessibility of the virtual format was suited to the population. Experiential activities were successfully adapted for online delivery. Managing seizure risk virtually was challenging and was mediated by the consideration of an appropriate platform. The reach and communication of group advertisement to appropriate referrers was challenging during busy service periods, to ensure sufficient referrals to make the sessions viable. Conclusion: Moving forward the service will be widening access of the ACT group to referrals from other paediatric clinical health teams within Gwent (July 2021). We will continue with inter-professional delivery to promote psychological working across disciplines and wider dissemination of psychological resource. More formal and systematic appraisal of group efficacy will be key for future development.
ABSTRACT
Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia survivors often exhibit long-term pulmonary sequelae, but the underlying mechanisms or associated local and systemic immune correlates are not known. Here, we have performed high-dimensional characterization of the pathophysiological and immune traits of aged COVID-19 convalescents, and correlated the local and systemic immune profiles with pulmonary function and lung imaging. We found that chronic lung impairment was accompanied by persistent respiratory immune alterations. We showed that functional severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)specific memory T and B cells were enriched at the site of infection compared with those of blood. Detailed evaluation of the lung immune compartment revealed that dysregulated respiratory CD8+ T cell responses were associated with the impaired lung function after acute COVID-19. Single-cell transcriptomic analysis identified the potential pathogenic subsets of respiratory CD8+ T cells contributing to persistent tissue conditions after COVID-19. Our results have revealed pathophysiological and immune traits that may support the development of lung sequelae after SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in older individuals, with implications for the treatment of chronic COVID-19 symptoms.