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1.
Srusti Management Review ; 15(2):40-51, 2022.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-2207745

ABSTRACT

The present time is going through one of the worst global crises due to the lockdown, social distancing norms as one of the measures for containing COVID-19, in almost all the countries. Even before the crisis, the hotel industry as a whole lacked proper appreciation and professionalism. This reduction could be due to low employee satisfaction arising out of unstructured and poor wage systems and professionalism. Human resources management is imperative for better commitment to the workplace and for the employee job satisfaction. Therefore, considering the research gap, the motive of this paper is to assess the relationship between human resource practices (HRP) and job satisfaction (JS). Data were collected through questionnaire from 82 hotels in Uttrakhand. The validity of the model and hypotheses was tested from Smart-PLS. The results showed two practices (recruitment & selection and performance appraisal) of human resources have a positive relationship with JS. The limitations and directions for future research are discussed. This study extends the literature by empirically adducing evidence the relationship between HRM practices and job satisfaction of the hotel industry in Uttrakhand.

2.
Atmosphere ; 13(12):2090, 2022.
Article in English | MDPI | ID: covidwho-2163224

ABSTRACT

To monitor the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), India, during the last week of March 2020, imposed national restrictions on the movement of its citizens (lockdown). Although India's economy was shut down due to restrictions, the nation observed a sharp decline in particulate matter (PM) concentrations. In recent years, Delhi has experienced rapid economic growth, leading to pollution, especially in urban and industrial areas. In this paper, we explored the linkages between air quality and the nationwide lockdown of the city of Delhi using a geographic information system (GIS)-based approach. Data from 37 stations were monitored from 12 March, 2020 to 2 April, 2020 and it was found that the Air Quality Index for the city was almost reduced by 37% and 46% concerning PM2.5 and PM10, respectively. The study highlights that, in regular conditions, the atmosphere's natural healing rate against anthropogenic activities is lower, as indicated by a higher AQI. However, during the lockdown, this sudden cessation of anthropogenic activities leads to a period in which the natural healing rate is greater than the induced disturbances, resulting in a lower AQI, and thus proving that this pandemic has given a small window for the environment to breathe and helped the districts of Delhi to recover from serious issues related to bad air quality. If such healing windows are incorporated into policy and decision-making, these can prove to be effective measures for controlling air pollution in heavily polluted regions of the World.

3.
Atmosphere ; 13(12):2064, 2022.
Article in English | MDPI | ID: covidwho-2154878

ABSTRACT

Manufacturing and mining sectors are serious pollution sources and risk factors that threaten air quality and human health. We analyzed pollutants at two study sites (Talcher and Brajrajnagar) in Odisha, an area exposed to industrial emissions, in the pre-COVID-19 year (2019) and consecutive pandemic years, including lockdowns (2020 and 2021). We observed that the annual data for pollutant concentration increased at Talcher: PM2.5 (7-10%), CO (29-35%), NO2 and NOx (8-57% at Talcher and 14-19% at Brajrajnagar);while there was slight to substantial increase in PM10 (up to 11%) and a significant increase in O3 (41-88%) at both sites. At Brajrajnagar, there was a decrease in PM2.5 (up to 15%) and CO (around half of pre-lockdown), and a decrease in SO2 concentration was observed (30-86%) at both sites. Substantial premature mortality was recorded, which can be attributed to PM2.5 (16-26%), PM10 (31-43%), NO2 (15-21%), SO2 (4-7%), and O3 (3-6%). This premature mortality caused an economic loss between 86-36 million USD to society. We found that although lockdown periods mitigated the losses, the balance of rest of the year was worse than in 2019. These findings are benchmarks to manage air quality over Asia's largest coalmine fields and similar landscapes.

4.
Environ Chem Lett ; 20(6): 3883-3904, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2128753

ABSTRACT

Almost all aspects of society from food security to disease control and prevention have benefited from pharmaceutical and personal care products, yet these products are a major source of contamination that ends up in wastewater and ecosystems. This issue has been sharply accentuated during the coronavirus disease pandemic 2019 (COVID-19) due to the higher use of disinfectants and other products. Here we review pharmaceutical and personal care products with focus on their occurrence in the environment, detection, risk, and removal. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10311-022-01498-7.

5.
Vaccines (Basel) ; 10(11)2022 Oct 30.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2123891

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Data are limited on antibody response to the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222; Covishield®) in cirrhosis. We studied the antibody response following two doses of the ChAdOx1 vaccine, given 4-12 weeks apart, in cirrhosis. METHODS: Prospectively enrolled, 131 participants (71% males; age 50 (43-58); alcohol-related etiology 14, hepatitis B 33, hepatitis C 46, cryptogenic 21, autoimmune 9, others 8; Child-Turcott-Pugh class A/B/C 52/63/16). According to dose intervals, the participants were grouped as ≤6 weeks (group I), 7-12 weeks (group II), and 13-36 weeks (group III). Blood specimens collected at ≥4 weeks after the second dose were tested for anti-spike antibody titre (ASAb; positive ≥ 0.80 U/mL) and neutralizing antibody (NAb; positive ≥20% neutralization) using Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S (Roche) and SARS-CoV-2 NAb ELISA Kit (Invitrogen), respectively. Data are expressed as number (proportion) and median (interquartile range) and compared using non-parametric tests. RESULTS: Overall, 99.2% and 84% patients developed ASAb (titre 5440 (1719-9980 U/mL)) and NAb (92 (49.1-97.6%)), respectively. When comparing between the study groups, the ASAb titres were significantly higher in group II than in group I (2613 (310-7518) versus 6365 (2968-9463), p = 0.027) but were comparable between group II and III (6365 (2968-9463) versus 5267 (1739-11,653), p = 0.999). Similarly, NAb was higher in group II than in group I (95.5 (57.6-98.0) versus 45.9 (15.4-92.0); p < 0.001), but not between the groups II and III (95.5 (57.6-98.0) versus 92.4 (73.8-97.5); p = 0.386). CONCLUSION: Covishield® induces high titres of ASAb and NAb in cirrhosis. A higher titre is achieved if two doses are given at an interval of more than six weeks.

6.
Anthropocene Science ; : 1-12, 2022.
Article in English | EuropePMC | ID: covidwho-2073190

ABSTRACT

While the global community has long worked to ameliorate the livelihoods of people and promote environmental sustainability around the world, many social, economic, and environmental issues remain unsolved. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) sought to end poverty but ended with mixed results depending on the country. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are more ambitious, sought to address remaining problems and other issues extending beyond the scope of the MDGs by 2030. The SDGs cover a wide range of areas, from fulfilling basic needs to environmental sustainability, although their prioritization differs from person to person. It is critical to understand how people recognize the MDGs and prioritize SDGs in order to determine efficient means of achieving SDGs. Thus, this study assesses citizens’ perceptions and needs in Nigeria, illustrating gaps between official evaluations of goal progress and people’s thoughts about these global agendas. Economically speaking, Nigeria is the largest country in West Africa;still, it did not meet all of its MDG targets by 2015. This study found differences between the official report and people’s observations. People generally considered MDG 2 and MDG 6 to have been attained despite official evaluations asserting that these goals had made only weak progress. The study also found that people’s expectations are generally high on goals related to economic sustainability but low on goals related to environmental sustainability. Interestingly, it is found that the Nigerian government has the most concrete strategies related to social sustainability. The results suggest that the needs perceived by the government are distinct from those perceived by the Nigerian people. They also highlight the fact that the importance of environmental sustainability must be recognized by Nigerians if they are to meet their SDG targets by 2030. Of course, it is difficult for any countries facing social and economic issues to allocate significant resources to environmental sustainability, especially amid violent conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the symptoms of climate change. However, to get back on track in the years that remain and make significant progress toward environmental sustainability, it is important to heighten cooperation among ordinary people while obtaining a better understanding of their needs.

7.
ChemistrySelect ; 7(37): e202202465, 2022 Oct 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2059655

ABSTRACT

Due to the 2019 SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, low-cost, fast, and user-friendly diagnostic kits for biosensing SARS-CoV-2 in real samples employing multiple working electrodes are in high demand. Choosing SARS-CoV-2 detecting electrodes is difficult because each has advantages and limitations. Carbon-based electrochemical sensing applications have attracted attention from the electrochemical sensing community because carbon and carbon-based materials have been a godsend for testing utilizing an electrochemical platform. Carbon working electrode electrochemical platforms are cost-effective and fast. Covid-sensors use carbon-based materials because they can be easily changed (with inorganic and organic functionalities), have quick response kinetics, and are chemically resistant. Covid-19 sensing materials include graphene and graphite. This review explains how carbon materials have been employed in N and S protein electrochemical detection. Here, we discussed a carbon-based technology for SARS-CoV-2 biosensing. We've compared carbon-based electrochemical sensing to different electrodes.

8.
Remote Sensing ; 14(18):N.PAG-N.PAG, 2022.
Article in English | Academic Search Complete | ID: covidwho-2055348

ABSTRACT

The study evaluates the impacts of India's COVID-19 lockdown and unlocking periods on the country's ambient air quality. India experienced three strictly enforced lockdowns followed by unlocking periods where economic and social restrictions were gradually lifted. We have examined the in situ and satellite data of NO2 emissions for several Indian cities to assess the impacts of the lockdowns in India. Additionally, we analyzed NO2 data acquired from the Sentinel-5P TROPOMI sensor over a few districts of the Punjab state, as well as the National Capital Region. The comparisons between the in situ and satellite NO2 emissions were performed for the years 2019, 2020 and up to July 2021. Further analysis was conducted on the satellite data to map the NO2 emissions over India during March to July for the years of 2019, 2020 and 2021. Based on the in situ and satellite observations, we observed that the NO2 emissions significantly decreased by 45–55% in the first wave and 30% in the second wave, especially over the Northern Indian cities during the lockdown periods. The improved air quality over India is indicative of reduced pollution in the atmosphere due to the lockdown process, which slowed down the industrial and commercial activities, including the migration of humans from one place to another. Overall, the present study contributes to the understanding of the trends of the ambient air quality over large geographical areas using the Sentinel-5P satellite data and provides valuable information for regulatory bodies to design a better decision support system to improve air quality. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Remote Sensing is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

9.
Panic buying: Perspectives and prevention ; : 13-34, 2021.
Article in English | APA PsycInfo | ID: covidwho-2047970

ABSTRACT

Panic buying is commonly seen as a consequence of a difficult disaster situation. In a pandemic like COVID-19, consumers tend to stockpile staples and other essential items that they perceive may help them sustain themselves through the crisis period and in anticipation of supply shortages. It may create panic, insecurity, anxiety, and a sense of fear among the vulnerable. Panic buying is a bigger issue than it looks, as stockpiling of commodities can cause supply-demand disruption, item shortages, and price hikes of concerned items. Panic buying is not a simple phenomenon to understand;it depends upon several factors, including the behavioral phenomenon, supply chain management, economy, sociology, geology, public, political administration, disaster and emergency management, and the role of media. A multitude of factors or predictors operate at external and internal levels, which interact with one another in a very complex manner and ultimately result in panic buying behavior by an individual or group. Hence, it is important to fully understand how we can predict consumer panic buying behavior, which may help with the mitigation policy. Here, we propose a classification of external and internal predictors based on whether they work on a group level or individual level. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

10.
Environmental Chemistry Letters ; : 1-22, 2022.
Article in English | EuropePMC | ID: covidwho-1998330

ABSTRACT

Almost all aspects of society from food security to disease control and prevention have benefited from pharmaceutical and personal care products, yet these products are a major source of contamination that ends up in wastewater and ecosystems. This issue has been sharply accentuated during the coronavirus disease pandemic 2019 (COVID-19) due to the higher use of disinfectants and other products. Here we review pharmaceutical and personal care products with focus on their occurrence in the environment, detection, risk, and removal. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10311-022-01498-7.

12.
Atmosphere ; 13(6):961, 2022.
Article in English | Academic Search Complete | ID: covidwho-1911159

ABSTRACT

The study aims to examine the major atmospheric air pollutants such as NO2, CO, O3, PM2.5, PM10, and SO2 to assess the overall air quality using air quality zonal modeling of 15 major cities of China before and after the COVID-19 pandemic period. The spatio-temporal changes in NO2 and other atmospheric pollutants exhibited enormous reduction due to the imposition of a nationwide lockdown. The present study used a 10-day as well as 60-day tropospheric column time-average map of NO2 with spatial resolution 0.25 × 0.25° obtained from the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, NASA. The air quality zonal model was employed to assess the total NO2 load and its change during the pandemic period for each specific region. Ground surface monitoring data for CO, NO2, O3, PM10, PM2.5, and SO2 including Air Quality Index (AQI) were collected from the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China (MEPC). The results from both datasets demonstrated that NO2 has drastically dropped in all the major cities across China. The concentration of CO, PM10, PM2.5, and SO2 demonstrated a decreasing trend whereas the concentration of O3 increased substantially in all cities after the lockdown effect as observed from real-time monitoring data. Because of the complete shutdown of all industrial activities and vehicular movements, the atmosphere experienced a lower concentration of major pollutants that improves the overall air quality. The regulation of anthropogenic activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic has not only contained the spread of the virus but also facilitated the improvement of the overall air quality. Guangzhou (43%), Harbin (42%), Jinan (33%), and Chengdu (32%) have experienced maximum air quality improving rates, whereas Anshan (7%), Lanzhou (17%), and Xian (25%) exhibited less improved AQI among 15 cities of China during the study period. The government needs to establish an environmental policy framework involving central, provincial, and local governments with stringent laws for environmental protection. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Atmosphere is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

13.
Indian journal of psychiatry ; 64(Suppl 3):S535-S535, 2022.
Article in English | EuropePMC | ID: covidwho-1871762

ABSTRACT

Aims: To explore the availability, access and utilization of mental health services during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions (1st wave) in patients registered at psychiatry facilities across India and to assess difficulties faced by caregivers of these patients. Methodology: It was a multi-centric study carried at 4 centres across India, providing mental health services. It used convenience sampling method, wherein we recruited a total of 500 subjects from all centres over a period of 6 months using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. A semi structured performa to explore the availability, access and utilization of mental health services and difficulties faced by caregivers during COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Of the 500 subjects recruited, 54.6 % were males, 80.4% were Hindus and 56% were from rural areas. The subjects reported that 75.3% had problems accessing the mental health services, owing to closure of OPD services (83.2%), non-availability of doctors (63.5%), poor availability of transport (61.9%). It was reported that 16.3% changed their psychiatrist and had to contact GPs (16.5%), their illness worsened in 66.1% of the cases, 68.8% faced difficulties in availing psychotropic medications. The caregivers of these subjects reported that 80.3% of them faced difficulties during lockdown which was attributed to non-availability of doctors (67.5%) and medication (33.6%). Discussion: This sub-sample of registered OPD patients at 4 treatment facilities across India, showed that three fourth of subjects had problems accessing OPD, which was largely due to closure of routine OPDs and non-availability of doctors as well as transport facilities due to pan India lockdown. One sixth of patients had to change their psychiatrist and resort to GPs for consultation. In two third of cases the symptoms worsened and around same numbers did not get psychotropic medications during lockdown. Three fourth of caregivers of patients reported difficulties due to non-availability of doctors and medications. Conclusions: COVID-19 pandemic related restrictions affected the availability, access and utilisation of mental health services negatively and lot of difficulties were also faced by caregivers of these patients.

14.
Biomed Res Int ; 2022: 2273648, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1832664

ABSTRACT

Protein is the material foundation of living things, and it directly takes part in and runs the process of living things itself. Predicting protein complexes helps us understand the structure and function of complexes, and it is an important foundation for studying how cells work. Genome-wide protein interaction (PPI) data is growing as high-throughput experiments become more common. The aim of this research is that it provides a dual-tree complex wavelet transform which is used to find out about the structure of proteins. It also identifies the secondary structure of protein network. Many computer-based methods for predicting protein complexes have also been developed in the field. Identifying the secondary structure of a protein is very important when you are studying protein characteristics and properties. This is how the protein sequence is added to the distance matrix. The scope of this research is that it can confidently predict certain protein complexes rapidly, which compensates for shortcomings in biological research. The three-dimensional coordinates of C atom are used to do this. According to the texture information in the distance matrix, the matrix is broken down into four levels by the double-tree complex wavelet transform because it has four levels. The subband energy and standard deviation in different directions are taken, and then, the two-dimensional feature vector is used to show the secondary structure features of the protein in a way that is easy to understand. Then, the KNN and SVM classifiers are used to classify the features that were found. Experiments show that a new feature called a dual-tree complex wavelet can improve the texture granularity and directionality of the traditional feature extraction method, which is called secondary structure.


Subject(s)
Computational Biology , Support Vector Machine , Protein Structure, Secondary , Proteins/chemistry , Wavelet Analysis
15.
Plant Archives ; 21(2):510-517, 2021.
Article in English | CAB Abstracts | ID: covidwho-1791231

ABSTRACT

The entire world is entrapped by the contagious, lethal infectious Corona disease, brought about by the extreme intense respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has been more devastating than the first. The arrival of corona virus vaccines has meant good news for resuming a normal life. However, there are some cases that have been reported that the persons who have been vaccinated still test positive for COVID-19. Unlike the first wave (in 2020), the younger population is getting infection by a corona virus, especially those with comorbidities are at high risk. Evidence from the first wave of data on the mortality rate also suggests that people with weak immune systems, e.g., older people, children, and those with underlying medical issues, are more likely to be affected by Covid-19 disease. Therefore, by improving the human body's immunity, the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infections can be reduced. In this regard, medicinal plants can play an effective role in improving the body's immunity. Thus, in this paper, attempts are made to compile and discuss the use of various plants to boost immunity and also for the prevention of many respiratory diseases having symptoms and signs similar to Corona disease.

16.
Tourism ; 31(2):197-213, 2021.
Article in English, Polish | CAB Abstracts | ID: covidwho-1727098

ABSTRACT

In post-pandemic India the recovery in tourism has become known as 'revenge' meaning revenge on the disease. It is tourism due to the desperation to travel, especially in the current scenario in which those who have been confined to their homes have grown tired of being trapped there. The restless mood caused by the ongoing pandemic reached its peak and it is possible that this will eventually help in bringing back a rapid return to tourism. To analyze the travel intentions of potential tourists after the current pandemic ends, an attempt has been made to make an analysis of tourism in India to find out how Covid-19 is impacting on people's lives and how willing they are to participate in tourism again.

17.
Geoscience Frontiers ; : 101373, 2022.
Article in English | ScienceDirect | ID: covidwho-1709655

ABSTRACT

The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which has caused millions of death globally is recognized to be unstable and recalcitrant in the environment, especially in the way it has been evolving to form new and highly transmissible variants. Of particular concerns are human-environment interactions and the handling and reusing the environmental materials, such as effluents, sludge, or biosolids laden with the SARS-CoV-2 without adequate treatments, thereby suggesting potential transmission and health risks. This study assesses the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in effluents, sludge, and biosolids. Further, we evaluate the environmental, ecological, and health risks of reusing these environmental materials by wastewater/sludge workers and farmers. A systematic review of literature from the Scopus database resulted in a total of 21 articles (11 for effluents, 8 for sludge, and 2 for biosolids) that met the criteria for meta-analysis, which are then subdivided into 30 meta-analyzed studies. The prevalence of SAR-CoV-2 RNA in effluent and sludge based on random-effect models are 27.51 and 1012.25, respectively, with a 95% CI between 6.14 and 48.89 for the effluent, and 104.78 and 1019.71 for the sludge. However, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the biosolids based on the fixed-effect model is 30.59, with a 95% CI between 10.10 and 51.08. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in environmental materials indicates the inefficiency in some of the treatment systems currently deployed to inactivate and remove the novel virus, which could be a potential health risk concern to vulnerable wastewater workers in particular, and the environmental and ecological issues for the population at large. This timely review portends the associated risks in handling and reusing environmental materials without proper and adequate treatments.

18.
Water ; 14(3):412, 2022.
Article in English | ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1687079

ABSTRACT

This study utilized MIKE 11 to quantify the spatio-temporal dynamics of water quality parameters (Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and temperature) in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle area of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Calibrated for the year of 2019 and validated for the year of 2020, the developed model showed a significant agreement between the observed and simulated values of water quality parameters. Locations near to cage culture areas exhibited higher BOD5 values than sites close to pond/lagoon culture areas due to the effects of numerous point sources of pollution, including upstream wastewater and out-fluxes from residential and tourism activities in the surrounding areas, all of which had a direct impact on the quality of the surface water used for aquaculture. Moreover, as aquacultural effluents have intensified and dispersed over time, water quality in the surrounding water bodies has degraded. The findings suggest that the effective planning, assessment and management of rapidly expanding aquaculture sites should be improved, including more rigorous water quality monitoring, to ensure the long-term sustainable expansion and development of the aquacultural sector in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle in particular, and the Vietnamese Mekong Delta as a whole.

19.
Psychiatr Danub ; 33(Suppl 13): 392-398, 2021 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1678896

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: College students show higher prevalence of mental health issues as compared to the general population. Unfortunately, this year, students all over the world have to face, added pressure due to COVID-19. This study aimed to estimate the effect of COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on the mental health of Medical and Engineering Students. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study was carried out at different medical and engineering colleges in Bihar, Delhi and Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu. 699 responses were collected and analyzed during the study period. Data was collected by email/ online platform through Google form via non- probability Sampling Technique. Mental health status was determined by using Corona virus anxiety screening (CAS), GHQ (General Health Questionnaire)-12, GAD (General Anxiety Disorder)-7 scale and PHQ (Patient Health Questionnaire)-9 scales.369 (53%) MBBS and 330 (47%) Engineering students participated in the study. RESULTS: Maximum participants in both groups did not have anxiety related to COVID-19 (MBBS (96.8%) and Engineering (95.2%). About two-third participants secured above cut off score i.e., MBBS (62.3%) and Engineering (64.8%) in GHQ-12. Approximately comparable proportion in both groups were found to have severe anxiety and depression (16% vs 20%), when applied GAD-7 and PHQ-9. Uncertainty in the timing of the exams/ Academic delay was found to be the most worrying factor (MBBS, 41.19% vs Engineering 31.82%). CONCLUSIONS: About two-thirds of medical and engineering students psychologically equally affected by current pandemic in our study. A student wellness clinic is the need of hour in current scenario, which is supported by mental health experts (Psychiatrists, Clinical Psychologists) and residents on rotation basiswhere all psychological problem including Stress, Anxiety, Interpersonal crisis, Relationship issues and Personality problems of the students are dealt effectively in institute campus near to student residential area.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Pandemics , Anxiety/epidemiology , Communicable Disease Control , Cross-Sectional Studies , Depression , Humans , India/epidemiology , Mental Health , SARS-CoV-2 , Students
20.
Medical Journal Armed Forces India ; 2021.
Article in English | ScienceDirect | ID: covidwho-1472099

ABSTRACT

Background The study aims to assess the effect of personal protective equipment (PPE) on the physical and psychological well-being of health care workers (HCWs) and its impact on patient safety. Methods After ethical approval, a 14-point questionnaire was circulated offline and online among the HCWs of ours institute, who were involved in performing invasive procedures while wearing a PPE. The responses were analysed using the SPSS software version 26. Results Of 198 responses, the mean duration of PPE use was 4.6 ± 1.52 h. Seventy percent of respondents suggested <4 h of continuous use of PPE. Seventy-seven percent found difficulties during the procedures while wearing PPE and agreed to errors while performing a procedure. Poor visibility (95.5%), fogging (84.9%), communication difficulty (75.3%), sweating (74.2%), posture-related discomfort (56.1%) and poor concentration (51%) were major causes. Anxiety (39.9%) and fear of spreading an infection to the family (42.9%) were major psychological effects. Eighty percent of HCWs raised concern over the quality of PPE, N95 mask and eye protector. The HCWs felt the need to improve the quality of PPEs, use extra padding around the ears, sealing the N95 mask with adhesive tape, besides using sign language for communication for more safety. Fifty percent graded the procedure-related difficulty level >6 on a Likert scale of 1–10. Conclusion PPE-related discomfort is common among the HCWs and could contribute to errors during an invasive procedure. Efforts to alleviate the physical and psychological well-being of the HCWs will be essential for reducing procedural error while wearing a PPE.

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