ABSTRACT
The extreme pandemic has changed the traveling habit as people are skeptical about traveling through the infection outbreak regions. Therefore, it has become a need to find alternative routes whenever traveling in a city kind of regions. In the current paper, we have proposed a simple yet smart system for predicting the safest route between source and destination amongst other alternative routes. The safest route is with minimum exposure to localities affected by the spread of communicable diseases like COVID-19. It is done by considering different quality measures assuming that there will be available information on the active number of infection cases from the governing authorities. However, the only information taken into account is the location of the confirmed active cases without using any other sensitive information of the patients. The proposed system will help common people while traveling in the pandemic situation. It will also be helpful for the local administration in restricting movement to and from containment zones. © 2021 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
The present pregression of the highly contagious novel coronavirus [COVID-19] has been testing the healthcare system globally pressing the medical staff everywhere. Present and future healthcare workers’ updated knowledge, proper attitude towards the pandemic and adequate preventive practices are of paramount importance for the combat effectiveness of the healthcare burden.This study assessed the knowledge, practice and attitudes regarding COVID-19 among the nursing students of a tertiary care center in Eastern India. KAP scores were compared with their socio-demographic variables. Inter-relation between knowledge, attitude and practice was also assessed.Out of the 131 students participated in the study the KAP parameters were not significantly different based on the socio-demographic factors. Though knowledge and attitude parameters were positively correlated among them, it was found that practice was negatively correlated to both knowledge and attitude. This finding can be attributed to them being non-exposed and inexperienced in the regular healthcare activities as well to the fact that Indian population was to some extent unprepared to cope up with this type of epidemic for a long time. Training on the updated knowledge along with exposure to simulated environment with scheduled supervision to reflect the behavior of the students is of great importance so that in extreme situation, the trainee students can also come handy into utilization if needed.
ABSTRACT
With the rapid spread of COVID-19 since its inception a year back, the frontline healthcare workers, who underwent isolation and quarantine following possible exposure, faced multiple psychiatric problems like deterioration of sleep quality and anxiety manifestations. Different demographic variables were found to be associated with their occurrence, as well as inter-relation between them were found to be common. We tried to examine the role of social support system as well to the appearance of such problems in the present study. After getting the ethical clearance, willing healthcare workers during their isolation and quarantine were presented questionnaires consisting of Socio-demographic proforma, Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Personal Social Capital Scale 16 (PSCS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data taken were analysed with independent t test and Fishers exact chi square test, Pearson’s correlation analysis and linear regression analysis. Majority of the subjects were married Hindu female from urban background, mostly doctor and nurse by profession. Independent T test revealed significant association between gender and anxiety status as well as between marital status and sleep quality. Positive correlation between the PSCS scores and the SAS scores (r=0.652, P<0.01) and negative correlations between the PSCS and PSQI scores and between the SAS and PSQI score were found albeit being statistically insignificant. Significant association was found between the SAS score and social bridging component of PSCS (Fishers exact chi sq. value 0.54 and p = 0.003). Anxiety score was significantly affected when the socio-demographic factors like gender, religion, marital status and scores of sleep quality (PSQI) and social capital (PSCS) were considered together as seen in the linear regression analysis.