ABSTRACT
Background: The university years are associated with a variety of stressors, and recently, COVID-19 has presented an additional burden on students' mental well-being. As mental health manifestations of stressors may differ between countries, this study compared students from Switzerland and the Republic of Georgia regarding the burden of stressors and the role of potentially culture-dependent risk and protective factors of mental health (i.e., help-seeking, cross-cultural coping, fatalism, sense of coherence). Method: We assessed two samples of university students in Georgia (N = 425) and German-speaking Switzerland (N = 298), using a cross-sectional design. Quantitative data were collected with online questionnaires during the third wave of the pandemic. Mental health screenings included measures of depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorder. Results: General life- and COVID-19-related stress levels were higher in Georgia than in Switzerland. Georgian students experienced more adjustment disorder symptoms but lower levels of depression and anxiety. While Swiss students reported more protective factors (formal and informal help-seeking, sense of coherence), Georgian students experienced more risk factors (fatalism and avoidance coping). Despite significant correlations between potentially culture-dependent risk and protective factors and mental health, few associations remained significant above and beyond the impact of general life stress. Conclusions: The high prevalence of stressors and adjustment disorder symptoms and risk factors for mental health among Georgian students illustrates a potential need for psychosocial support with stress management. The cross-cultural applicability of Western models of student mental health services should be evaluated. © 2023 Hogrefe Publishing.
ABSTRACT
Significant shifts in the composition of consumer spending as a result of the COVID-19 crisis can complicate the interpretation of official inflation data, which are calculated by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) based on a fixed basket of goods. We focus on Israel as a country that experienced three lockdowns, additional restrictions that significantly changed consumer behavior, and a successful vaccination campaign that has led to the lifting of most of these restrictions. We use credit card spending data to construct a consumption basket of goods representing the composition of household consumption during the COVID-19 period. We use this synthetic COVID-19 basket to calculate the adjusted inflation rate that should prevail during the pandemic period. We find that the differences between COVID-19-adjusted and CBS (unadjusted) inflation measures are transitory. Only the contribution of certain goods and services, particularly housing and transportation, to inflation changed significantly, especially during the first and second lockdowns. Although lockdowns and restrictions in developed countries created a significant bias in inflation weighting, the inflation bias remained unexpectedly small and transitory during the COVID-19 period in Israel. © 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston 2021.
ABSTRACT
Background: The World Health Organization recommends healthcare providers wear personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent COVID-19 infection. There are no universally accepted recommendations for PPE usage by healthcare providers when caring for asymptomatic patients who can transmit infection. Objective: To survey PPE usage across medical dermatology practices and assess provider concern for COVID-19 transmission in the workplace. Methods: An anonymous survey was distributed via e-mail to dermatologists with membership in the Society for Dermatology Hospitalists and the Association of Professors in Dermatology. Questions pertained to use and perception of PPE in outpatient encounters. The survey remained open for 6 weeks and reached a predetermined target response number of 50-100 dermatologists among 429 recipients. Results: 88 dermatologists completed the survey (20.5%) and the majority practice in an outpatient clinic (80.7%). When caring for patients, most practices officially recommended utilizing a surgical mask (95.5%) and face shield (52.3%). Though a minority of practices recommended an N95 respirator (9.1%) or gloves (29.5%), a larger fraction of dermatologists self-reported using an N95 respirator (26.1%) and/or gloves (43.2%). 35.2% of dermatologists supplemented practice-provided PPE by providing personally obtained PPE, and 18.2% of dermatologists felt their institution did not adequately address their perceived risk of contracting COVID-19. 42.0% of physicians perceived their risk of contracting COVID-19 at work to be moderate or high. Conclusion: An appreciable fraction of dermatologists perceived their COVID-19 infection risk to be medium or high, and some dermatologists are taking supplemental safety measures. This study calls attention to the level of provider-perceived risk and highlights opportunities to address provider concerns regarding COVID-19 transmission.