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Paper aims: We analyze in this study the management and governance structure of technology transfer in megaprojects under an emergency context. Originality: We analyze an emergency health megaproject's management and governance structure. There is a dearth of studies that explore the management and governance structure of combination megaprojects in emergencies. We focus on analyzing the literature and the management and governance structure in the technology transfer, production, and supply of the Covid-19 vaccine. We then develop a reference model for building the management and governance structure of megaprojects in emergencies. Research method: We conducted a case study in Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz. From the case study, we can analyze real situations that contribute to the development of theories. For this, we systematically reviewed the literature to identify how the megaproject management structure has been used. We interviewed stakeholders of the Oxford/AstraZeneca/Fiocruz vaccine megaproject against Covid-19 and triangulated these data by collecting corresponding documents. Main findings: We conclude that the management and governance structure of the Oxford/AstraZeneca/Fiocruz vaccine technology transfer, production, and supply megaproject was appropriate. Since this structure should not be reproduced faithfully due to its specific characteristics, we developed a reference model for structure building in emergencies. This model can support institutions and governments in structuring management and governance in critical situations. Implications for theory and practice: The knowledge obtained from this study will contribute to determining management and governance structures for future megaprojects, especially in emergencies © This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
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The COVID-19 pandemic has seen opponents of public health mandates deploy a range of populist and anti-elite arguments. The 2021 Canadian federal election was an exceptional "pandemic election" in which the COVID-19 health crisis took centre stage. But the election campaign also saw the populist People's Party of Canada (PPC) rise to prominence by opposing pandemic-related public health restrictions. While the party failed to win a seat, it did manage to triple its vote share (1.6 per cent to 4.9 per cent). It is unclear, however, what factors led to the rise in support for the PPC. To explore this issue, we draw on an original post-election survey (n = 18,950) and focus on populist attitudes and opposition to COVID-19-related public health restrictions. Results from regression models and structural equation models (SEMs) indicate that opposition to public health restrictions was a much stronger factor than populism in shaping support for the PPC.
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Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and confinement have affected access to the health system and have impacted people's mental health, particularly families of children with autism spectrum di-sorder (ASD). Objective: To investigate the perceptions of parents of children with ASD regarding benefits, positive changes, and difficulties in behavioral management at home during the first con-finement due to COVID-19 in Chile. Subjects and Methods: We performed an exploratory cross-sectional qualitative study including 118 parents of individuals with ASD aged between 2 and 15 years. An online questionnaire, prepared by a multidisciplinary committee of national experts using Delphi methodology was applied, which contains four open-ended questions related to children's behavior (difficulties, improvements, benefits, and professional support required) during the pan-demic. Results: Parents perceived that confinement increased emotional stress for adults and chil-dren, which could exacerbate behavioral problems. The interviewees perceived improvements in child social-affective, individual autonomy, and communication skills. The family and resilience aspects, such as time-sharing that emerged during the pandemic to support children's needs, were appreciated. Parents also reported the need for professional support in behavioral and emotional management during confinement. Conclusion: Caregivers value the integration of the family into therapies during confinement. It is necessary to complement these results with additional studies exploring different life contexts of families with children with ASD in Chile and the impacts of long-term confinement.
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Ethnographic Insights on Latin America and the Caribbean offers a compelling introduction to the region by providing a series of ethnographic case studies that examine the most pressing issues communities are facing today. These case studies address key topics such as inequities during the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Black racism, resistance against extractive industries, migration and transnational families, revitalization of Indigenous languages, art and solidarity in the wake of political violence, resilience in the face of climate change, and recent social movements. © University of Toronto Press 2023. All rights reserved.
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The essay analyzed the situation of the pandemic of COVID-19, presenting the existing interfaces between the environment, the economic development model and public health. As a starting point, it considered the understanding of the pandemic of COVID-19 as a complex problem and proposed an explanatory modeling, here called ecosystemic, to help the necessary integrated actions in its confrontation. Based on the concept of social reproduction, we have analyzed the determinants at the macro and micro contexts, that are in interaction at the different levels of "biocommunal”, "self-awareness and conduct”, "techno-economic”, and "ecological-political”. The identification of this set of interdependent conditioning factors has made it possible to characterize the socio-environmental vulnerabilities that must be considered when making public policies decisions. © 2023 Universidade Federal do Parana. All rights reserved.
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With the emergence of COVID-19, Food Services (FS) needed to adapt to the protocols established by health agencies to avoid the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Although there is no evidence of transmission of the virus through food, contagion can occur between food handlers and customers. In this study, the objective was to evaluate the measures implemented in a university FS in order to prevent the transmission and contagion of COVID-19. The methodology used was descriptive and quantitative. Data collection took place from July to October 2021, through the application of a checklist based on health standards for the prevention of transmission of COVID-19. The results showed that the FS demonstrated non-conformities in some items (28.9%), even though the changes made were in accordance with the guidelines of health agencies. The changes mainly refer to the recommendations of health protocols for the prevention of COVID-19 such as natural ventilation, reinforced cleaning, use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - mask, informative posters, and physical distancing. It is concluded that it is necessary to put into practice the current regulations and correct the possible flaws so that the FS reach all the requirements required by the legislation in the prevention of the transmission of COVID-19. © 2022 Centro Universitario Sao Camilo. All rights reserved.
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This study aimed to analyze food (in)security and its associated factors, in families of schoolchildren from Kindergarten and Preschooler of a Public School located in a social vulnerability in the municipality of Santos(Sao Paulo/SP), Brazil, in the scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a cross-sectional study, carried out in a full-time school from March to April 2022, with convenience sample. Sociodemographic, economic and food insecurity variables were analyzed. Food Insecurity (FI) was measured by the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA). To verify the association between food insecurity (FI) and other variables it was used the Chi-square Test and Fisher's Exact Test. It was observed that of the 78 participating families, half experienced mild (33.3%) or moderate (16.7%) FI. Food insecurity was associated with: presence of brown/black heads of households, single (p=0.019), beneficiaries of cash transfer programs (p0.001), with monthly family income of up to 1 minimum wage (p0.001), with three or more people in the household (p=0.049), with two or more children (p=0.047). In conclusion, the high proportions of Food Insecurity in half of the families investigated, could reflect the current scenario of dismantling of public policies, combined with health and economic and crisis, which has generated hunger throughout the Brazilian territory. Although it is a vulnerable region, the absence of severe FI could suggest that the National School Feeding Program -PNAE was an important ally in protecting these families against hunger, by providing four meals a day to schoolchildren.
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Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and confinement have affected access to the health system and have impacted people's mental health, particularly families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Objective(s): To investigate the perceptions of parents of children with ASD regarding benefits, positive changes, and difficulties in behavioral management at home during the first confinement due to COVID-19 in Chile. Subjects and Methods: We performed an exploratory cross-sectional qualitative study including 118 parents of individuals with ASD aged between 2 and 15 years. An online questionnaire, prepared by a multidisciplinary committee of national experts using Delphi methodology was applied, which contains four open-ended questions related to children's behavior (difficulties, improvements, benefits, and professional support required) during the pan-demic. Result(s): Parents perceived that confinement increased emotional stress for adults and chil-dren, which could exacerbate behavioral problems. The interviewees perceived improvements in child social-affective, individual autonomy, and communication skills. The family and resilience aspects, such as time-sharing that emerged during the pandemic to support children's needs, were appreciated. Parents also reported the need for professional support in behavioral and emotional management during confinement. Conclusion(s): Caregivers value the integration of the family into therapies during confinement. It is necessary to complement these results with additional studies exploring different life contexts of families with children with ASD in Chile and the impacts of long-term confinement. Copyright © 2022, Sociedad Chilena de Pediatria. All rights reserved.
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Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are responsible for more than 75% of the hotel ownership structure in the USA. The effects of COVID-19 restrictions on hotel REITs were devastating due to the unpredictability of revenues and cash flows, directly impacting managerial decisions on how to adapt REITs’ capital structure quickly. This paper used quarterly hotel REIT financial data of the 18 most representative US H-REITs from January 2015 through December 2020 to understand the mod-erating effects of COVID-19 on hotel REITs’ capital structure determinants. Analyzing a panel data of 472 observations, this study found robust empirical evidence that confirms COVID-19 moderates the relationships between hotel REITs’ capital structure and its determinants. Adapting constructs from the pecking order theory and trade-off theory, this study found that hotel REITs’ capital structure determinants were different during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results, theoretical contributions, and managerial implications were explored in the final section. © 2022 International Association of Hospitality Financial Management Education.
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Aims COVID-19 has impacted the lives of children and young people (CYP) through the effects of national lockdowns on education, social services and children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).1 Due to COVID-19, the number of CYP seeking help from such services has decreased. Since 2017, there has been a 6% increase in the number of CYP identified as having a probable mental disorder and those with mental health (MH) problems are more likely to state that lockdown made their life worse than those without.2 Aim Assess the trend of CYP mental health presentations and admissions to an acute paediatric service and the potential impact of COVID-19, as part of a service evaluation. Methods Presentations to PED from April-October 2019 (pre- COVID) and April-October 2021 (during COVID) were analysed. Those who were admitted to the acute MH ward were identified. Data including demographics, presenting complaint, length of stay, past MH history/admissions, previous involvement with CAMHS and discharge destination were collected. Data from 2019 was compared to 2021 using Fisher's exact test and unpaired t-tests to establish significance. Results There was a 132% increase in the number of children presenting to PED from 2019 to 2021 with a MH related problem (table 1);the absolute number of admissions increased by 97%. Demographics were similar in 2019 and 2021. There was a significant increase in the mean length of admission from 4 days to 8.7 days in 2021 (p=0.037). There was a significant increase in the proportion of patients who were discharged home with a community CAMHS follow up (p=0.003). Fewer patients were admitted to psychiatric units in 2021 compared to 2019 (5% vs 21%). Overdose was the commonest cause of admission with a significant increase from 2019 to 2021 (p=0.037). Conclusion There was an increase in the number of CYP presenting to PED with MH crisis from 2019 to 2021. The number of children admitted to our acute paediatric ward in 2021 nearly doubled from 2019, suggesting a possible deterioration of CYP MH during the pandemic. This seems consistent with national data from 2020 following the first wave of COVID-19.2 Throughout 2019 and 2021, the majority of admitted patients were previously known to CAMHS, yet were still presenting to PED. This may reflect accessibility issues due to reduced capacity of community CAMHS as an indirect effect of the pandemic. Our findings highlight the concerning increase in admissions of CYP due to overdose since the start of COVID-19, reflecting the vulnerability and lack of support services for children in inner cities. Lastly, we have demonstrated an increase in the burden on acute paediatric wards, imposing logistical pressures on bed management, personnel, patient environment and cost. These effects warrant immediate, careful consideration in the context of public health as well as CAMHS provision in primary and secondary care. (Table Presented).
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Introduction: In high-performance athletes, sleep is an important tool in physical and mental recovery due to routine training and competitions. However, given the COVID-19 pandemic, the lives of the entire population were changed. The routine of high-performance athletes, especially team sports, was directly impacted by the measures of social isolation, and understanding the extent of damage to athletes' sleep in this scenario is desirable. Objective: To evaluate the sleep pattern of young athletes in team sports during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods: Young athletes of both sexes and federated in their respective team sports in the State of São Paulo and Paraná were evaluated. They were evaluated under two conditions: during social isolation (2020) and during the return to presential activities (2021). An anamnesis was carried out and questionnaires that assess sleep (Mini-Sleep, Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire) were applied online through Google Forms. Paired t-test was used to compare the both moments. The study was approved by the UNIFESP Research Ethics Committee via Plataforma Brazil. Results: The sample consisted of 34 young people (24 boys and 10 girls), 15.79 ± 1.38 years, 62.17 ± 8.68 kg, 1.67 ± 0.08 m and BMI 22.12 ± 2.16 kg/m2. Among the sports played, 50% practice futsal, 23.5% handball, 17.6% soccer and 8.9% softball. They maintained a routine of 4.02 ± 1.29 days of training/week before the pandemic began, 4.02 ± 1.64 days/week during isolation, and 3.42 ± 1.09 days/week after return. Regarding the sleep of young athletes, they had good sleep quality and normal sleepiness. The sleep quality (26.20 ± 8.16 vs 25.27 ± 6.79) and daytime sleepiness (8.47 ± 4.88 vs 7.81 ± 3.53) showed no differences between the isolation period and the return, respectively. They had higher Social Jet lag during isolation (2.51 ± 1.31 hours) when compared to the return period (2.05 ± 1.13 hours, p = 0.04), in addition to shorter sleep duration during the week in the isolation period when compared to the return period (7.95 ± 1.55 vs 8.56 ± 1.63, p = 0.01). Conclusion: The young athletes kept their training routines at home during social isolation, and with the return to the presential training and collective activities, they decreased the Social Jet lag and increased the hours of sleep during the week, suggesting that the pandemic negatively influenced their sleep.
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This article presents the results of a death review study of 34 cases of femicide in the Federal District, Brazil, between 2016 and 2017. The aim of the study is to analyse how primary, secondary and tertiary prevention policies could have enhanced the prevention of these particular femicides. The study uses a mixed-method research design to analyse the judicial and health files of victims and perpetrators, supplemented by semi-structured interviews with surviving relatives. The findings highlight the need for an intersectional approach to gender, race, class and migration status in prevention policies;better risk assessment and management;enhanced women's reporting of domestic violence earlier;and better integration of the justice system with psychosocial services. The increase of violence against women during the COVID-19 pandemic strengthens the need for an integrated approach to the prevention of lethal gender violence. This paper provides an original contribution to better comprehend the profile of femicide victims and perpetrators with a view on how to improve prevention policies in Brazil.
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The closure of borders was a measure taken by most countries facing the Covid-19 pandemic, including Brazil, through interministerial ordinances of the federal government. The purpose of this research is to analyze such ordinances, what are the motivations of the Executive Branch, and what these acts mean for democracy and migratory rights. Through the historical-deductive method, using bibliographic research, a theoretical review of bureaucratic and authoritarian government was carried out in Arendt's perspective. Through documentary research (ordinances, Public Civil Action and reports), the legality of the ordinances that they determined to be migratory restrictions was analyzed. It was concluded that the closing of borders, in Brazil, is an authoritarian political project of migratory containment, not of the virus: the interministerial ordinances under analysis represent the use of bureaucracy by the political power to subvert the legal system.
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The paper aims to evidence the impact of passenger traffic in the airports of major Brazilian tourist destinations and its relation to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve this, the study performed a qualitative analysis based on secondary data obtained from official websites of regulatory authorities and a quantitative analysis through the use of multiple regression, cluster and discriminant analysis in order to measure a cause-and- effect relation between the variables observed. The tourist destinations addressed are the capitals of Brazilian federal states, the national capital (Brasilia), and the cities of Cannpinas, Foz do Iguagu, and Balneario Cannboriu - the choice was made based on the cities with the highest number of airport passenger traffic. The results indicate a strong correlation between passenger traffic in Brazilian capitals and the spread of COVID-19 cases.
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BACKGROUND: The 10-month timeline from conception to regulatory approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 is unprecedented in modern medicine. However, the climate of the pandemic has also seen anti-vaccination sentiments flourish. AIMS: To determine the intent to accept COVID-19 vaccination among healthcare workers at a London Hospital Trust and examine variation in uptake between demographic groups. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey open to staff working at the trust. Staff rated on a five-point scale the likelihood of them accepting COVID-19 vaccination. RESULTS: We received 514 responses, representing 16% of the workforce. About 59% of staff intended to seek vaccination, 24% to reject and 17% were unsure. There was significantly reduced intended uptake in females, younger age groups, healthcare assistants, nurses, staff of black ethnic backgrounds and those who rejected influenza vaccination. Safety was the dominant concern. CONCLUSIONS: Our study finds COVID-19 vaccinate hesitancy is prevalent among healthcare workers at a London Hospital Trust. It is particularly concerning that hesitancy was highest amongst groups most exposed to COVID-19 and most at risk of severe disease. Reasons behind disparities in uptake must be addressed to protect staff and prevent deepening inequalities within the healthcare workforce.
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COVID-19 Vaccines , COVID-19 , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Health Personnel , Humans , London , SARS-CoV-2 , VaccinationABSTRACT
Rationale: To analyze the evolution of the nutritional status of Elementary School children, over four years, and to infer the impact of nutritional imbalances to child infection susceptibility. Methods: A convenience sample of two elementary schools were studied during 4 school years, starting in 2016/2017. Weight and height were collected. Body mass index (BMI) z-score was calculated using the WHO AnthroPlus software. Nutritional status was evaluated according to WHO guidelines. Results: 1155 students (6 - 14 years-old, 48.5% female) were included. The mean z-scores of each year were: 0.43 ±1.17 in 2016/2017, 0.70 ±1.31 in 2017/2018, 0.38 ±1.30 in 2018/2019, and 0.34 ±1.86 in 2019/2020. The 2019/2020 school year recorded the highest percentage of underweight (10%), the highest percentage of normal weight was recorded in 2016/2017 (67.2%), 2017/2018 registered the highest percentage of overweight (24.6%) and the highest percentage of obesity was registered in 2019/2020 (18.2%). In these 4 years there has been an increase in the percentage of underweight (2.2% to 10%) and obesity (8.1% to 18.2%) and a decrease in the percentage of normal weight (67.2% to 54.6%) and overweight (22.5% to 17.1%). Conclusion: The increase in the prevalence of underweight and obesity between 2016 and 2020 is worrying, mainly during a pandemic that has obesity and malnutrition as risk factors. Also, the decrease in the prevalence of overweight may be related to conversion of these cases into obesity cases, since normal weight cases also decreased. We are implementing a nutrition education program in these schools to try reverting this serious public health problem, although facing some resistance. Therefore, nutritionists are needed in Portuguese schools, to promote health and nutrition literacy among students, especially during pandemic times. References: de Onis M, Onyango AW, Borghi E, Siyam A, Nishida C, Siekmann J. Development of a WHO growth reference for school-aged children and adolescents. Bull World Health Organ. 2007;85(9):660-7. Disclosure of Interest: None declared.
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The reduction in trade takes into account both the economic slowdown and the interruption of production chains caused by social isolation measures or labour restrictions as mitigating measures, something that in the first months of the year was concentrated on China and is now spreading globally (WTO, 2020a). With the rise in numbers of the dead and infected, the country attempted to redesign its supply chains in order to attend its 210 million inhabitants and also create strategies to subsidise the anticipation of a possible collapse in its National Health Service (Sistema Único de Saúde-SUS), by looking to foreign companies that could provide the inputs for tackling the Covid-19. Today companies in a wide variety of segments are hard hit with lost revenue, reduced demand, broken supply chains, harm to entire chains, as in the case of local and global tourism;increasing risk aversion in financial markets, which is now causing a drop in the level of corporate and consumer confidence (Açikgoz & Gunay, 2020;OECD, 2020;Ivanov, 2020) and one of the main trading upsets in recent decades (Araz et al., 2020). Amidst the slowdown of the Chinese economy with disruptions in production, the operation of global supply chains was affected, a result of their key role as producers of intermediary goods, particularly computer hardware, electronic, pharmaceutical drugs, transport equipment and as a main source of demand for many commodities (OECD, 2020).
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Unprecedented challenges have been imposed on global markets to minimise losses in the short and long supply chains. The purpose of this paper is to identify the impacts created by the Covid-19 pandemic on the short and long supply chains in Brazil. This paper analyses the short and long supply chains in Brazil, whose overriding data were consulted on the websites of supervisory bodies and agencies at home and abroad. Adopting a qualitative approach, the consultation of literature about short and long supply chains was to determine the impacts of the pandemic on them in Brazil, as well as the resilience adopted by many in the course of the outbreak of the new coronavirus. This study examines the resilience of the Brazilian supply chains when pointing out the impacts on them during the Covid-19 pandemic and the alternatives to continue operating. It was also found that short supply chain resilience plays a key role in the Brazilian food supply. The study is restricted to the context of Brazil and its particularities. Also, further studies are required to explore the economic and operating impacts on different sectors of the economy in the post-pandemic period.