Mental distress among healthcare workers due to COVID-19 during second wave in a tertiary care center of South Karnataka: A cross-sectional study

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) in India are facing physical and psychological pressure. The pandemic has significant psychological impacts. Hence, we wanted to assess the mental stress and social stress among HCWs during the second wave of COVID-19. Aim and Objectives: Assessment of the mental distress among HCWs of tertiary care level institution during second wave of COVID-19 with the following objectives: (1) To know the sociodemographic characteristics of the HCWs of tertiary care center and (2) to assess the psychological stress among healthcare workers of a tertiary health center. Material(s) and Method(s): It is a cross-sectional and observational study conducted in hospital setting, in a tertiary care setting. Data were collected from 196 HCWs of the institute. Institutional ethical clearance was taken before the study. Structured questionnaire included sociodemographic variables, work-related variables, and variables to assess social stress. We used hospital anxiety and depression scoring questionnaire to assess anxiety and depression. Data were collected through personal interviews and online through Google forms after taking informed consent. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests are used analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 21 for Statistical analysis. Result(s): A total of 196 HCWs, 121 doctors, 74 nursing staff, and one ward staff participated in the study. Nursing staff were at higher risk for anxiety and depression, that is, 29% and 25% than others. Females were slightly more anxious (29%) and depressed (17%) than males. HCWs who are Muslim by religion were at more mental distress. Media exposure of more than 3 h had increased risk of mental distress. HCWs with other frontline COVID warrior as a partner were both anxious (40%) and depressed (20%). Anxiety (35%) was more among those who's family members got COVID positive. About 25% of them faced social stigma, 55% of them faced issue of isolation with in the community, and 14% of them faced acts of violence which is unacceptable. Conclusion(s): Although its second wave HCWs are still having psychological distress which needs to be addressed. Social stress that they are facing is significant and is associated with higher anxiety and depression, which has to be taken seriously.Copyright © 2023, Mr Bhawani Singh. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Lung Ultrasound in Assessment of Critically Ill patients in Respiratory Intensive Care Unit

Reaching a proper diagnosis for critically ill patients is like collecting pieces of puzzle and bed side lung ultrasound (LUS) becomes a crucial piece complementary to clinical and laboratory pieces. It is a bed side, real time tool for diagnosis of patients in ICU who are critical to be transferred to radiology unit especially in Covid-19 pandemic with risk of infection transmission. The aim was to evaluate the accuracy of lung ultrasound in assessment of critically ill patients admitted to Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU), moreover to assess its diagnostic performance in different pulmonary diseases as compared to the gold standard approach accordingly. This observational prospective (cross sectional) study with a total 183 patients who met the inclusion criteria,were selected from patients admitted at the RICU;Chest Department, Zagazig University Hospitals, during the period from September 2019 to September 2021. LUS examination was performed to diagnose the different pulmonary diseases causing RF. All cases were examined by LUS on admission. From a total 183 patients, 111 patients 60.7% were males and 72 patients 39.3% were females, with a mean age of 56+/-12.77 years, 130 patients were breathing spontaneously received conservative management with O2 therapy, 32 patients needed NIV while 21 patients needed IMV with ETT. Exacerbated COPD was the most common disease finally diagnosed followed by bacterial pneumonia, exacerbated ILD, post Covid-19 fibrosis and pulmonary embolism in32, 29,27, 19 and 11 patients respectively with corresponding diagnostic accuracy of LUS 97.3%, AUC=0.943, 93.9% (AUC=0.922), 96.7%(AUC=0.920), 97.8%, AUC=0.895, and 97.8% respectively, while Covid-19 pneumonia was the final diagnosis in 8 patients with LUS diagnostic accuracy of 97.8% (AUC=0.869) with no statistical significant difference p-value=0.818 with bacterial pneumonia in distribution of US profiles. A profile was the commonest detected US profile among the studied patients followed by B profile, C profile, A/B profile and A' profile in 37.2%, 24.6%, 15.8% 4.9%, and 3.8% of cases respectively. Bed side LUS has a reliable, valuable diagnostic performance when integrated with clinical and laboratory data for the diagnosis of most pulmonary diseases in RICU.Copyright © 2023, Colegio de Farmaceuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. All rights reserved.

Assessment the Psychological Mindsets and Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines, Occurrence and Severity of Covid-19 Infection among Vaccinated People in Iraq

Background: The World Health Organization had declared the release of COVID-19 vaccines in September 2020 and after. mRNA vaccine "Pfizer Biotech” and the adenoviral vector vaccine CoV-19 (AstraZeneca-Oxford) were granted emergency use. Researchers found that effectiveness of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccine is (70% and 95%) respectively. While the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (Sinopharm) is safe, effective (effectiveness more than 50%) as WHO's declared. Sinopharm was the first vaccine that had been administered to Iraqi population. Only 2% of population had been vaccinated despite the efficacy and acceptability of it. Several studies conducted in different countries to assess the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines and its safety. Aim: This study done to assess the frequency of post vaccination infection with COVID-19 and accompanying signs and symptoms in different vaccine companies that are available in Iraq (Sinopharm, AstraZeneca-Oxford and Pfizer-BioNTech). Patients and methods: The study is a cross-sectional study conducted from 11th November 2021 to 15th March 2022 that included 500 Iraqi persons vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccine with either Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Sinopharm, Patients were chosen by Convenient sampling from different Iraqi governorate. All data management and analysis done by manual statistical methods. Results: From total 500 patients participated in the study with full doses vaccination (2 doses as recommended) there were (25%) person get covid-19 infection. Majority of infection occurred after 6 months of 2nd dose. Majority of postvaccination infections with Pfizer vaccine were with mild to moderate symptoms without need hospitalizations in comparison to (5.56%), (3.13%) hospitalizations rate and severe infection post AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines respectively. Conclusion: Full vaccination of two doses of (Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm) are highly effective in decrease the severity of COVID-19 infection signs and symptoms, decrease rate of hospitalizations. High efficacy of Pfizer vaccine than AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines. © 2023,ournal for ReAttach Therapy and Developmental Diversities. All Rights Reserved.

COVID-19 infection causes insulin-resistance between hospitalised patients in Najaf governorate

A novel epidemic infection Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) considered as one of the challenges in sustainable development. A new-onset of hyperglycaemia has been observed between many COVID-19 patients. The clear explanation of this elevation in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) was debuted. Here we investigate whether this increase is due to impaired insulin secretion or insulin resistance. 269 participants, group 1 (control, n = 46) group 2 (COVID-19 patients, n = 223). 27 Patients were excluded due to missing of their FPG results. FPG, liver enzymes (ALT, AST, and Alk. Phosphatase), b.urea, s.creatinine, s. insulin, C-peptide, D-dimer, and s.ferritin were measured. Our results showed that FPG was increased in 82% (161) patients and this increase was positively correlated with ferritin (r20.039, P-value 0.0013). There is no correlation between FPG with liver enzymes (ALT and AST). The level of insulin hormone and c-peptide were normal. Because there were no increase in insulin or c-peptide and the only relationship was between FPG and ferritin. Therefore, we concluded that COVID-19 infection could cause insulin resistance. © 2023 Author(s).

COVID-19 olfactory dysfunction, evaluation of onset, and persistence.

Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is a common feature of COVID-19. The goal of the study was to define the modes of onset of OD in the clinical course of the disease and to follow the cases for 12-18 months in order to estimate the differences in the recovery time from OD over the course of the disease. We managed to follow a total of 325 patients (females: 198, males: 127) in the Babylon governorate in Iraq. All were COVID-19 patients who should have OD during the course of the disease. COVID-19 infection was established in all patients by swab test, i.e. polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or chest computed tomography findings of pneumonia compatible with COVID-19. Detailed medical records were obtained directly from the patients or their relatives. The patients were then followed up by telephone and questioned with structured questionnaires concentrating upon general clinical features and the sense of olfaction. Information about the presence of olfactory disorders, their occurrence, and development was recorded. Based on the onset of OD, the patients were categorized into three groups. Olfactory functions were assessed primarily by face-to-face interview and then (if necessary) by a telephone questionnaire assessing self-reported olfactory function and olfactory-related quality of life, which measures the subjective olfactory capability (SOC). In the first 2 weeks, 148 (45.5%) patients reported complete recovery from OD, of which 90 (73.2%) patients joined at the end of the 1st month. OD persistence was observed in 11 (3.3%) patients toward the end of the 1st year, in 5 (1.5%) patients at the end of the 15th month, and only in two (0.6%) patients at the end of the 18th month. We found no significant correlation between the type of onset of OD and the duration and persistence of OD. Most sufferers of COVID-associated OD recover their sense of smell within the 1st month.

Use of Deep Learning and Blockchain Technologies in Healthcare Industry

This editorial summarises the special issue entitled "Deep Learning Blockchain-enabled Technology for Improved Healthcare Industrial Systems”, which deals with the intersection and use of deep learning and blockchain technologies in the healthcare industry. This special issue consists of eleven scientific articles. © 2023 by the author(s). Licensee Prague University of Economics and Business, Czech Republic.

Large Language Model as Unsupervised Health Information Retriever.

Retrieving health information is a task of search for health-related information from a variety of sources. Gathering self-reported health information may help enrich the knowledge body of the disease and its symptoms. We investigated retrieving symptom mentions in COVID-19-related Twitter posts with a pretrained large language model (GPT-3) without providing any examples (zero-shot learning). We introduced a new performance measure of total match (TM) to include exact, partial and semantic matches. Our results show that the zero-shot approach is a powerful method without the need to annotate any data, and it can assist in generating instances for few-shot learning which may achieve better performance.

A cross-sectional study factors associated with resilience among medical staff in radiology departments during COVID-19, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess the level of resilience of medical workers in radiology departments in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, during the COVID-19 outbreak and to explore associated factors. SETTING: Medical staff, including nurses, technicians, radiology specialists and physicians, working in radiology departments at government hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 outbreak. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: The study was conducted among 375 medical workers in radiology departments in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The data collection took place from 15 February 2022 to 31 March 2022. RESULTS: The total resilience score was 29.37±6.760 and the scores of each dimension showed that the higher mean score was observed in the domain of 'flexibility', while the lowest was observed in 'maintaining attention under stress'. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that there was a significant negative correlation between resilience and perceived stress (r=-0.498, p<0.001). Finally, based on multiple linear regression analysis, factors affecting resilience among participants are the availability of psychological hotline (available, B=2.604, p<0.050), knowledge of COVID-19 protective measures (part of understanding, B=-5.283, p<0.001), availability of adequate protective materials (partial shortage, B=-2.237, p<0.050), stress (B=-0.837, p<0.001) and education (postgraduate, B=-1.812, p<0.050). CONCLUSIONS: This study sheds light on the level of resilience and the factors that contribute to resilience in radiology medical staff. Moderate levels of resilience call for health administrators to focus on developing strategies that can effectively help cope with workplace adversities.

Modelling and Analysis of Hospital Inventory Policies during COVID-19 Pandemic

The global coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) started in 2020 and is still ongoing today. Among the numerous insights the community has learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is the value of robust healthcare inventory management. The main cause of many casualties around the world is the lack of medical resources for those who need them. To inhibit the spread of COVID-19, it is therefore imperative to simulate the demand for desirable medical goods at the proper time. The estimation of the incidence of infections using the right epidemiological criteria has a significant impact on the number of medical supplies required. Modeling susceptibility, exposure, infection, hospitalization, isolation, and recovery in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic is indeed crucial for the management of healthcare inventories. The goal of this research is to examine the various inventory policies such as reorder point, periodic order, and just-in-time in order to minimize the inventory management cost for medical commodities. To accomplish this, a SEIHIsRS model has been employed to comprehend the dynamics of COVID-19 and determine the hospitalized percentage of infected people. Based on this information, various situations are developed, considering the lockdown, social awareness, etc., and an appropriate inventory policy is recommended to reduce inventory management costs. It is observed that the just-in-time inventory policy is found to be the most cost-effective when there is no lockdown or only a partial lockdown. When there is a complete lockdown, the periodic order policy is the best inventory policy. The periodic order and reorder policies are cost-effective strategies to apply when social awareness is high. It has also been noticed that periodic order and reorder policies are the best inventory strategies for uncertain vaccination efficacy. This effort will assist in developing the best healthcare inventory management strategies to ensure that the right healthcare requirements are available at a minimal cost. © 2023 by the authors.

Multi-Criteria Decision-Making with Novel Pythagorean Fuzzy Aggregation Operators

Unpredictability and fuzziness coexist in decision-making analysis due to the complexity of the decision-making environment. "Pythagorean fuzzy numbers” (PFNs) outperform "intuitionistic fuzzy numbers” (IFNs) when dealing with unclear data. The "Pythagorean fuzzy set” (PFS) is a useful tool because it removes the restriction that the sum of membership degrees be less than or equal to one by substituting the square sum for the sum of membership degrees. This study proposes two aggregating operators (AOs). The recommended operators outperform the already specified PFN operators. The proposed operator is utilised in the multicriteria decision-making process to identify the best candidate for instruction (MCDM).

Covid-19 detection using medical images

At the present time, COVID-19 considers the pandemic that has most dangerous, representing a great threat to both, Communities and individuals especially scientist and researchers. Determine the infection in the early time is the only way to avoid getting worst especially for those who have respiratory diseases. The researchers working daily without stopping to get the possible solutions to rescue patients or who have the Symptoms of the disease. CT-Scans and X-rays for the lungs consider one of the most popular methods used by the researchers, where analyzing this image to detect the infection by this pandemic. However, it demands long time to examine each test, beside a large number of radiology specialists will be required. Oxygen data may be an interesting signal data samples that can be used to detect the COVID-19 via number of oxygen blood tests, in this research, detection of COVID-19 through some tests of oxygen signals is an essential goal. Tests like oxygen saturation (spO2), Pulse Oximetry (plusOX), Arterial blood gas (ABG) and Carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb) are the most common and important test for this purpose. In this research, a method based on deep neural network as well as machine learning methods using (stochastic gradient decision, decision tree, random forest, linear regression and k-nearest neighbour) was proposed for detecting COVID-19 through analysing the X-rays of patients which will look for visual indicators found in the chest radiography imaging of COVID-19 patients. Also proposed architecture can be applied to the oxygen data when it will be available (lack of well-structured data). © 2023 Author(s).

Bilateral Axillary Lymphadenopathy After COVID-19 Vaccine Presenting for Lymph Node Surgical Biopsy: A Case Report.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic ravaged China, made its way to Thailand and Japan, and ultimately spread across the globe. Despite all efforts to contain the virus, hundreds of millions of positive cases and millions of deaths have been reported worldwide. Due to the vastness and severity of this virus, there was a desperate need for a vaccine, quickly. The COVID-19 vaccination was created urgently under emergency use authorization (EUA) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in less than one year, a process typically taking over 10 years. With this expedited creation time, there is also a shortened time frame for clinical trials, which is commonly used to evaluate for effectiveness and identify any potential side effects or adverse reactions to the created vaccine. We will discuss some potential side effects of receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccination. In this case report, we discuss one individual who received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and experienced a previous unreported adverse side effect of non-self-remitting bilateral axillary lymphadenopathy. This reaction was not originally seen during the clinical trial phase of the vaccine creation, which caused this individual to obtain a full medical workup including ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) scans, and blood work and ultimately needing surgical intervention to have the axillary lymphadenopathy excised. We aim to shed light on a new, undocumented adverse reaction that should be included in physicians' differential diagnoses in individuals after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, particularly the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccination. This information could help future patients avoid unnecessary extensive medical workups, surgical procedures, being exposed to anesthesia, or having the burden of additional unwarranted healthcare costs.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Regarding Preventive Measures of COVID-19 Pandemic during Ramadan 2020 and Quarantine in Some Egyptian Governorates

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global crisis. The month of Ramadan has coincided with the COVID-19 crisis in 2020. AIM: The aim of this study is to investigate knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) toward the preventive measures during Ramadan 2020 and quarantine, among the Egyptian population. METHOD(S): This cross-sectional study is conducted among Egyptians >=15 years of age. A convenience sample of 1150 responders is taken, over the period of the month of Ramadan 2020. An online self-administrated questionnaire is used and shared through social networks. KAP toward preventive measures for COVID-19 during Ramadan are assessed. RESULT(S): Results show that mean scores of KAP are higher among participants >20 years, mean +/- SD (3 +/- 1.1, 5.6 +/- 1.4, and 11.2 +/- 2.6, respectively). A significant difference is found between KAP scores and age with p-values (0.012, 0.002, and 0.000, respectively). Furthermore, there is a significant difference between practices score and gender (p = 0.010). Greater Cairo has the highest KAP mean scores, in comparison with other regions, mean +/- SD (3.3 +/- 1, 5.8 +/- 1.2, and 11.6 +/- 2.5, respectively). A significant difference is recorded between urban and rural areas, regarding KAP with p-value (0.000, 0.050, and 0.000, respectively). CONCLUSION(S): In conclusion, low KAP scores are recorded among participants below the age of 20, and in rural areas and regions outside Greater Cairo. Low practices are associated more with males than females. The present study recommends raising awareness through the use of mass media, and health education programs that are to be directed to male members of the population, people under 20 years old, and to people residing in rural areas and in regions outside Greater Cairo, such as Upper and Lower Egypt, and border regions.Copyright © 2022 Suzan Hagag, Amira B. Kassem, Noha A El-Bassiouny, Sherouk M Okda, Mohammed Mustafa Abdel Razik Mohammed.

COVID-19 and Digitizing Accounting Education: Theory and Literature Review

This article critically analyzes previously published literature and discusses the lessons learned in detail. Learning gleaned from the theories has been used to create a conceptual framework. Using data from the published sources, a null hypothesis is developed to suit the current case. The results highlight the importance of digitalization in education in general and the accounting field in particular. This paper also reveals the impact of COVID-19 on education and addresses the main challenges faced by education and the accounting sector after the pandemic. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Incidence of acute kidney injury among COVID-19 patients in Egypt.

BACKGROUND: Despite the fact that the fundamental characteristics of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) are respiratory manifestations, multi-organ failure including the kidney has been documented. There are no clear comparisons of COVID-19 cases with and without acute kidney injury (AKI) to show whether there are aspects of acute kidney injury progression path or outcome that are unique to this disease. METHODS: In this work, we analyzed the data of 734 COVID-19 cases admitted to the Ahmad Maher Teaching Hospital in Cairo, Egypt, between June 6 and July 25, 2020. Data on demographics, comorbidities, laboratory results, and outcomes were assessed. To assess the incidence rate of AKI in Egyptian COVID-19 patients, comparisons were carried out between home-isolated COVID-19 patients, hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and ICU COVID-19-patients with or without AKI. RESULTS: AKI was more common in hospitalized mild COVID-19 patients than in home-isolated and ICU COVID-19 patients (15.0% versus 10.8% and 14.2%, respectively). The overall occurrence rate of AKI was significantly higher in COVID-19 patients (n=91, 14%). Hemodialysis, on the other hand, was required in 76% of the extreme ICU COVID-19 patients who developed AKI (22/29). The absolute number of patients with AKI COVID-19 who required hemodialysis was 34 (37%). This accounted for 5.2% of all COVID-19 patients and 37% of those with AKI. The mortality rate in COVID-19 patients with or without AKI was 15.4% and 4.8%, respectively. CONCLUSION: AKI in our COVID-19 patients is associated with a high mortality rate in ICU-COVID-19 patients. Our findings suggest that COVID-19 patients, particularly ICU COVID-19 patients, should be closely monitored for the development of AKI. Early identification of AKI, as well as prompt intervention, can improve COVID-19 patient outcomes.

Efficacy of pentasodium diethylenetriamine pentaacetate in ameliorating anosmia post COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has been frequently demonstrated to be associated with anosmia. Calcium cations are a mainstay in the transmission of odor. One of their documented effects is feedback inhibition. Thus, it has been advocated that reducing the free intranasal calcium cations using topical chelators such as pentasodium diethylenetriamine pentaacetate (DTPA) could lead to restoration of the olfactory function in patients with post-COVID-19 anosmia. METHODOLOGY: This is a randomized controlled trial that investigated the effect of DTPA on post-COVID-19 anosmia. A total of 66 adult patients who had confirmed COVID-19 with associated anosmia that continued beyond three months of being negative for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The included patients were randomly allocated to the control group that received 0.9 % sodium chloride-containing nasal spray or the interventional group that received 2 % DTPA-containing nasal spray at a 1:1 ratio. Before treatment and 30 days post-treatment, the patients' olfactory function was evaluated using Sniffin' Sticks, and quantitative estimation of the calcium cations in the nasal mucus was done using a carbon paste ion-selective electrode test. RESULTS: Patients in the DTPA-treated group significantly improved compared to the control group in recovery from functional anosmia to hyposmia. Additionally, they showed a significant post-treatment reduction in the calcium concentration compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed the efficacy of DTPA in treating post-COVID-19 anosmia.

Can COVID-19 lead to Addison's disease in individual living with HIV? A case report and literature review.

We report a case of a 46-year-old female with HIV for the last 15 years admitted to our hospital with a history of fever. She was diagnosed with pneumonia and was treated with antibiotics and recovered well; however, she was found to be hyponatremic. She mentioned that she tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) 4 months prior to the admission, and she gradually lost weight since. Further investigation for hyponatremia showed that she had Addison's disease with isolated adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) deficiency. Magnetic resonance imaging of the pituitary was normal, and all auto-immune, hormonal, and biochemical investigations were normal. COVID-19 is also associated with adrenal insufficiency, and we suggest that further research is needed to establish the link between adrenal insufficiency and COVID-19. Our case report is unique as it demonstrates isolated ACTH deficiency leading to adrenal insufficiency following COVID-19 infections.

Effect of COVID-19 on Glycemic Control, Insulin Resistance, and pH in Elderly Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

Background The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) was spread all over the world, while diabetes mellitus (DM) remains the most prevalent chronic disease worldwide. Aims This study aims to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on glycemic control, insulin resistance (IR), and pH in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods  A retrospective study was conducted on patients with type 2 DM who were diagnosed with COVID-19 infection in the central hospitals of the Tabuk region. Patient data were collected from September 2021 to August 2022. Four non-insulin-based insulin resistance indexes were calculated for patients: the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, the triglyceride glucose-body mass index (TyG-BMI) index, the triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL) ratio, and the metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR). Results Patients showed increased serum fasting glucose and blood HbA1c associated with a high TyG index, TyG-BMI index, TG/HDL ratio, and METS-IR as compared with results before COVID-19. Moreover, during COVID-19, patients revealed a reduction in pH, associated with a reduction in cBase and bicarbonate, and an elevation in PaCO2 as compared with their results before COVID-19. After complete remission, all patients' results turn back to their level before COVID-19. Conclusions Patients with type 2 DM who catch the COVID-19 infection suffer from dysregulation of glycemic control and elevated insulin resistance associated with a significant reduction in their pH.

The effectiveness of COPA-based training program on the infection-control competencies of newly hired healthcare professionals.

Competency-based education that relies on nurses' and healthcare professionals' needs assessment is crucial to tackling healthcare crises such as COVID-19. Strengthening the capacities of human resources by implementing customized infection control training programs is therefore mandatory. This study aims to measure the effectiveness and satisfaction of the Competency Outcomes and Performance Assessment (COPA)-based training program. The study implemented a single group pretest-posttest experimental design. A single-stage cluster sampling technique was used. All field hospitals in Jordan were listed, and one hospital was randomly selected. A total of 87 personnel from different disciplines agreed to participate after reading the letter of information and signing the informed consent. A panel of experts representing different disciplines and hospital units initially met and agreed upon a list of competencies required for the training program, and the program was accordingly developed. The study measured the healthcare professionals' competencies in infection control and prevention before and after the administration of the competency-based training program. The results revealed significant differences between participants' pretest and posttest scores in all infection control domains and the total scores. For example, the increase in participants' total competency scores after the training was statistically significant (P < 0.007). The mean total satisfaction score was 61.18 + 7.00 reflecting that the participants were highly satisfied with the provided training. In conclusion, it is imperative to provide healthcare professionals with adequate clinical training to ensure that healthcare services are going to be delivered in the highest possible quality and minimize the possible adverse events.

Virtual Behavioral Intervention to Promote Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors: A Feasibility RCT during COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: the COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on human health, affecting many lifestyle behaviors such as physical activity, sedentary behavior, dietary habits and sleep. PURPOSE: to assess the feasibility of six sessions of a virtual behavioral intervention to promote healthy lifestyle practices during a stay-at-home advisory phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A participant-blinded randomized controlled trial was performed through a virtual platform setting. Participants were randomly assigned into two groups. They were assigned to a motivational interviewing (MI) intervention or attention group, with pre- and postintervention assessments. The MI treatment consisted of six sessions (twice each week). The same number of virtual structured sessions were provided for the attention group, and they provided brief advice to promote healthy lifestyles. The study was conducted from April to June 2020. RESULTS: The feasibility outcomes indicated that 39 of the 50 participants (78%) completed the trial. The dropout rate was 21.7% for the attention group and 22.2% for the intervention group. Participating in MI had a significant positive interventional effect on physical activity level, distress and fear of COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to deliver behavioral change interventions virtually. Further, MI can be used as a useful strategy for the favorable promotion of a healthy lifestyle. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT05392218 (26/05/2022).