ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in multiple shifts in the roles of youth services librarians and museum educators. Although changes in job duties, processes, and day-to-day practices were inevitable, this article suggests that these professionals viewed their service as continuous with prepandemic roles. Based on interviews with 20 professionals, the article analyzes two constructs that emerged as professionals described their pandemic roles: guiding principles and collaboration. Not only did these discursive constructs provide a sense of continuity, they also served to advocate for the role of libraries and museums. These findings indicate the importance of reflecting and drawing on guiding principles and collaborations to make decisions about services during times of crisis. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Library Quarterly is the property of University of Chicago 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.)
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety are two to four times more prevalent in people with CF (pwCF) than the general population. COVID-19 may exacerbate mental health challenges, increasing demand for psychological services, while decreasing their availability. We assessed the impact of the pandemic on depression and anxiety in pwCF, including how COVID-19 affected the frequency of mental health screening and the types of services provided. METHODS: A 38-item internet survey, completed in June 2020, assessed how COVID-19 affected: 1) the mental health clinician's role and screening processes; 2) barriers to screening and resource needs; 3) impact of COVID-19 on depression and anxiety, and 4) positive outcomes and confidence in sustaining mental health screening and treatment, including telehealth services, after the pandemic. RESULTS: Responses were obtained from 131 of the 289 US CF programs. Overall, 60% of programs (n=79) continued mental health screening and treatment, although less frequently; 50% provided individual tele-mental health interventions, and 9% provided telehealth group therapy. Clinically elevated depression symptoms (PHQ-9≥10; moderate to severe), were found in 12% of 785 pwCF, with 3.1% endorsing suicidal ideation. Similarly, elevated anxiety (moderate to severe; GAD-7≥10) was found in 13% of pwCF (n=779). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity to implement innovative solutions to disruptions in mental health screening and treatment in CF programs. We found that pwCF had increased access to psychological interventions during the pandemic via telehealth, supporting the continued integration of tele-mental health screening and treatment into CF care.
Subject(s)
Anxiety , COVID-19 , Cystic Fibrosis , Depression , Mental Health , Psychosocial Intervention , Telemedicine , Anxiety/diagnosis , Anxiety/physiopathology , Anxiety/therapy , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19/psychology , Cystic Fibrosis/epidemiology , Cystic Fibrosis/psychology , Cystic Fibrosis/therapy , Delivery of Health Care/methods , Delivery of Health Care/trends , Depression/diagnosis , Depression/physiopathology , Depression/therapy , Health Services Accessibility/standards , Health Services Accessibility/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Mass Screening/methods , Needs Assessment , Psychosocial Intervention/methods , Psychosocial Intervention/trends , Psychosocial Support Systems , SARS-CoV-2 , Surveys and Questionnaires , Telemedicine/methods , Telemedicine/organization & administration , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, cloth masks are being used to control the spread of virus, but the efficacy of these loose-fitting masks is not well known. Here, tools and methods typically used to assess tight-fitting respirators were modified to quantify the efficacy of community-produced and commercially produced fabric masks as personal protective equipment. Two particle counters concurrently sample ambient air and air inside the masks; mask performance is evaluated by mean particle removal efficiency and statistical variability when worn as designed and with a nylon overlayer, to independently assess fit and material. Worn as designed, both commercial surgical masks and cloth masks had widely varying effectiveness (53%-75% and 28%-91% particle removal efficiency, respectively). Most surgical-style masks improved with the nylon overlayer, indicating poor fit. This rapid testing method uses widely available hardware, requires only a few calculations from collected data, and provides both a holistic and aspect-wise evaluation of mask performance.