Association between health locus of control and perceived stress in college student during the COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study in Iran.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic as a global mental health crisis has affected everyone, including students. The present study aimed to determine and investigate the relationship between health locus of control and perceived stress in students of Bushehr University of Medical Sciences (southern Iran) during the outbreak of COVID-19. METHODS: The present cross-sectional study examined 250 students of Bushehr University of Medical Sciences. We performed simple random sampling and utilized the demographic information form, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scale (MHLCS) by Wallston, and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) by Cohen to collect data. We analyzed data using the SPSS, Pearson correlation coefficient, and the hierarchical regression model with an error level of 5%. RESULTS: The mean perceived stress was 30.74 ± 8.09, and 92.4% of the students had moderate and high stress levels. Among the components of the health locus of control, the internal health locus of control (IHLC) had the highest mean in students (27.55 ± 3.81). Furthermore, the internal health locus of control (R = - 0.30, P < 0.001) had a significant inverse relationship, with perceived stress and the chance health locus of control (CHLC) (R = 0.30, P < 0.001) had a significant direct relationship. In the final regression model, the health locus of control and all the variables predicted 22.7% of the perceived stress variation in students during the COVID-19 period. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that the internal health locus of control was associated with a reduction of perceived stress, and the powerful others health locus of control (PHLC) was related to its increase in students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the uncertain future, in the present work, universities are suggested to design web-based educational interventions alongside the curriculum to further strengthen the internal health locus of control and thus help reduce their perceived stress.

The association between moral distress and mental health among nurses working at selected hospitals in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: In the event of an epidemic outbreak, the mental health of medical staff, including nurses who serve on the frontlines of hospitals, can be affected; thus, the identification of factors affecting nurses' mental health is of importance. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the association between moral distress and the mental health of nurses working at four selected hospitals in Iran during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted on 296 nurses working at the selected hospitals in Bushehr and Shiraz (south of Iran) at the time of the COVID-19 outbreak. The collected data were analyzed via logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean scores for nurses' moral distress were low (54.31±24.84). The results of this study indicated more symptoms of mental issues among nurses (73.60%). Moreover, a significant association was observed between mental health and moral distress. Among the examined demographic variables, only gender had a significant association with mental health (p-value = 0.014). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicated that an increase in moral distress would lead to a significant increase in mental health issues of the examined nurses. Nurse managers and hospital policymakers should develop strategies to enhance nurses' level of mental health, as well as providing adequate emotional and family support for nurses. Considering the intensifying role of gender in this association, timely interventions are necessary to reduce the negative effects of workplace pressure/stress on female nurses.

What does COVID-19 testing results really say? The real statistics concealed behind the accessible data.

Accurate and comprehensive testing is crucial for practitioners to portray the pandemic. Without testing there is no data; yet, the exact number of infected people cannot be determined due to the lack of comprehensive testing. The number of seropositive for SARS-CoV-2 infection is obviously relative to the extent of testing. However, the true number of infections might be still far higher than the reported values. To compare the countries based on the number of seropositive for SARS-CoV-2 infection is misleading, as there may not be enough tests being carried out to properly monitor the outbreak. In this paper, we closely look through the COVID-19 testing results. Herein, we try to draw conclusions based on the reported data: first, the presence of a possible relationship between COVID-19 transition and patients' age will be assessed. Then, the COVID-19 case fatality rate (CFR) is compared with the age-demographic data for different countries. Based on the results, a method for estimating a lower bound (minimum) for the number of actual positive cases will be developed and validated. Results of this study have shown that CFR is a metric reflecting the spread of the virus, but is a factor of the extent of testing and does not necessarily show the real size of the outbreak. Moreover, no large difference in susceptibility by age has been found. The results suggest the similarity between the age distribution of COVID-19 and the population age-demographic is improving over the course of the pandemic. In addition, countries with lower CFRs have a more similar COVID-19 age distribution, which is a result of more comprehensive testing. Finally, a method for estimation of the real number of infected people based on the age distributions, reported CFRs, and the extent of testing will be developed and validated.

A review of neuroradiological abnormalities in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to various neurological manifestations. There is an urgent need for a summary of neuroimaging findings to accelerate diagnosis and treatment plans. We reviewed prospective and retrospective studies to classify neurological abnormalities observed in patients with the SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHODS: The relevant studies published in Scopus, PubMed and Clarivate Analytics databases were analysed. The search was performed for full-text articles published from 23 January 2020 to 23 February 2021. RESULTS: In 23 studies the number of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection was 20,850 and the number of patients with neurological manifestations was 1996 (9.5%). The total number of patients with neuroradiological abnormalities was 602 (2.8%). SARS-CoV-2 has led to various neuroimaging abnormalities which can be categorised by neuroanatomical localisation of lesions and their main probable underlying pathogenesis. Cranial nerve and spinal root abnormalities were cranial neuritis and polyradiculitis. Parenchymal abnormalities fell into four groups of: (a) thrombosis disorders, namely ischaemic stroke and sinus venous thrombosis; (b) endothelial dysfunction and damage disorders manifested as various types of intracranial haemorrhage and posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome; (c) hypoxia/hypoperfusion disorders of leukoencephalopathy and watershed infarction; and (d) inflammatory disorders encompassing demyelinating disorders, encephalitis, vasculitis-like disorders, vasculopathy and cytotoxic lesions of the corpus callosum. Leptomeninges disorders included meningitis. Ischaemic stroke was the most frequent abnormality in these studies. CONCLUSION: The review study suggests that an anatomical approach to the classification of heterogeneous neuroimaging findings in patients with SARS-CoV-2 and neurological manifestations would lend itself well for use by practitioners in diagnosis and treatment planning.

The relationship between professional self-concept and work-related quality of life of nurses working in the wards of patients with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Nurses are at the forefront of providing health care services and their performance is largely determinant of the quality of health care. This study aims to investigate associations between professional self-concept (PSC) and WRQoL among nurses from selected hospitals in Bushehr and Shiraz cities (south of Iran), during the period of COVD-19 pandemic. METHOD: This study is designed as a cross-sectional study. Available sampling was performed among active nurses in the care wards of patients with Covid-19 in public hospitals in Bushehr and Shiraz. Data were collected using demographic information form, along with the work-related quality of life and professional self-concept questionnaires. SPSS software and univariate and multivariate linear regression statistical methods with a significance level of 0.05 were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The mean scores of the PSC and the WRQoL Scale in nurses were respectively 202.32 ± 38.19 and 68.81 ± 19.12. There was also a significant direct relationship between PSC and WRQoL. PSC together with work location and working experience could thus explain 34.6% of the variance in WRQoL, which was 26.5% for PSC. CONCLUSION: Considering the confirmation of the predictive role of nurses' PSC in their WRQoL in terms of planning and designing interventions to boost their WRQoL, attention to internal factors such as PSC is of utmost importance.

Electrocardiography in Early Diagnosis of Cardiovascular Complications of COVID-19; a Systematic Literature Review.

INTRODUCTION: Many reports have stated that patients admitted for COVID-19 may also suffer from cardiovascular diseases, suggesting cardiovascular involvement in COVID-19. Since there is direct association between electrocardiography (ECG) data and the prognosis of cardiovascular disease, a systematic literature review was performed in the present study to address this association and make a conclusive agreement on the early diagnostic and prognostic values of ECG in patients with COVID-19. METHODS: Electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, Ovid, Embase, and Google Scholar were searched for "COVID-19" and "ECG" using all their equivalents and similar terms as search words. Afterwards, the records were limited to English articles and irrelevant documents, as well as articles that reported drug-induced cardiac dysfunction or patients with previous history of cardiovascular complications were excluded. RESULTS: Overall, 31 articles with 2379 patients were found and used for qualitative data extraction. Findings showed that there is a significant association between COVID-19 infection and ECG findings. Also, ST-segment changes, T wave inversions, QT prolongation, and atrial fibrillation were found to be early indicators of cardiac involvement of COVID-19, which were associated with worse outcomes. CONCLUSION: It is recommended to use ECG as a valuable diagnostic and prognostic tool for cardiac evaluation of patients with COVID-19.