ABSTRACT
SARS-CoV-2 virtual wards have successfully developed to monitor and escalate patients to hospital throughout the pandemic. Here we describe the case of an 84 year old man who received his complete care for severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonitis at home, including the administration of oxygen, dexamethasone and tocilizumab.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 Drug Treatment , Aged, 80 and over , Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized , Humans , Male , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
Background: Psychological and social supports are essential to address the emotional impact of cancer. The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated emotional distress for patients with cancer and impeded many of the traditional service delivery models for supportive services. An increase in patient reported distress from routine distress screenings highlighted the need to transition to virtual Social Work (SW) services. Methods: Patients were referred to virtual SW services three ways: Self-referral, distress screenings, and clinic staff. A virtual support group registration site was created to increase awareness which was promoted by our marketing team. Three different SW facilitated virtual support groups were offered: Stronger Together, Empower Your Recovery: A Program for Healing and Growth for Living Beyond Cancer ©∗, and Paving the Way for Your Journey: A Cancer Support Program (PTW). Of note, the PTW six-week psychoeducation support group curriculum was developed by six employed SW facilitators. Groups included closed and open formats with scheduled frequencies. In addition to virtual support groups, standard social support including, psychosocial assessments, Advance Care Planning, virtual counseling visits were offered virtually with patients via the VSee telemedicine platform. Results: Social Work referrals increased by 154% from 949 in 2019 to 2413 in 2020 due to positive distress screening. From March 2020-21, 14,948 patients received SW services which was an increase from 10,208 seen from March 2019-20. Of these, 372 received virtual psychosocial telemedicine services from March 2020-21. There were 4092 unique webpage views to the support group information and registration website. Total number of all virtual registrants in the 3 groups from May 2020 to February 2021 was 326. Conclusions: The COVID19 pandemic required us to use, technology and virtual tools to ensure continued patient access to psychosocial services and expand access to support groups, in addition to the in-person SW services that remained. Limitations of virtual support groups and telemedicine included lack of internet access felt to be from socioeconomic barriers. Further research is needed to evaluate the benefits of providing structured psychoeducational virtual support groups to patients with cancer. Virtual counseling and support groups may continue to benefit patients with cancer.
ABSTRACT
There are growing concerns about the mental health of university students, with particular concerns for international students studying in countries with different language and culture from the country of origin. We sought to explore the challenges and opportunities for supporting and improving the health and wellbeing of international students through interviews with health and other support services staff at an Australian University. Semi-structured interviews with a range of health and support services staff were conducted in person or by telephone in late 2018. Staff were asked about their perceptions of 1) health and wellbeing issues for international students, 2) barriers to international students accessing campus-based services for health and wellbeing concerns, and 3) strategies to improve international students’ health and wellbeing. Transcribed interviews were analysed thematically. Mental health/illness was identified as the most important health and wellbeing concern for international students. Barriers to help-seeking included fear of repercussions for coming forward, lack of problem and symptom recognition, poor understanding of health information, cultural stigma associated with counselling and language barriers. A tendency among international students to delay help-seeking until problems reached crisis-point was also identified as a concern. Suggested strategies to improve wellbeing included pre-departure education/orientation to life in Australia, the integration of health and wellbeing education with other university programs, education about confidentiality, better supporting students in how to access services, and skill building to promote social connection. Addressing the identified issues and opportunities would support international student health and wellbeing and may assist in attracting international students back to Australia post-COVID. © 2021, Australian and New Zealand Student Services Association. All rights reserved.