ABSTRACT
Introduction: The consumption of psychoactive substances has become a public health problem, having great consequences on the health, economy, academic performance, family, and social coexistence of the consumer. Objective: To determine the risk factors influencing the consumption of psychoactive substances in university students during COVID-19. Materials and Methods: Research with quantitative correlational, cross-sectional descriptive type, with a sample of 272 university students of a University of Barranquilla of the Nursing program of fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth semesters. The instrument used was a virtual survey divided into five sections, comprising identification and sociodemographic data, individual, sociocultural, family, and psychological factors. Results: In the statistical analysis, the predominant sex was female with 69%, and 74% of them aged 17–20 years. Seventy-nine percent stated that they had consumed psychoactive substances, and 58% indicated that the type of psychoactive substance they had consumed for the first time was alcohol. Discussion: In contrast to a study conducted by Fernández et al, in 2021, it was found that the frequency of consumption of psychoactive substances in the students of the Simón Bolívar University was higher with a percentage of 74%, on the other hand the study in question only 41.8% consumed some type of psychoactive substance (alcohol, tobacco, etc.).Through the research carried out, it was possible to evaluate each of the factors that significantly influence the consumption of psychoactive substances, taking into account each of the variables evaluated (sociodemographic, consumption, individual, family, psychological, sociocultural) in times of COVID-19. © COPYRIGHT Servicio de Publicaciones - Universidad de Murcia
ABSTRACT
Background: In spite of the worth of pool testing in public health, data on the sensitivity and efficiency of real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) pool testing for the diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in middle and low-income countries are limited. Methods: We mixed single specimens of extracted RNA positive for the SARS-CoV-2 envelope (E) gene by RT-qPCR with negative specimens, in pools of 4 (n=89), 8 (n=92), 16 (n=102), and 32 (n=105) specimens each. We estimated the average change in cycle threshold (Ct) for each pool size and added it to the Ct values of the first 1,350 tests in our lab, to obtain dilution-corrected Ct values. We estimated pool sensitivity as the proportion of samples with dilution-corrected Ct >40, and used it in simulations of the efficiency (tests used/true case detected) of binary split pool testing. Results: We tested 388 pools. Average Ct changes were 2.21, 2.51, 3.27, and 3.94 cycles, for pools of 4, 8, 16, and 32 specimens, respectively. Corresponding pool tests sensitivities were 91.1%, 89.6%, 85.8% and 82.5%. Pool testing was substantially more efficient than individual testing. For prevalence of 0.5% to 2.0%, the efficiency of pools of ≥8 specimens was 30% to 280% higher, and the number of people tested was 4.4 to 13.9 times higher than those of individual testing. Conclusions: Binary split pool testing substantially increases the number of people tested and the number of true cases detected per test used. This strategy is key to curtail the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, by increasing efficiency in the identification and isolation of symptomatic and asymptomatic infected individuals. © 2022 Journal of Innovation Management. All rights reserved.