ATTITUDES TO ONLINE SELF-MEDICATION IN BULGARIA – THE COVID-19 IMPACT

Our aim was to study online self-medication attitudes in Bulgaria towards weight management and stimulation of immune system during COVID-19 pandemic. A short anonymous online survey was published in popular lifestyle and news sites for 1 month. Using HTML5 banner technology, a banner-survey was programmed, collecting the data from user’s behavior and evaluated the number of interactions and answers received. We used marketing tools to receive health related data, trying to combine creative and user-friendly design with serious health topic, in order to receive large scale sincere responses. The survey was shown 4,449,653 times and had 33,544 unique interactions. 57% of people, who answered the first question, refrain from online self-medication. Majority of users, who answered positive, would purchase online a weight control medication or supplement to stay in shape and immunostimulants ‒ to solve health problem. The trends shown in our study indicate the importance of Internet as platform for health education in Bulgaria, where healthcare providers should take a leading role. Bulgarian Regulatory bodies are taking measures to regulate the usage and online purchase of herbal products and medications, but still risks from online self-medications are much greater than potential benefits. The respondents were targeted at the place of their activity – online and therefore the answers were genuine and honest. The high activity proved digital channels’ potential for both receiving and providing health information and education. © 2021, Central Medical Library Medical University – Sofia. All rights reserved.

Teachers and Students in the Digital Age: Attitude to Online Learning, Analysis of Aspects of Communication and Meaning Transfer

This research examines the problem of the attitude of students and teachers to the online learning format, to which many universities in the world were forced to switch due to the COVID-19 pandemic occurred in 2020. This research aims to study how teachers and students relate to the online learning format, as well as to analyze aspects of communication and meaning transfer in online and classroom lessons. The object of the study was 104 students of higher educational institutions, as well as 38 teachers of higher educational institutions. Students answered questions from February 14 to March 3, 2021, and teachers from February 16 to March 12, 2021. The responses were collected using Google Forms. To study different aspects of the perception of online learning and aspects of transferring understanding of the content of academic disciplines among students of higher educational institutions, 2 original questionnaires were developed: a questionnaire for students, which included 17 questions, and a questionnaire for teachers, which included 21 questions. The questions concerned the attitude toward the online learning format, aspects of communication, and meaning transfer during class, as well as aspects of transferring the understanding of academic subjects. The results obtained indicate that teachers and students perceive the online learning format in different ways. Teachers have some difficulties in working in an online format, while students do not see significant difficulties in this format in terms of communication and understanding of academic subjects. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

The COVID-19 Pandemic: The effect on open lower limb fractures in a London major trauma centre - a plastic surgery perspective.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has created huge pressures on healthcare systems. The ongoing provision of major trauma services during this time has proved challenging. We report our experience of managing open lower limb fractures (oLLFs) during the pandemic in a London major trauma centre (MTC). METHODS: This was a prospective study of all open lower limb fractures presenting to our unit over the initial 48 days of UK government lockdown - 24th March till 10th May 2020. Results were compared to the same time period in 2019 retrospectively. Epidemiological data, mechanism, Gustilo-Anderson (G-A) severity grading, time to initial debridement and definitive coverage were analysed. RESULTS: There was a 64% reduction in emergency department (ED) attendances (25,264 vs 9042). There was an 18% reduction in oLLFs (22 vs 18). Approximately three-quarters of injuries were in males across both cohorts (77% vs 78%) and tended to occur in younger patients (median age, 37 vs 35). Road-traffic-accidents (RTAs) were the most common injury mechanism in both 2019 and lockdown, but a rise in jumpers from height was seen in the latter. A similar pattern of G-A severities were seen, however only 3 injuries during lockdown required major soft tissue reconstruction. There was no significant difference in times taken for initial debridement (p = 0.72786) or definitive wound coverage (p = 0.16152). A greater proportion of independent operating was seen during lockdown between orthopaedics and plastic surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Despite government lockdown measures, oLLFs still placed significant burden on our MTC. Notwithstanding significant staffing alterations and theatre pressures, we have been able to ensure these lower limb emergencies remain a surgical priority and have managed to utilise resources appropriately.

Psychological Assistance to Health Care Workers in the Conditions of Re-Profiling the Federal Hospital to Treat Patients with COVID-19

In addition to physical mortality, the COVID-19 pandemic has a broad psychosocial and emotional impact on all population groups. Medical workers in the hospitals are experiencing unprecedented physical and psychological difficulties. Guided by the principles of providing professional psychological assistance to health care workers and based on the analysis of international experience, the “FCBN” of the FMBA of Russia organized several forms of psychological support. The purpose of this study was to investigate the methods and results of psychological support to health care workers during the period of re-profiling hospital for patients with COVID-19. The study sample includes 578 employees of the “FCBN” of the FMBA of Russia, covered during a weekly call;25 of them participated in "social questionnaire";33 people completed the MBI and GAD-7 questionnaires;more than 30 people received personal or distant consultations. The results of questionnaires show that employees reacted to the new conditions adequately. The average values of indicators on the scales "emotional exhaustion" and "depersonalization" for the group fell within the normal range for medical workers in Russia. Investigation of effectiveness of different psychological methods shows that for supporting health care workers in the new condition, the most effective were personal consultations, and to identify the actual problems of work organization and building vertical communication between staff and management - weekly calls and «social questionnaire». In conclusion, our experience has shown the importance of maintaining the functioning of psychological service to help health care workers in an emergency situation for the health system. Омимо физической смертности и заболеваемости, пандемия COVID-19 оказывает широкое психосоциальное и эмоциональное влияние на все группы населения. Медицинские работники в перепрофилированных учреждениях испытывают беспрецедентные физические и психологические трудности. Руководствуясь принципами предоставления профессиональной психологической помощи сотрудникам, а также опираясь на анализ зарубежного опыта, штатный коллектив психологической службы ФГБУ «ФЦМН» ФМБА России организовал несколько форм психологического сопровождения. Целью настоящего исследования являлось изучение методов и результатов разных форм психологического сопровождения и их эффективности в отношении диагностики и способов воздействия на факторы психологического неблагополучия у сотрудников в период перепрофилирования учреждения на прием больных с COVID-19. Выборка исследования включает в себя 578 сотрудников ФГБУ «ФЦМН» ФМБА России, которые были охвачены в ходе еженедельного обзвона;из них 25 человек участвовали в «социальном анкетировании»;33 человека заполнили опросники Эмоционального выгорания (MBI) и ГТР-7 (GAD-7);более 30 человек получили очную или дистанционную консультацию. Результаты анкетирований показывают, что, в основном, сотрудники реагировали на новые условия работы адекватно ситуации. Средние по группе обследованных работников значения показателей по шкалам «эмоциональное истощение» и «деперсонализация» попадали в нормальный интервал средних значений этих показателей для медицинских работников, работающих в России. Результаты изучения эффективности различных методов психологического сопровождения показывают, что для работы с психологическими проблемами, возникающими у сотрудников в новых условиях, наиболее эффективным оказывалось очное консультирование и поддержка, а для выявления актуальных проблем организации работы сотрудников и выстраивания вертикальной коммуникации между персоналом и руководством - еженедельный обзвон и «социальное анкетирование». В заключение можно сказать, что наш опыт показал важность сохранения функционирования штатной психологической службы для оказания помощи персоналу в условиях чрезвычайной ситуации для системы здравоохранения.