ABSTRACT
Emerging research on psychological adjustment during the COVID-19 outbreak has suggested that young people may be particularly vulnerable to increases in negative affect during the pandemic. However, the association between alcohol use in youth and change in negative affect during this unprecedented time is not clear. Using an online survey, this study obtained scores on negative affect (before and during the COVID-19 pandemic), pandemic-related stress, change in drinking frequency, and traits including resilience, impulsivity and anhedonia, from a sample of drinkers and non-drinkers, up to the age of 21. Young drinkers experienced a greater increase in negative affect during the pandemic compared to non-drinkers, and this differential rise in negative affect was mediated by the pandemic-related stress of social isolation. Young drinkers also experienced a decrease in alcohol use during the pandemic, but this was not associated with a change in negative affect. Interestingly, young drinkers with greater resilience and lower anhedonia reported less increase in negative affect during the COVID-19 pandemic. Taken together, these results show that the greater increase in negative affect that young drinkers experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to their non-drinking counterparts, was mediated by pandemic-related social isolation. Moreover, greater resilience and lower anhedonia may have served as protective factors for mitigating the social isolation-induced worsening of negative affect in young drinkers during the pandemic. These findings may inform future studies investigating potential indicators of maladaptive affective responses to public health crises in vulnerable adolescent populations.
ABSTRACT
Aim: The goal of this study was to examine the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic 2020 on the health-seeking behavior of the general public in a lower-middle-income nation like Pakistan by looking at the availability, accessibility, and usage of health infrastructure. Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, 394 Pakistani patients completed an online questionnaire measuring their willingness to seek medical treatment, reporting for follow-up visits, and the ease of getting medical care about their medical condition, both before and after the pandemic. The information was then examined. Results: During the pandemic, 21.8 percent of patients visited a health center for follow-up. Fear of infection from the health institution kept 20.3 percent of patients from showing up for follow-up. 17.5 percent of patients had significant symptoms from their underlying sickness but delayed going to the doctor due to the fear of the virus. Patients' appointments were canceled or rescheduled in 20.1 percent of cases, while 54.1 percent did not feel the need to visit a health center. Conclusion: Fear of the virus, lockdowns, limitations, and other reasons have resulted in a substantial proportion of the population avoiding ER/health facility visits while suffering symptoms that necessitate medical attention. The long-term impact on a developing country's healthcare system, such as Pakistan, will be negative unless extraordinary steps are made to provide safe, accessible, and cheap health care during the epidemic.
ABSTRACT
Aim: To compare students perception towards use of video tutorial versus conventional power point presentation for online medical teaching Study design: Comparative descriptive survey Place and duration of study: The online study was conducted in the Department of Gyne. & Obs., Islamic International Medical College Rawalpindi & Sialkot Medical College Sialkot on Ms-Teams from 21st July 2020 to 21st October 2020 Methods: One hundred and one students from 4rth year MBBS participated in the study. Students were taught a given topic on power point presentation and then through a video tutorial online on Ms -Teams. Data was collected using a validated questionnaire. Students were inquired to express their perceptions & attitudes regarding the online teaching method, using a five point Likert scale. All the data was analyzed on SPSS version 20. Results: Out of 101, there were 38 males and 63 female students with ages ranged between 22 to 26 years. The mean score for video tutorial was higher than the mean score for Power Point in content understandability. There was a statistical difference in content understandability, effectiveness of teaching technique and attitude towards two teaching techniques (P< 0.05). Students had more positive attitude towards watching an online video than PowerPoint, which implied it was more entertaining, engaging and effective. Discussion was more spontaneous with a video tutorial as compared to Power Point. Students were involved more and enjoyed higher level of interaction. Conclusion: Online video tutorials were more effective as compared to the power-point presentations in content understandability of students and their learning processes.
ABSTRACT
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to increase stress and mental health symptoms. We present the case of a young man at risk for psychosis who has paradoxically shown symptomatic and functional improvement as a result of circumstances produced by COVID-19. These changes were unexpected given the client's persistent mental health struggles in the year leading up to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States and the expectation of an exacerbation of psychotic-like symptoms. Methods: This report is based on clinical assessments and the client's first-person account during the height of the pandemic when stay at home orders were in place. Results: During the pandemic, the client demonstrated increased agency by taking on more responsibility at home and obtaining part-time employment. He showed improvement in his mood and relationships with others, had less symptom-related distress, and significantly reduced his cannabis use. The client interpreted these improvements in terms of changing his mindset toward more adaptive thoughts and engaging in healthy coping skills such as praying, reading, and healthy eating. Conclusions: This case highlights the importance of fostering agency in clients during a time of crisis and ensuring that clinicians be aware of potential biases about mental health symptom exacerbation.
ABSTRACT
Diverse risk factors intercede the outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We conducted this retrospective cohort study with a cohort of 1016 COVID-19 patients diagnosed in May 2020 to identify the risk factors associated with morbidity and mortality outcomes. Data were collected by telephone-interview and reviewing records using a questionnaire and checklist. The study identified morbidity and mortality risk factors on the 28th day of the disease course. The majority of the patients were male (64.1%) and belonged to the age group 25-39 years (39.4%). Urban patients were higher in proportion than rural (69.3% vs. 30.7%). Major comorbidities included 35.0% diabetes mellitus (DM), 28.4% hypertension (HTN), 16.6% chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 7.8% coronary heart disease (CHD). The morbidity rate (not-cured) was 6.0%, and the mortality rate (non-survivor) was 2.5%. Morbidity risk factors included elderly (AOR = 2.56, 95% CI = 1.31-4.99), having comorbidity (AOR = 1.43, 95% CI = 0.83-2.47), and smokeless tobacco use (AOR = 2.17, 95% CI = 0.84-5.61). The morbidity risk was higher with COPD (RR = 2.68), chronic kidney disease (CKD) (RR = 3.33) and chronic liver disease (CLD) (RR = 3.99). Mortality risk factors included elderly (AOR = 7.56, 95% CI = 3.19-17.92), having comorbidity (AOR = 5.27, 95% CI = 1.88-14.79) and SLT use (AOR = 1.93, 95% CI = 0.50-7.46). The mortality risk was higher with COPD (RR = 7.30), DM (RR = 2.63), CHD (RR = 4.65), HTN (RR = 3.38), CKD (RR = 9.03), CLD (RR = 10.52) and malignant diseases (RR = 9.73). We must espouse programme interventions considering the morbidity and mortality risk factors to condense the aggressive outcomes of COVID-19.