ABSTRACT
Background and Aim of the study: Many patients affected by COVID-19 after having been declared “recovered” show the so called “long covid syndrome”: a series of signs and symptoms which resist for weeks after the clinical healing. Materials and Methods: We studied 11 patients between 30 and 75 years old with diagnosis of COVID19 and then declared healed. All patients have been treated at home with light or moderate respiratory symptoms. Patients with cardio-pulmonary conditions, tumors or metabolic diseases were cut out from the study. During the study patients were monitored for SpO2 and heart rate frequency. Patients were treated with respiratory rehabilitation, soft tissues manipulation and specific exercises to improve lung capacity. Results: After the treatment all patients referred a reduction of the chest oppression and better dilatation of the chest. Saturation improved from treatment to treatment (average before treatments: 93,7% RV 87 - 95. Average after treatments: 98,7% RV 97-99) with an average improvement of 5% in Sp O2. Conclusions: The study involved a limited number of patients because of difficulties in recruiting but the results are indicative of the effectiveness of a non pharmacological intervention that can help patient in recovering after COVID-19. A wider diffusion of the culture of physical treatment both among physicians and patients may help to contain the spreading of the “long covid syndrome”.
ABSTRACT
Background: In Italy since February 2020, the unexpected massive afflux of COVID-19 patients exposed healthcare professionals to high work-related stress, high time pressure and increased the risk of being infected. This is the first study that aimed to investigate the psychological impact of COVID-pandemic at the end of the peak, by identifying latent burnout profiles in a sample of front-line healthcare professionals that worked in Italy during the peak of the pandemic. Methods: A total of 589 subjects filled in an online ad-hoc questionnaire and the Italian version of Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey. Results: A higher presence of burnout profile in healthcare professionals who worked in frontline during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic was highlighted. Furthermore, those professionals showed significantly higher perceived stress levels, increase of worries, and sleep problems, they were more likely to underline the importance of team spirit and to consider asking for psychological support. A multiple regression analysis revealed that age, managing COVID-19 patients, perceived stress levels, adequacy of training, and considering to ask for psychological support significantly predicted latent burnout profiles. Moreover, perceived stress levels mediate the relationship between those profiles and managing COVID-19 patients. Conclusions: These findings highlight how stressful and damaging the pandemic has been, especially for people directly involved in the care of patients tested positive for COVID-19. Furthermore, it provides evidence for the importance of investing in wellness for healthcare professionals, in order to avoid shortage due to burnout and to guarantee optimal standards of care to all patients © 2022. by the Author(s);licensee Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology, Messina, Italy. This article is an open access article, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License
ABSTRACT
This work presents a VR based serious game for children with ADHD and aims at providing an evaluation of the acceptability and the usability of an application developed to create a meaningful and motivating environment for the child, capable of supporting the development of the various attentional components. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the evaluation was performed online offering also the opportunity to test the feasibility of a validation remotely performed. The expert involved in the study expressed a positive judgment on the application, considering it understandable and easy to use. Moreover, they confirmed that the actions performed by the operator, during the remote sessions, were clear and made it possible to understand the tasks required within by the serious game, thus enabling to provide evidence on such kind of remote validation. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.