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A multilevel lockdown was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. This new experience, however, received mixed responses from the public in different countries including India. A quantitative self-report, the Pro-Lockdown Compliance Scale (Pro-LCS), was developed to help 1) the Government and enforcing agents understand the compliance level of the public and 2) researchers investigate the antecedent factors of the compliance of the lockdown measures. The initial 10 items were administered to 309 male residents in Kerala via an online survey. The responses were randomly divided and submitted to exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Both analyses consistently support that the scale is best represented by a 5-item unidimensional model. Moreover, the Pro-LBS also demonstrated adequate internal consistency. The preliminary findings suggest that the scale is a brief and useful tool to examine the compliance level of the lockdown measures.
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To develop tourism products and campaigns that will not only help the tourism industry to survive, but also revive and sustain it in the future, it is imperative to understand the behavioral intentions of leisure travelers during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aims to explore how Japanese traveler segments are characterized by their attitudes and feelings toward domestic travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. A market research study was conducted on Japanese nationals, using 1353 questionnaires in the analysis. A factor analysis was generated in six attitude dimensions: 1) COVID-19 Anxiety, 2) Government Mistrust, 3) Psychological Impact, 4) Optimistic Outlook, 5) Financial Impact, and 6) Social Anxiety;through K-means cluster analysis, the segmentation produced three distinct tourist segments: Confident Travelers, Anxious Travelers, and Social Travelers. Each segment is clearly described in terms of attitudes, considering distinct socio-demographic characteristics. Practical suggestions on how to manage and target these segments include implementing travel packages with minimal face-to-face contact for anxious travelers, travel subsidies through national campaigns for confident travelers, or conventional marketing campaigns for social travelers. © The Author(s) 2022.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an increased in food insecurity worldwide. Sustained attention is needed to reinforce the resilience of food systems to such disease outbreaks nonetheless likewise to other shocks. This qualitative study aimed to realize how people involved in food insecurity resulting from the pandemic. This study objective is to explore and analyze the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food insecurity. Comprehensive initiatives and policy reactions are required to alleviate food insecurity as the pandemic progresses. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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The classroom is where the student and teacher interact, while traditional education uses a Face to-Face classroom. The unprecedented COVID-19 forced education to shift into an online classroom. Still, numerous researches demonstrate that the pedagogical quality in online classrooms is thus compromised as the educators tend to convert existing face-to-face curriculum that less prioritize intellectual interaction into online ways. Blended learning is not a new yet effective teaching pedagogy, which seems suitable to overcome the challenges as mentioned above as it is a combination of traditional and online modes. Thus, this article summarizes the current trend of blended learning implementation in the Malaysian setting into valuable insight for the practitioner to redesign their pedagogy to meet new norms. This paper assessed and analyzed a total of 22 recent publications that extracted from the Web of Science Database based on three themes that are participant, instrument, and disciplinary. All researches address higher education context, mainly the students' perspectives and neglecting other stakeholders' perspectives. Blended learning is proven practical in multidisciplinary but independent curriculum, and pedagogy redevelopment is mandated. The quantitative methodology is preferable by the researcher in the identification of critical governing factors. Overall, the context of blended learning development in Malaysia remains progressively developing by time. In conclusion, the practice of blended learning implementation is getting diffused in Malaysia due to its flexibility and versatility. However, such effective pedagogy lay on collaborative efforts between various stakeholders, including educators, students, institutional management, policymakers, and parent.
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Objective: To identify the incidence of infections in those receiving immunomodulatory drugs for COVID- 19 during ECMO and the risk factors for infection. Methods: Deidentified data on all patients who had ECMO for COVID-19 till July 2020 were analysed from the ELSO Registry. A comparison cohort of patients who did not acquire superinfections during ECMO was used to identify risk factors for infection. Our primary outcome measure was incidence of infections pre- or on ECMO in patients receiving immunomodulatory drugs. Univariate analysis assessed potential associations between survival and various pre-ECMO/ECMOrelated factors. Variables (p< 0.1) entered a logistic regression model which identified predictors of infections in this cohort. Results: Of the 1237 patients who required ECMO for COVID-19 related complications, 911 patients (73.6%) received immunomodulatory drugs. 47% of these patients had superinfections, predominantly with gram negative bacteria (56%). Pre-ECMO factors associated with a higher odds of infection included immunodeficiency and treatment with selective cytokine blockers. ECMO complications (mechanical, renal, pulmonary, infectious and metabolic) increased the odds of infection. (Table 1) Patients who developed an infection preor on ECMO had significantly longer ECMO runs than those who did not (491.1±308.9 hours vs 293.4± 240.6hours, p< 0.001) with no mortality difference (45.7% Vs 43.4%, p = 0.45). Conclusions: Of the three quarter of patients who received immunomodulatory drugs for COVID-19 during ECMO, 47% had superinfections. Immunodeficiency and use of selective cytokine blockers were risk factors for infections pre or on ECMO in addition to ECMO related complications.
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INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among Malaysian women. Sarawak, the largest state in Malaysia has consistently recorded the highest cervical cancer rate in the country where nearly half of its population still live in the rural areas and is at increased risk of the disease due to inequitable access to healthcare. The countrywide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic had halted the accessibility to cervical cancer screening programme. The aim of the study is to determine the feasibility of providing primary HPV DNA test using the selfsampling method to the hard-to-reach population in the interior of Sarawak during the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study where women aged between 20-80 years were recruited via convenient sampling from villages in Long Banga, Sarawak over a five-day outreach programme. Cervicovaginal selfsamples were obtained and screened for the presence of high-risk human papillomavirus DNA (HR-HPV) using the careHPVTM Test. A self-administered questionnaire was also administered to determine the sociodemographic and perception towards the self-sampling method. RESULTS: The 55 women recruited consist of ethnic backgrounds of Penan (58.18%), Kenyah (25.45%), Iban (5.45%), Saban (3.64%), Kelabit (3.64%), Malay (1.82%) and Chinese (1.82%). The prevalence of HR-HPV was 1.85% (n=1/55). Nearly 80% of the women were unemployed, and more than half have had attended primary education. Nine (16.4%) have heard about HPV, and seven (13%) knew HPV infection could cause cervical cancer. Three of them had HPV vaccination, and only one (1.85%) knew the brand of the HPV vaccine. Although 40% preferred self-sampling over clinician-collection, only ten (18.2%) women have completed the self-collection perception questionnaire. CONCLUSION: Primary HPV DNA screening using the selfsampling method can be carried out in the remote areas during the COVID-19 pandemic without compromising mobility restriction.
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INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-induced coagulopathy (CIC) has been widely reported in the literature. However, the spectrum of abnormalities associated with CIC has been highly variable. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of the literature (until 1 June 2020) to assess CIC and disease severity during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Primary outcomes were pooled mean differences in platelet count, D-dimer level, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and fibrinogen level between non-severe and severe patients, stratified by degree of hypoxaemia or those who died. The risk factors for CIC were analysed. Random-effects meta-analyses and meta-regression were performed using R version 3.6.1, and certainty of evidence was rated using the Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. RESULTS: Of the included 5,243 adult COVID-19 patients, patients with severe COVID-19 had a significantly lower platelet count, and higher D-dimer level, prothrombin time and fibrinogen level than non-severe patients. Pooled mean differences in platelet count (-19.7×109/L, 95% confidence interval [CI] -31.7 to -7.6), D-dimer level (0.8μg/mL, 95% CI 0.5-1.1), prothrombin time (0.4 second, 95% CI 0.2-0.6) and fibrinogen level (0.6g/L, 95% CI 0.3-0.8) were significant between the groups. Platelet count and D-dimer level were significant predictors of disease severity on meta-regression analysis. Older men had higher risks of severe coagulopathic disease. CONCLUSION: Significant variability in CIC exists between non-severe and severe patients, with platelet count and D-dimer level correlating with disease severity. Routine monitoring of all coagulation parameters may help to assess CIC and decide on the appropriate management.
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The federal government of Malaysia recently implemented a nationwide Movement Control Order (MCO) to control the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the MCO has had a negative impact on people's mental well-being. Interventions that can improve people's mental health when their movement is restricted are therefore urgently needed. The present study investigated the impact of an ultra-brief online mindfulness-based intervention on mental health using a two-arm randomized controlled trial design. A total of 161 participants self-reported their distress, anxiety, psychological insecurity, and well-being at baseline and post-treatment, while 61 of them answered the same set of measures and the fear of COVID-19 scale in a follow-up study two weeks later. A multivariate analysis of covariance found the intervention reduced psychological insecurity levels measured during post-treatment. Moreover, gender, the experience of practicing mindfulness, and participants' experiences of undergoing quarantine were found to play a role in post-treatment measures. No significant difference was found between the baseline and follow-up treatment. However, hierarchical multiple regression found that psychological insecurity measured at baseline positively predicted the level of fear after controlling for demographic variables. Overall, the findings suggest that an online mindfulness intervention is a potentially useful tool for alleviating people's mental health difficulties.