Two years of COVID-19. Impacts on accessibility of a mental health service for immigrants and individuals in socio-economic difficulties

We extend our previous investigation of the effects of prehydrodynamic evolution on final-state observables in heavy-ion collisions [38] to smaller systems. We use a state-of-the-art hybrid model for the numerical simulations with optimal parameters obtained from a previous Bayesian study. By studying p-Pb collisions, we find that the effects due to the assumption of a conformal evolution in the prehydrodynamical stage are even more important in small systems. We also show that this effect depends on the time duration of the pre-equilibrium stage, which is further enhanced in small systems. Finally, we show that the recent proposal of a free-streaming with subluminal velocity for the pre-equilibrium stage, thus effectively breaking conformal invariance, can alleviate the contamination of final-state observables. Our study further reinforces the need for moving beyond conformal approaches in pre-equilibrium dynamics modeling, especially when extracting transport coefficients from hybrid models in the high-precision era of heavy-ion collisions.

Reflections on the Activity Perspective in Hospital Work Permanence Actions During COVID-19

The situation that emerged from recognizing the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 required a university hospital’s efforts to reorganize the work and care activities in this period. This study aims to present actions to support workers’ permanence in the hospital context at work in pandemic times. The development of actions was based on the activity ergonomics and, therefore, recommended recognizing actions in real work situations involving workers directly. The interventions covered 14 sectors, involving 140 workers. During the actions, the team recorded the activities in a field diary to document the care provided and prepared reports with the identified demands, which were organized into five categories: i) information and communication management, ii) the establishment, improvement, or continuous monitoring of protocols, iii) hospital workers’ health care, iv) establishment of collective spaces to refresh and align conducts;and v) adequacy of work conditions and processes. The interventions with hospital workers in the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the exchange of experiences and knowledge between same-sector and inter-sector workers and sharing perspectives regarding work dynamics. The foundation of the actions in activity ergonomics has contributed to increasing the visibility of situations that pre-existed the pandemic and structured a new perspective on health and work in the hospital, recognizing the active participation of workers. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Monitoring Return to Work Processes at a University Hospital: Ergonomics Contributions

This study aims to reflect on the necessary adjustments in the program’s conduct for monitoring removal and return to work (PAART), considering its principles, the reality, and challenges imposed by the pandemic. This is a report on the PAART experience in a medium- and high-complexity hospital during the pandemic. The program was restructured, given the need to understand work situations from workers’ and managers’ reports and previous knowledge about hospital dynamics. These reports were retrieved by information and communication technologies. A total of 571 workers were included in the PAART, and 277 could be contacted. Work organization relocation and changes in the period resulted in disrupted services, modified work routines and teams, and directly affected the implementation of the PAART. This raised concerns about the contributions of activity ergonomics and work ergonomic analysis in unpredictable work context situations. Also, we asked about the possible outcomes of the PAART if observations and analyses of real work situations were maintained. Despite questionings, we understand that the PAART experience in the pandemic is an opportunity for theoretical and methodological reflections. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Hospital workers in times of pandemic: singularities, journeys and potential

The aim of this experience report is to present singularities, journeys and potential arising from the development and implementation of the Occupational Therapy, Health and Work Program (ProTOST) in a university hospital during the first months of the pandemic. The program was guided by the principles of activity ergonomics and psychodynamics of work and based on the need to build participatory actions. Work reflection groups were created involving 15 hospital sectors and 140 workers. The groups provided staff with spaces for collective listening about work and increased the visibility of efforts and horizontal and vertical recognition processes. In addition, they contributed to the study of work situations, discussions about the transformation of work processes and building strategies to address the challenges faced by the hospital aggravated by the pandemic.