ABSTRACT
Introduction: Novel coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic continues to rage the world with enormous economic loss, sickness, and deaths. In management of infectious diseases, nurses play crucial roles in rendering care to patients by risking their own lives, going beyond their training and capacities. Frontline nurses are vulnerable for the development of diagnosable and subclinical psychological problems most often triggered with deaths of colleagues, exposure to the mass scale of deaths, perceived inability to save lives despite best efforts, lack of social supports, shift duties, and working in high-risk environment. Aim: The aim of the study is to assess the depression, anxiety, and stress among nurses working in COVID wards versus non-COVID wards. Materials and Methods: A multicenter observational study was done among 176 frontline nurses from seven different referral government hospitals. Psychological ailments were measured on validated instruments of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-42 items (DASS-42) and Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10). Results: Using SPSS version 23.0, data were analyzed using Pearson's Chi-square test, with P < 0.055 being considered statistically significant. On PSS, perceived stress was high in 75% of COVID ward nurses and 67% of non-COVID ward ones. On DASS-42 scale, depression, anxiety, and stress levels among nurses in the COVID-19 wards were 21.64% (n = 21), 32.98% (n = 32), and 20.61% (n = 20) compared to 17.72% (n = 14), 24.05% (n = 19), and 15.18%, (n = 12) in the non-COVID wards, respectively. Conclusions: The amount of reported stress, anxiety, and depression was higher in both groups of nurses, i.e., those working in COVID-19 wards and general wards as compared to general population.
ABSTRACT
The impact of COVID-19 on university library services is a less researched area. For the systematic literature review, the researchers searched Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Initially, the researchers found 903 potentially relevant citations. From 903, 427 duplicate citations were removed. The remaining 476 articles were rechecked for relevance. There remained 34 fulltext papers that were assessed for eligibility. Only 13 of these studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria to provide information on university library services in the pandemic era. PRISMA guidelines are followed in this study. The findings of this systematic literature review contribute towards a better understanding of the impact of coronavirus on university library services. These are also useful for academic librarians to facilitate their patrons by improving their electronic resources during the pandemic situation of COVID-19. This study provides guidelines and systematic steps for evaluating the impact of th e pandemic situation on university library services. This review also aids university libraries in making decisions on the adoption of digital and electronic services to support students ' e-learning programs. Through exploration and reflection, this review contributes to a newly emerging body of knowledge on university library services during the outbreak of coronavirus. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
This study was aimed to investigate the relationship between the psychological status of oral health care workers (OHCWs) and the willingness to treat a patient during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study was carried out on oral health care workers at ten different dental hospitals in Pakistan from March to July 2020. Information on the socio-demographic status, and willingness to report for duty and treat patients during the COVID-19 pandemic were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was assessed using the Urdu version of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale and Impact of Events Scale. Simple and multiple linear regression tests were used for analysis. A total of 392 OHCWs participated in this study and 25% of them had moderate to severe anxiety levels and only 14% had post-traumatic stress disorder. About 26% of the OHCWs were willing to work and treat patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and they had lower anxiety and stress scores. Greater anxiety and stress were associated with participants who were older, female, single, married, living with family and friends. The adjusted coefficients of GAD and IES scores were greater in participants who were not willing and unsure to work compared to their colleagues who were willing. The OHCWs are anxious and stressed because of the COVID-19 outbreak and that affects the perception of whether they should work and treat patients during the pandemic. © 2021 KBCSM, Zagreb.
ABSTRACT
SARS-CoV-2 causing COVID-19 has appeared as an ongoing global public crisis, growing with geometric progression and has caused huge devastation till date majorly because of lack of targeted therapeutic agents like vaccines. SARS-Cov-2 entrance into the host cells is reliant on acidic pH. Thus, in the current clinical emergency there is a pressing need to look forward for adjunct therapies which could counter the acidic pH, so as to restrain the viral entry and its subsequent reproduction in the host cells. Therefore, the current review attempted to explore the possibility to use sodium bicarbonate as an alternative lysosomotropic agent based on the reported literature owing to its anti-flu properties and widespread use during 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. The suggestions put forward in the current review article based on the careful use of sodium bicarbonate could probably help to restrain SARS-CoV-2 infection. © 2020, Romanian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences. All rights reserved.