Studying abroad meets marginalization: Roma of Greece, autoethnography, and academic tourism

While Greece has historically hosted many minority groups in various relational statuses with the majority population, the Roma uniquely embody practical, psychological and metaphorical spaces that sets them apart from other excluded groups. This study explores the historico-social space that separates the Roma and contextualizes recent developments, including Covid-19, which further marginalizes the group. The transactional space that defines relations between Roma and non-Roma encompasses a 'gaze' that disenfranchises Gypsy cultural standing and reduces mutual understanding between mainstream and marginalized communities. This same transactional space is rife with misunderstanding that profits normative day-to-day relations between Roma and those in mainstream society. The paper explores perceptions of the Roma within the Greek social hierarchy, while suggesting study abroad programming, as part of academic tourism, can play a positive role in altering perceptions of minority groups.

Making the Case for Cross-Border Public Health Strategies: A comparativie Assessment of Covid-19 Epidemiological Trends in the Balkan Countries Across 17 Months

Introduction: COVID-19 spread globally, including across the Balkans, resulting in different morbidity and mortality outcomes in different countries. The aim of this study was to review the impact of COVID-19 over 17 months with regards to pandemic progression, implemented mitigation strategies, and COVID-19 vaccination programs across the Balkan countries, while identifying any valuable pieces of information acquired serendipitously throughout the pandemic that can be implemented in future action plans. Methods: A longitudinal ecological study was conducted across the Balkan countries from the onset of COVID-19 in these countries up until 1st August 2021. Epidemiological data was obtained from Our World in Data databases, while Ministry of Health websites for each respective country as well as local newspapers were utilized to review COVID-19-related mitigation and vaccination strategies. Comparisons of vaccination coverage, incident cases and mortality were made across neighboring countries, by converting the respective data to rates per 100,000 population for each country using Microsoft® Excel for mac (Version 16.59). Results: More than 10 million positive COVID-19 cases and 164,470 deaths were observed across the Balkan countries up until 1st August 2021. Trends in COVID morbidity and mortality outcomes were evident across neighbouring countries. A staggered vaccination rollout was observed, with various rollout speeds, although gradual decline in both morbidity and mortality occurred. Conclusion: Results obtained from this study strongly indicate that COVID-19 outcome for a particular country is not only dependent on the country’s own level of viral transmission, mitigations, and vaccination rates but also on neighbouring countries’ COVID-19 situation. Hence, cross-border governance action and recovery plans are recommended along with targeting vaccination hesitance. © 2021 Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

Investigating the effect of CIVID-19 on internet searches for hip, knee and shoulder pain in the UK

Aim: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all non-urgent surgery was suspended, with orthopaedic surgery among the worst affected. We conducted an infodemiological study to explore changes in internet searches for joint pain at a population level since the start of the pandemic. Method: Bayesian structural time-series methods were employed to evaluate the impact of cancelled orthopaedic operations on Google search interest in Knee, Hip and Shoulder pain in the UK. Data were extracted from Google Trends from January 2016-2021. The bsts package was used to construct counterfactual time series, incorporating local linear trend and yearly seasonal components. Causal effects were determined using the CausalImpact package, with 95% CIs and posterior probabilities calculated. 17 March 2020 was used for pre-/post-period cut-off as non-urgent surgery was suspended on this date. P value < 0.05 was significant. R version 4.0.3 was used for analyses. Results: Knee pain was the most popular search term, followed by Shoulder pain then Hip pain. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a significant increase in searches for Knee pain (Relative effect [95% CI] = 14% [-0.85%, 29%], p=0.031). However, there was no significant effect on searches for Hip pain (Relative effect [95% CI] = -1.3% [-15%, 12%], p=0.427) or Shoulder pain (Relative change [95% CI] = 6.5% [-7.9%, 21%], p=0.195). Conclusions: Our findings suggest a greater impact of COVID-19 on the prevalence of knee pain, compared to hip/shoulder pain. This has implications for planning future orthopaedic surgery delivery and deciding on the priority order for rescheduled operations.

Forecasting mental health and emotions based on social media expressions during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present an approach for forecasting mental health conditions and emotions of a given population during the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina based on social media contents. Design/methodology/approach: Mental health conditions and emotions are captured via markers, which link social media contents with lexicons. First, the authors build time series models that describe the evolution of markers and their correlation with crisis events. Second, the authors use the time series for forecasting markers and identifying high prevalence points for the estimated markers. Findings: The authors evaluated different forecasting strategies that yielded different performance and capabilities. In the best scenario, high prevalence periods of emotions and mental health issues can be satisfactorily predicted with a neural network strategy, even at early stages of a crisis (e.g. a training period of seven days). Practical implications: This work contributes to a better understanding of how psychological processes related to crises manifest in social media, and this is a valuable asset for the design, implementation and monitoring of health prevention and communication policies. Originality/value: Although there have been previous efforts to predict mental states of individuals, the analysis of mental health at the collective level has received scarce attention. The authors take a step forward by proposing a forecasting approach for analyzing the mental health of a given population at a larger scale. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Comfort rules for face masks among healthcare workers during COVID-19 spread.

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) made imperative the use of protective devices as a source control tool. As there is no definite antiviral treatment and effective vaccine, the only efficient means of protecting and mitigating infectious contagion has been the use of personal protective equipment, especially by healthcare workers. However, masks affect the humidification process of inhaled air, possibly leading to a basal inflammatory state of the upper airways. STUDY DESIGN: This is a single-center observational study conducted at the University Hospital of Catania from April 1, 2020, to June 31, 2020. METHODS: We analyzed the role of protective masks on the elimination of upper airways complaints in healthcare workers of the University Hospital of Catania. We evaluated 277 subjects through a self-administered 17 item questionnaire based on respiratory, work performance and health-related quality of life domains. RESULTS: A higher prevalence of nasal and ocular symptoms, perceived reduced work performance, difficulty in concentrating, and sleep disorders were found. After two weeks adhering to a list of good practices that we recommended, significant reversibility of the symptoms investigated and work performance enhancement were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Despite clinical complaints related to personal protective equipment, effective amelioration through usage rules is easily obtained. Given the essential use of protective masks, healthcare workers have to adhere to appropriate work and safety prevention rules.