Breaking the cycle of malnutrition through sustainable business models: The case of ready-to-use therapeutic foods

The data explained in the relevant report "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World. Transforming Food Systems for Affordable Healthy” (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, Rome 2020) reveals that the world is not on track to achieve the SDG 2.1 ("Universal access to safe and nutritious food”) and SDG 2.2 ("End of all forms of malnutrition”), both Zero Hunger of Sustainable Development Goal 2 ("End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”) targets by 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. If recent trends continue, the number of people affected by hunger would increase further. The combination of moderate and more severe levels of food insecurity raises the estimate to over 25% of the world population, equivalent to a total of about 2 billion people. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic is intensifying the vulnerabilities and inadequacies of global food systems and of all the activities and processes affecting the production, distribution, and consumption of food so that this circumstance further questions the achievement of the goal Zero Hunger. A very important tool to successfully tackle this serious and long-standing problem is represented by nutraceutical products and in the rehabilitation of severe patients and undernourished children, the "ready-to-use therapeutic foods” (RUTFs) have shown remarkable efficacy. They refer to a number of varieties of ready-to-eat foods, ranging from those prepared from locally available ingredients by village women in their own self-help groups for the malnourished children to those prepared according to specific formulas in worldwide factories. RUTF now almost always refers to the latter and it is a generic term including different types of foodstuff, such as spreads or compressed products with precise amounts of nutrients, mainly derived from powdered milk, peanut, oil, sugar, and micronutrients, providing energy equivalent to WHO requirement. However, the local availability of the necessary ingredients limits the production in geographical areas where their use is required, thus there are currently important efforts in the research for alternative ingredients to overcome this limitation. The purpose of this study is to trace the current scenario in terms of food security and malnutrition in the world, focusing attention on the problems associated with the dissemination of initiatives aimed at addressing such a global challenge. The research was conducted following the tripartition model both in the analysis of the problem and in the proposed answer model, although the business perspective was the privileged one. Encouraging the proper and effective implementation of an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable local market for RUTFs means creating shared values, acting jointly, and maximizing the results in favour of children and their families who are still fighting for the right to live in dignity. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Regulatory Aspects on AI and Pharmacovigilance for COVID-19

This chapter looks at current and perspective legislative and regulatory scenario, identifying rules governing the use of Artificial Intelligence in the health sector at European Union level with a focus on the impact of AI on pharmacovigilance activities. After some preliminary considerations on definitory issues, attention will be paid to the challenges posed by AI to pharmaceutical industry in developing medicinal products and monitoring their quality, safety and efficacy. The European strategy addressing the use of AI in pursuing a better health policy will then be outlined, followed by some caveat concerning ethical implications and protection of personal data. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Mapping emerging technologies in aged care: results from an in-depth online research.

BACKGROUND: Emerging Technologies (ETs) have recently acquired great relevance in elderly care. The exceptional experience with SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has emphasized the usefulness of ETs in the assistance and remote monitoring of older adults. Technological devices have also contributed to the preservation of social interactions, thus reducing isolation and loneliness. The general purpose of this work is to provide a comprehensive and updated overview of the technologies currently employed in elderly care. This objective was achieved firstly, by mapping and classifying the ETs currently available on the market and, secondly, by assessing the impact of such ETs on elderly care, exploring the ethical values promoted, as well as potential ethical threats. METHODS: An in-depth search was carried out on Google search engine, by using specific keywords (e.g. technology, monitoring techniques, ambient intelligence; elderly, older adults; care and assistance). Three hundred and twenty-eight technologies were originally identified. Then, based on a predetermined set of inclusion-exclusion criteria, two hundreds and twenty-two technologies were selected. RESULTS: A comprehensive database was elaborated, where the two hundred and twenty-two ETs selected were classified as follows: category; developmental stage; companies and/or partners; functions; location of development; time of development; impact on elderly care; target; website. From an in-depth qualitative analysis, some ethically-related contents and themes emerged, namely: questions related to safety, independence and active aging, connectedness, empowerment and dignity, cost and efficiency. Although not reported by developers, a close analysis of website contents highlights that positive values are often associated with potential risks, notably privacy threats, deception, dehumanization of care. CONCLUSIONS: Research findings may ultimately lead to a better understanding of the impact of ETs on elderly people.

Relationality and online interpersonal research: Ethical, methodological and pragmatic extensions

The availability, affordability and usability of communication technologies have created new ways to conduct interpersonal qualitative research. Access to digital communications remains uneven, but the online environment provides an alternative, and at times a potentially preferable, research space. As Covid-19 has interrupted and disrupted the dominant assumption that qualitative research must be conducted in person, this paper outlines possibilities and reservations of online interpersonal methods. Though the standard ethical considerations of qualitative research hold true, we argue that these are necessary, but often inadequate, in the contexts of conducting online synchronous interpersonal research. Through centring relational and reflexive practice, we consider the associated pragmatic, methodological and ethical domains from feminist and virtual–material positional perspectives. Unpacking the complexities and possibilities of researching digital environments, we present six guiding principles to inform ethically responsive, methodologically robust and pragmatically feasible approaches to conducting online interpersonal qualitative research.

Global Nurse Involvement in ethical decision-making during pandemics: a concept analysis.

Background: During pandemics, there are considerable ethical dilemmas. It is imperative that nurses are involved in ethical decision-making bringing nursing theory, practice and perspectives to better advocate for patients. In order to prepare nurses to be partners in ethical dilemma decision-making during pandemics, it is vital to understand the extent that nurses are involved in such decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aim: The purpose of this concept analysis is to identify nurse involvement in ethical decision-making during pandemics. Method: Concept analysis methodology based on literature searches used bibliographic databases: PubMed - 20 papers; Google Scholar - 8120 papers; EMBASE - 25 papers; Science Direct - 246 papers and hand searches. Results: Nurse involvement in ethical decision-making during pandemics focused on nurses' physical and emotional stress, communication challenges, saturation and collapse of limited resources and allocation of scarce resources. Additional dilemmas included, changing nature of nurses' relationships with patients and families, questionable ethical equipoise preforming COVID-19 research, triage patient decisions receiving scarce resources, partner participation during labour and delivery and end-of-life decisions. Conclusion: In order to protect and sustain nurses' well-being and competency, nurses should establish a framework for nurses' involvement in ethical policy development in emergencies, pandemics, education and preparedness and decision-making to be able to deal with public health emergencies.

COVID-19 and the digitization of business events: how the health crisis accelerated ethical issues

Purpose: The aim of this study is to understand the transformations that the event industry has undergone during the COVID-19 pandemic and what changes still may happen in the future, here according to business event managers. Design/methodology/approach: Being explorative in nature, the study adopts a qualitative research design based on semi-structured in-depth interviews submitted to a purposive sample of 26 Italian business event agency managers. Findings: The findings reveal that the pandemic boosted the digital transformation of the event industry, spurring organizers to recraft and execute their business models. Such changes may give rise to important ethical concerns that should be carefully considered by academics, professionals and policymakers. Research limitations/implications: The research is based on a purposive sample of Italian business event managers. Therefore, in addition to be country-specific, the research includes only a single typology of business event stakeholders. Originality/value: The article points out possible counterintuitive considerations that may rise related to the ethical issues emerging from the adoption of novel business models in the event industry after the COVID-19 pandemic. The study suggests possible objects of reflection for scholars, event managers and policymakers to plan and organize a more equitable and sustainable business in the future. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Ageism and moral distress in nurses caring for older patients

This study explored the influence of healthcare ageism on nurses' moral distress. Episodic interviews were conducted on 25 Romanian nurses in 2020. Thematic analysis revealed that all moral distress sources reported reflected macro-, meso- and micro-level ageism, benevolent and hostile, self- or other-directed, including stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination of older patients. The COVID-19 pandemic-related ageist measures increased healthcare ageism and transformed nurses' representations of older patients accordingly. Nurses felt moral conflict both when passively witnessing ageist acts and when perpetrating them to adhere to group norms, highlighting the need to combat ageism for both patients' and nurses' well-being.

Ethical conflicts in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Healthcare setups in India are encountering a lot of medical, ethical, legal, and social challenges endorsed by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, modifying the healthcare protocols, which are considered a standard of care. The ethical conflicts are pressurizing the decision-makers of society, to revamp the basic principles and traditional assumptions of our present healthcare modalities. Objectives: This report addresses the common but crucial ethical issues, encountered by healthcare workers e.g., doctors and paramedics in day-to-day healthcare practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: This report tries to cover several ethical aspects of COVID-19 such as: setting priority of screening;professional responsibility of healthcare workers;dilemma encountered by a doctor;compromise of patient confidentiality;allocation of scanty resources;end-of-life situation, and certain critical clinical scenarios. Results and conclusion: COVID warriors from the health sector possess dual responsibilities of taking utmost care of COVID patients ethically, along with self-protection from this havoc. COVID-19 has taught us the lesson that, extra-ordinary time calls for extra-ordinary measures. Also, intervention performed upon the patient affects not only the patient, but also the whole of society. © 2023, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Chiang Mai University. All rights reserved.

A CANVAS FOR THE ETHICAL DESIGN OF LEARNING EXPERIENCES WITH DIGITAL TOOLS

The use of digital tools has drastically increased in engineering education, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. These tools generate important ethical issues, in particular in terms of privacy and fairness. However, very few teacher training programmes address those topics, which means that teachers are often left to figure out by themselves how to address these issues when they want (or have) to use digital tools in their teaching. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to a pragmatic approach to the ethical design of learning experiences that involve digital tools using a visual thinking guide called a 'canvas'. Applied and hands-on, this workshop will help participants to develop a practical understanding of the specific ethical issues related to the use of digital tools in teaching and to integrate ethical reflection into design processes when digital technology is involved. © 2022 SEFI 2022 - 50th Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education, Proceedings. All rights reserved.

Innovative technology-enhanced social work service during COVID-19: How 'Garden on the Balcony' promoted resilience, community bonds and a green lifestyle

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has motivated social workers to reckon with and transform traditions in service delivery. The development, application, and evaluation of technology-enhanced practices have become more vital than ever. Garden on the Balcony (GOB) was an innovative internet-based social work service designed to respond rapidly to the COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing. This paper introduces the underlying perspectives and design of GOB and reports participants' reflections on the program to understand its mechanisms and implications. Interview data from GOB participants were collected 4 months after the program ended. Thematic analysis generated three major themes, suggesting that GOB had (a) promoted individual resilience and family cohesion;(b) built online and offline community bonds;and (c) cultivated a green lifestyle and spiritual reflection on life. This study demonstrates a practical example of the effective use of technology-enhanced practice.

Ethical issues in care research: an analysis

Research involving the residents of care homes is vital to improve their health and wellbeing. Such research can make a major contribution to the health and social challenges facing society, including dementia and ageing. However, research is less common in the care context than in health settings. Studies submitted to the Health Research Authority over a 3-year period for ethics review were analysed to identify ethical barriers to research. Just 0.5% of research studies that were submitted involved care homes. The most common subjects researched were residents' wellbeing, COVID-19 and care home processes and management. Analysis of the response of research ethics committees showed that the majority of questions or comments concerned the consent process, care and respect for the participants, and the social and scientific value of the planned research. There were a number of issues that were commonly raised by research ethics committees. In addition, the majority of studies involved adults who potentially lacked capacity. This work identifies the issues that are raised by research ethics committees and highlights specific ethical concerns about research in the care setting.

Participatory research in a pandemic: The impact of COVID-19 on co-designing research with autistic people

Social work research should adopt a critical approach to research methodology, opposing oppression that is reproduced through epistemological assumptions or research methods and processes. However, traditional approaches to autism research have often problematised and pathologized autistic1 individuals, reinforcing autistic people's positions as passive subjects. This has resulted in autistic people being largely excluded from the production of knowledge about autism, and about the needs of autistic people. Participatory approaches promote collaborative approaches to enquiry and posit autistic people as active co-constructors of knowledge, a stance that is congruent with social work values of social justice and liberation. However, Covid-19 is not only altering our everyday life but also upending social research. This paper discusses the challenges faced by a participatory study involving autistic people during the Covid-19 pandemic. This paper examines how Covid-19 increased the individual vulnerability of autistic participants and changed their research priorities, increased the researcher's decision-making power, and placed greater emphasis on barriers created by inaccessible methods. Covid-19 did not present novel challenges, but rather exacerbated existing tensions and inevitable challenges that are inherent in adopting an approach that aims to oppose oppression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Intervention: Enhancing mental health and well-being around the world

This chapter discusses key conceptual and practical issues related to psychological interventions in a global context. The foundations section reviews the need for mental health services globally, highlighting the potential for psychologists to apply their knowledge and skills around the world and the competencies needed for such work. It highlights the need for psychologists and psychological interventions worldwide. The chapter considers ethical issues, cultural competencies, and the World Health Organization's core competencies in global mental health. In the Applications section, the chapter highlights diverse pathways to care and clinical service settings, such as health care settings, schools, families, and communities. It discusses levels of intervention (i.e., treatment, prevention, strengths-based) and points out emergent areas of global concern in need of psychological interventions, such as the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Along the way, the chapter showcases eight diverse examples of intervention work in international psychology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

School Nurse Experiences and Changes to Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

School nurses have faced many professional challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Focus group interviews were employed as a data collection method in this qualitative study to describe the perspectives of school nurses during the pandemic. Themes relevant to school nurse experiences and suggestions for change were identified. School nurses have demonstrated their essential role in facilitating health for students, staff, and families. Policymakers and the public must recognize this value. School nurses are encouraged to leverage opportunities for visibility within and beyond their own communities to enhance recognition of their role. School nurses should also lead the development of additional resources such as web-based health content and practice guidelines. Providing school nurses with resources needed to support their practice is essential so that, in turn, students may be cared for.

Fast-tracking development and regulatory approval of COVID-19 vaccines in the EU: A review of ethical implications.

The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 worldwide has triggered intense activity in the field of biotechnology, leading to the development and regulatory approval of multiple COVID-19 vaccines in less than 1 year while raising sustained scrutiny as to the ethical issues associated with this process. This article pursues a twofold objective. First, it reconstructs and provides a thorough overview of the different steps, from clinical trial design to regulatory procedures, underpinning the "fast-tracking" of COVID-19 vaccine R&D and approval. Second, drawing on a review of published literature, the article identifies, outlines, and analyzes the most ethically challenging aspects related to such process, including concerns around vaccine safety, issues in study design, the enrollment of study participants, and the challenges in obtaining valid informed consent. By scrutinizing relevant aspects of COVID-19 vaccine development and regulatory processes leading to market authorization, this article ultimately aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the regulatory and ethical issues underpinning the roll-out of this key pandemic-containment technology worldwide.

Trends and ethical issues in nursing during disasters: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: During a disaster, nurses face complex ethical challenges because of risky situations. It is necessary to identify trends and ethical issues of nurses in disasters to improve the quality of care and impact for nurses. METHOD: This systematic review enrolled in the international registration with PROSPERO: CRD42022350765. We searched the following databases: PubMed, EBSCO MEDLINE, SCOPUS, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, and Sage Pub. The inclusion criteria were developed according to PICO and D; are Population (F): involving nurses; intervention/Exposure (I): disaster, Comparison (C): none; outcome (O): ethical practice. And Design (D): qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. Years of publication were 2012-2022, with full text in English. The quality of study assessment used was The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal tool and Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018. Analysis used PICO synthesis. RESULTS: There were 15 studies reviewed from 2093 results, including cross-sectional (4/15, 26.6%), qualitative (9/15, 60%), and mixed methods (2/15, 13.3%) studies. The types of disasters were: COVID-19 (7/15, 46.6%), infectious (4/15, 26.6%), and all disaster events (4/15, 26.6%). The main themes were: (1) ethical issues in disasters have the potential to address ethical dilemmas, (2) factors applying nursing ethics to support ethical decision-making in disasters, (3) strategies for applying ethics and dealing with ethical issues in disasters, and (4) the impact of applying ethics in disasters. CONCLUSION: Applying ethics nursing in a disaster is influenced by various factors. This framework for ethical nursing in disasters aims to help nurses, educational institutions, and policymakers develop schemes or scenarios to enhance responsible ethical decisions in disasters.

The Impact of Moral Injury on Patients and Colleagues

The article discusses the concept of moral injury that refers to a provider's inability to provide care due to the conflict of a clinician's task and their calling to help people. It cites a case where two physical therapists (PT) faced an ethical issue on whether to accept the organization's lower care standard mindset or make independent decisions in the patient's best interest. Also noted are these developments' consequences on the PTs' mental health and their effective delivery of care.

States: End HCW COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

The article discusses that 22 states have joined to petition Centers for Medicare & Medical Services (CMS) to stop mandating Covid-19 vaccines for healthcare workers. It discusses that CMS does not require the new bivalent Covid-19 booster for healthcare workers;and mentions that whether the SARS-CoV-2 bivalent immunization can blunt the threat to healthcare workers and patients, particularly since the viral iterations have shown the ability to escape vaccine immunity.

Ethical Issues in Long-term Care in Low-, Middle- and High-Income Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Long-term care (LTC) centers experienced an unprecedented emergency involving exponential mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals residing in long-term care were particularly vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19, placing residents, staff, families, and organizations in a precarious position. Complex issues surrounding how to manage vulnerable populations during the pandemic have highlighted the importance of gathering information on ethical issues that require effective policy and decision-making. This project sought to identify the ethical issues faced in long-term care by residents, families, staff, and organizations from stakeholders themselves. A total of 305 participants from 45 countries responded, highlighting numerous ethical issues in long-term care during COVID-19. While numerous issues were mentioned, there was an overlap in the themes of responses between stakeholders. Visitation, isolation, harm, staff well-being, and the overall enforcement of policies during the pandemic represented the most often discussed issues. As a preliminary study of this issue, future research is necessary in order to effectively guide pandemic policymaking moving forward.

Education 4.0: Classification of Student Adaptability Level in E-Education

In India, online education is an important part of the educational system, but it grew even more popular during the Covid 19 epidemic since schools and universities were closed after March 2020. Students benefit from online instructions since they may record lectures and watch them as many times as necessary to grasp the material. However, the application of this technology in the sphere of education presents obstacles and ethical issues. Artificial Intelligence's prospects, advantages, and problems in education is be examined in this research. Several researches have shown that pupils might be hindered by online education, despite its widespread appeal and effectiveness. This study examines whether or not students are accepting of technology in the classroom. This article uses machine learning algorithms to classify the adaptability level of pupils. To predict the amount of student adoption of Industry 4.0 capabilities, we used a variety of machine learning techniques. With 93% classification accuracy, neural network and random forest techniques were shown to be the most effective. © 2022 IEEE.