Covid-19 pandemic has derailed progress on sustainable development goals, says WHO

The World Health Statistics report detailed an overall shortage of services, in and outside the health system, to prevent and treat non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The report also highlighted the need for stronger data and health information systems, owing to "uneven capacities to collect and use accurate, timely, and comparable health statistics.” Samira Asma, WHO assistant director general, said, "As the world battles the most serious pandemic in 100 years, just a decade away from the SDG [sustainable development goal] deadline, we must act together to strengthen primary healthcare and focus on the most vulnerable among us in order to eliminate the gross inequalities that dictate who lives a long, healthy life and who doesn't.”

Enumerating happiness index during COVID-19 lockdowns using artificial intelligence techniques

Happiness index is an all-inclusive methodology to assess well-being and happiness aspects of human resilience and sustainability. Pandemic like COVID-19 has brought deep level changes to human lifestyle and social behaviours. The world has been reshaped and life has more than likely changed permanently. This has led to calls for mental health, yet there is a dire need to introspect the mental state of health and behavioural changes. Happiness index is calculated based on factors such as GDP, freedom to make choice, health life expectancy and social support. These factors are analysed using datasets from social media with machine learning algorithms to map human response to the pandemic. This research focuses on use of artificial intelligence on the impact of lockdowns due to COVID-19 on the global happiness index.

Prevention and early treatment of depression through the life course

This book presents current evidence of new perspectives for the prevention and appropriate management of depression in people across the life course. Special attention has been dedicated to facilitating factors for the development of health system capacity and the effectiveness of the different types of interventions. The first part of the book reviews the innovations in global prevention and non-pharmacological treatments for children, adolescents, and youths. The second part reviews interventions for adults across the lifespan, including older adults and caregivers. Despite the efforts to tackle depression, the COVID-19 pandemic directly or indirectly affected the mental health of the population, including an increase in the incidence of depressive disorders, which are underdiagnosed and undertreated in young and older people. Because of the characteristics of adolescence and older adulthood, people can consider depression signs and symptoms as natural, neglecting a proper diagnosis. To address these challenges in the clinical management of depression, Prevention and Early Treatment of Depression Through the Life Course presents a life course perspective on the analysis and treatment of depression to help clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals understand the mechanisms associated with the onset of depression and identify/develop proper evidence-based treatments for different ages and in different circumstances. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Child abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic-Prospect, risk and factors: A narrative review

This narrative review focuses on the risk of child abuse, the determinants of child maltreatment during the Covid-19 outbreak and the conceivable psycho-social impact of child abuse. Literature was retrieved from Scopus, PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science along with Google Scholar, and reports from various sources with no time and context restrictions. The narrative analysis of all pertinent records shows that the risk of abuse towards children has spiked during the Covid-19 outbreak, especially sexual abuse and neglect. Prolonged living inside of homes, school closures, limited contact, unemployment, domestic violence, poor access to health care, and related social stressors have impacted on the rates of child abuse during the Covid-19 outbreak. These maltreated children may experience poor interpersonal relationships, problematic coping behaviours, and depressive disorders across their life span. These findings point to context-specific outcomes and protective measures that could assist prospective researches and guide policies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

France 2022: a narrowing gap between births and deaths

Natural increase-the difference between births and deaths-fell fourfold in France between 2012 and 2022, reflecting a 100,000 decrease in the number of births over the last 10 years and a similar increase in the number of deaths. Life expectancy has stagnated over the last 3 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic combined with excess mortality in 2022 linked to several summer heatwaves and a seasonal flu epidemic at the end of the year. It appears that while COVID-19 had little impact on births, it temporarily modified their seasonality.

Creating community and building connection through play: An improvisational response to the coronavirus pandemic

Responding to the call for 'social distancing' people around the world engaged in play together via the internet. While these activities could be seen as a diversion, they can also be understood as, along with wearing masks , essential to people surviving the pandemic. This qualitative study explores the experiences of people who participated in Creating Connection and Building Community Through Play, a series of five synchronous improvisational play sessions on Zoom. The sessions averaged 83 people with a total of 287 individuals from 29 countries participating in one or more sessions. Analysis revealed that virtual activities focused on relationality, improvisation and play provided people with connection and community in the midst of isolation, and that co-creating these experiences was emotionally healing for many. The findings advance our understanding of the importance of adult play for building and maintaining emotional health, creating community, and responding to ongoing challenges. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Taxonomy of stressors and traumas: An update of the development-based trauma framework (DBTF): A life-course perspective on stress and trauma

COVID-19 challenged the current paradigms of traumatic stress. Although there are diagnostic taxonomies of mental disorders such as Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, the taxonomy of stressors and traumas that contribute significantly to such disorders is lacking. The current article tried to fill parts of this gap by proposing an update and refinement of the development-based taxonomy of stressors and traumas from a life-course perspective. We discussed the different trends in defining trauma and their limitations considering the recent empirical data that provided evidence for the limited predictive validity of the current posttraumatic stress disorder model and when confronting serious real-life events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The updated taxonomy presented in this paper included preidentity (complicated birth, attachment disruptions, early childhood adversities), identity traumas (physical, personal, and social), interdependence (primary, secondary, and tertiary), and aging stressors and traumas, with the severity of stressors, is categorized on a scale from I to III. We identified 4 primary sources and pathways of these development-based stressors: intrapersonal, interpersonal, systemic, and environmental. The systemic sources are further divided into systemic "A," including traumas perpetrated by groups, institutions, or governments, and systemic "B," traumas such as recessions and global warming. The environmental sources and pathways are further divided into environmental "A" (physical), traumas such as earthquakes and hurricanes, and environmental "B" (biological/pathogenic), traumas such as pandemics. The macrodynamics of accumulation and proliferation and the interaction among preidentity, identity, and postidentity stressors and traumas determine their total mental health impact from a life-course perspective. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Suicide and autism: A lifespan perspective

People who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are at increased risk of suicidal behaviour compared to the general population;recent population-based studies demonstrate a three- to sevenfold increased risk of premature death by suicide. This chapter provides an overview of: (a) the current literature regarding risk and prevalence of suicide behaviour in autism;(b) the role of intellectual disability/intellectual developmental disorder in suicide in autism;(c) correlates, risk and protective factors;(d) dimensional constructs of suicide, including autistic traits;(e) current approaches to suicide assessment, including potential modifications;and (f) suicide prevention and service access. We consider these topics by drawing on state-of-the-art research, the perspective of lived experience, and consideration of the potential impacts of major events such as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The influence of critical life events on life trajectories - An investigation of personality development, well-being, and core beliefs

Much has been achieved with regard to how critical life events influence trajectories in life. Theories on the development of personality and well-being emphasize that people differ in the rate, timing, and direction life events influence certain personality traits and key indicators of well-being such as life satisfaction. However, there has been an urgent call for longitudinal studies exploring processes that underlie individual differences of the appraisal and reaction to critical life events. This dissertation seeks to meet this plea by investigating the influence of specific and non-specific critical life events on personality development and life satisfaction, taking into account one's subjective perception of these events. Since core beliefs can alter mental representations of life events, the present dissertation explores a possible moderating role of mindset and self-efficacy. Moreover, this dissertation places particular focus on the assessment of life events and implications for the critical age periods of adolescence and emerging adulthood. While the first longitudinal study (N = 1,243) focusses on the influence of two specific life events, school graduation and moving away from the childhood home, on trait changes in the Big Five, the second study (N = 1,477) explores personality development below the domain level in trait intellect, a facet of openness, with regard to predominantly non-specific life events. The third study (N = 1,920) expands the scope of the current thesis by considering the impact of a collective experienced life event, the COVID-19 pandemic, on the development of life satisfaction over four measurement occasions. Across the three studies, I investigate individual differences by considering the moderating role of the core beliefs of mindset or self-efficacy. Although none of the studies suggest that these critical life events have an influence in and of themselves, results reveal significant personality changes (Study 1) and changes in life satisfaction (Study 3) when taking into account subjective perceptions of the critical life events. Further, the results of studies 1 and 2 indicate personality development in traits that are associated with mature functioning. While a moderating role of mindset was found in study 1 regarding the influence of the perception of the life event graduation on levels in extraversion and neuroticism, results indicated no moderating effects of self-efficacy in the studies 2 and 3. However, the present results reveal selection and socialization effects of selfefficacy with respect to the development of intellect (Study 2), and significant effects of self-efficacy on life satisfaction before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (Study 3). All in all, the present findings contribute to a deeper understanding on the processing of life events, but further longitudinal studies are needed to observe individual life trajectories in young adulthood with respect to different event characteristics and implicit beliefs. In the conclusion, limitations of this dissertation, future research ideas, as well as practical implications for adolescents and emerging adults are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Literacy and international development

Literacy is a complex and dynamic phenomenon that varies across history, language, and geography. The present review considers the roles of literacy in an international development perspective. First, an overview is provided of the history and definitions of literacy, considering its evolution from a dichotomous concept (literate/illiterate) to a continuum of writing, reading, and numeracy across the life span. Second, key contemporary aspects of literacy are described, including the effects of language of instruction policies, technology, and emergent crises on literacy acquisition in low-and-middle income countries. In conclusion, considerations and recommendations for literacy promotion are linked to broader issues in educational planning and international development. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oral anticoagulants, dementia . . . and other stories

Anticoagulants conferred a small increase in life expectancy—but at the price of an increase in bleeding complications. Since the primary goal of treatment for patients with advanced dementia should surely be comfort, this may not be optimal care (J Am Ger Soc doi:10.1111/jgs.18108). Intravenous antihypertensives Rapid treatment may do more harm than good, according to a retrospective study of 20 000 adults who developed a systolic blood pressure of greater than 180 mm Hg or a diastolic pressure greater than 110 mm Hg while in hospital for a reason other than hypertension. Vitamin D supplementation and dementia A recent meta-analysis concluded that vitamin D supplementation had no useful protective effect on cognitive function.

Statistical modelling of the impact of online courses in higher education on sustainable development

Purpose>The concept of sustainable development (SD) is a popular response to society's need to preserve and extend the life span of natural resources. One of the 17 goals of the SD is "education quality” (Fourth Goal of Sustainable Development [SDG-4]). Education quality is an important goal because education is a powerful force that can influence social policies and social change. The SDG-4 must be measured in different contexts, and the tools to quantify its effects require exploration. So, this study aims to propose a statistical model to measure the impact of higher education online courses on SD and a structural equation model (SEM) to find constructs or factors that help us explain a sustainability benefits rate. These proposed models integrate the three areas of sustainability: social, economic and environmental.Design/methodology/approach>A beta regression model suggests features that include the academic and economic opportunities offered by the institution, the involvement in research activities and the quality of the online courses. A structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis allowed selecting the key variables and constructs that are strongly linked to the SD.Findings>One of the key findings showed that the benefit provided by online courses in terms of SD is 62.99% higher than that of offline courses in aspects such as transportation, photocopies, printouts, books, food, clothing, enrolment fees and connectivity.Research limitations/implications>The SEM model needs large sample sizes to have consistent estimations. Thus, despite the obtained estimations in the proposed SEM model being reliable, the authors consider that a limitation of this study was the required time to collect data corresponding to the estimated sample size.Originality/value>This study proposes two novel and different ways to estimate the sustainability benefits rate focused on SDG-4, and machine learning tools are implemented to validate and gain robustness in the estimations of the beta model. Additionally, the SEM model allows us to identify new constructs associated with SDG-4.

Outcomes Of Centenaries Hospitalized Due To COVID-19 In A Private Healthcare System

IntroductionLife expectancy is increasing worldwide. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, people 100 years or more (centenaries) were challenged by a potentially fatal disease. We evaluated the outcome of centenaries hospitalized due to COVID-19 in a private healthcare system of Belo Horizonte/Brazil (Unimed-BH).MethodsAdministrative data were collected from the hospital database. Patients were included if they had a severe adult respiratory syndrome due to coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ribonucleic acid identified by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) or by the International Code of Disease-10th review (ICD-10) hospitalization codes U07.1, B34.2, or B97.2.ResultsFrom March 1 2020 to October 31 2021, 316.4 ± 12.9 centenaries/month were registered. Eighteen hospitalizations due to COVID-19 were identified. Median age was 101.8 years (inter-quartile range [IQR]:100.7,103.0). Most patients were female (83%). There was a median of 6.0 morbidities per patient (IQR:5.3,7.8), range 2-12 morbidities, among 71 possible morbidities. The most described morbidities were systemic arterial hypertension (94%), dementia (61%), and congestive heart failure (61%). Median length of hospitalization was 6.5 days (IQR:3.3,8.0). No patient was dialyzed. Seven (39%) patients died during hospitalization, of whom 3 (17%) were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and 2 (11%) were oxygenated by invasive mechanical ventilation. No other patients were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit or invasively mechanically ventilated.ConclusionsAlthough the hospitalization rate was low, the mortality rate during hospitalization was high among centenaries. Further research is required to evaluate the actual risks of centenaries to be infected by SARS-CoV-2 and the subsequent outcomes.

COVID-19, global health and climate change: Causes and convergences

Despite massive global economic growth and advances in science and medicine with spectacular aggregate and individual improvements in health and life expectancy over the past century, the world has now become severely unstable in multiple domains - biological, sociological, political, ecological, economic, and health care. These pervasive instabilities are organically interactive within a complex world system that has reached crisis status at local, global, and planetary levels. Lying at the heart of this complex crisis are long-neglected disparities in health and well-being within and between countries, the refusal to face how these and climate change have arisen, and how economic considerations have fuelled the trend towards entropy (gradual decline of the planet into disorder). The critical point we have reached, starkly highlighted by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic pari passu with ongoing climate change and planetary degradation, reminds us of our global interconnectedness with each other and with nature. Comprehending and acknowledging the myriad, humanly constructed forces in each of these domains influencing all aspects of life, are the first steps towards effectively facing challenges to our health, our humanity (collectivity as humans) and our planet. Overcoming denial, acknowledging the magnitude and complexity of these challenges, prescient vision and dedicated action capable of fostering the cooperation for overcoming obstacles are now vital to seeking peaceful pathways towards more equitable and sustainable lives. South Africa is a microcosm of the world, with its local threats and challenges mirroring the global. Significance: Instabilities that pervade the world, highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, are especially significant for South Africa, where they manifest most starkly because of its apartheid legacy, its relative success economically on the African continent, and the implications of ongoing widening disparities and antagonism amongst South Africa's diverse people. Belief in moving towards narrowing wide disparities through decolonisation and reversion to an 'idyllic African heritage' via a transformation that includes widespread corruption, and the ANC government's perverse erosion of lives today and in the future through 'state capture', intensifies rather than ameliorates our predicament in an era when cooperation and a clear vision of current threats and future possibilities are desperately needed. In an accompanying article, potential pathways towards a better future are offered through suggested shifts in paradigms of thought and action.

Sustainable Recycling of Waste from Nitrile Gloves: Prolonging the Life Span by Designing Proper Curing Systems.

A massive demand for rubber-based goods, particularly gloves, was sparked by the emergence of the COVID-19 epidemic worldwide. This resulted in thousands of tons of gloves being scrapped due to the constant demand for the items, endangering our environment in a grave way. In this work, we aimed to focus on the utilization of waste nitrile gloves (r-NBR) as a component blended with natural rubber (NR). The life span and other related properties of the blend can be improved by proper control of the chemical recipe. This study assessed three types of crosslinking systems, namely sulfur (S), peroxide (DCP), and mixed sulfur/peroxide (S/DCP) systems. The results indicate that choosing S/DCP strongly affected the tensile strength of the blend, especially at relatively high contents of r-NBR, improving the strength by 40-60% for cases with 25-35 phr of r-NBR. The improvement depended on the crosslink types induced in the blends. It is interesting to highlight that the thermal resistance of the blends was significantly improved by using the S/DCP system. This indicates that the life span of this blend can be prolonged by using a proper curing system. Overall, the S/DCP showed the best results, superior to those with S and DCP crosslinking systems.

Improving our chances of a healthier future

What should we do now to improve health in the future? For women with gestational diabetes, adherence to five healthy lifestyle habits over a quarter century of follow-up was associated with a 90% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, when compared with women who had none of these habits (doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-070312).1 Gestational diabetes is a strong marker of future illness, associated with a meaningful increase in later cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Some though not all of the risk is due to the subsequent development of diabetes (doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-070244).2 Quite obviously, then, women with gestational diabetes are especially likely to benefit from public health measures aimed at helping them implement healthy habits.

An Overlooked Strategic Powerhouse: How Nurses Can Rise to the Challenge of Integrating Public Health and Primary Care

Although the United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and a leader in biomedical innovation, its health care system is consistently ranked among the worst in terms of cost and health outcomes. Americans have short life expectancies, high infant mortality and obesity rates, and soaring chronic disease rates compared with other wealthy nations. In 2021, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) was charged with examining what it would take to improve US primary care. The NAM report described the practice of siloing public health from primary care or treating these areas as separate fields of scientific inquiry, practice, and billable service.1 NAM identified this separation as a key driver of poor health outcomes and health inequities in the United States. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) examined similar phenomena in a 2012 report, noting how the two fields tend to operate independently, despite complementary functions and common goals.2Where these silos persist, we see communication and process breakdowns at the point of care. For instance, when large swaths of Americans turned to trusted primary care providers for COVID-19 vaccine insights, their primary care providers did not always have the most up-todate information, in part because of a lack of interprofessional cohesion (including fragmented public health messaging and data systems). If we are to remedy such issues, a substantive paradigm shift must take place: We must move toward what DeSalvo et al.3 termed "Public Health 3.0." In this model, multiple sectors, specialties, and stakeholders form coalitions to mobilize data, people power, and resources in a strategic manner to advance health for all. To be truly strategic, we must think carefully about how to leverage nurses-who care for patients across the lifespan and in nearly all public health nursing (PHN) and primary care settings-within these coalitions.The 2021 NAM report urges health care teams to undertake the mission of integrating systems. However, NAM stops short of describing exactly how teams ought to accomplish this aim and the proposed makeup ofsaid teams. Like any group project, success will depend on the ability of teams to identify leaders and clearly delineate responsibilities. The purpose of this editorial is to explore the potential of PHN and primary care nurses and to describe the roles they might assume in the collaborative integration of their respective silos.

Advancing Public Health and Preventive Medicine

Largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States experienced a decrease in life expectancy from 2019 to 2020, with a disproportionate burden among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black populations.1 COVID-19 has also illustrated and continues to show the "fault lines" in public health, including inadequate surveillance systems, underfunding of public health and primary care, structural inequities, misand disinformation, and the intrusion of partisan politics into public health practice.2,3 In addressing the many opportunities and challenges for public health and preventive medicine, Matthew Boulton and Robert Wallace have assembled an impressive set of 186 chapters across 11 sections, authored by world-class experts on each topic. Global Health, Health Disparities & Vulnerable Populations, Nutrition & Physical Activity, and Mental Health & Substance Use. Across the many sections and chapters in this book, competencies can be mapped to academic course work, clinical rotations, short courses, practica, and on-the-job training programs for professionals in public health and preventive medicine.8,9 IMPLEMENTING KNOWN SOLUTIONS As described in multiple chapters, but particularly in the chapter on implementation science, the decades of scientific progress in medicine and public health have too often not been translated into equitable improvements in population health.10 By influencing how scientific evidence is scaled up into practice, implementation science has great potential to accelerate progress toward achieving public health goals by seeking to understand and influence how scientific evidence is put into practice.11 Evidence in multiple forms, but particularly evidence-based interventions, is the foundation of implementation science and progress in public health.12 FOCUSING ON HEALTH EQUITY Concepts of health disparities and health equity are more prominently featured in this new edition, across many chapters but particularly in section 3 on health disparities and vulnerable populations.

Estimating the disability adjusted life years directly associated with SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) in the republic of Ireland: the first full year

BackgroundBy March 2020, COVID-19 cases were confirmed globally. Internationally, variations in estimates relating to the ‘direct’ effect of COVID-19 on population health have been reported. The key to standardising comparisons between nations is to quantify the total effect of COVID-19’s morbidity and mortality, using a standardised methodology. The Burden of Disease (BoD) frameworks achieve this using a summary metric, the ‘Disability-Adjusted- Life- Years’ (DALYs).MethodsOur DALYs are estimates of summing the ‘Years-of-Life-Lost’ (YLLs) and the ‘Years- Lost due to Disability’ (YLD) for the ‘direct’ burden of COVID-19 in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) from March 01, 2020, to February 28, 2021. Life expectancy was based on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study life tables for 2019.ResultsThere were 220,273 cases of COVID-19 and 4,500 related deaths within this study’s parameters. DALYs were estimated to be 51,532.1 (95% Uncertainty Intervals [UI] 50,671.6, 52,294.3). Overall, YLL contributed to 98.7% of the DALYs. Of total symptomatic cases, 6.5% required hospitalisation and of those hospitalised 10.8% required intensive care unit treatment. COVID-19 was likely to be the second highest cause of death over our study’s duration.ConclusionEstimating the burden of a disease at national level is useful for comparing its impact with other diseases in the population and across populations. This work sets out to standardise a COVID-19 BoD methodology framework for the RoI and comparable nations in the EU.

What should the health community be saying to our new prime minister?

[...]the UK is already experiencing death rates well above normal.12 The precise reasons are still being debated, but it seems likely that some are caused by continued covid infections, some by the long term consequences of covid, including increased cardiovascular disease, but much by the enormous pressure facing the NHS as it struggles with a decade of underinvestment.13 This against a background of years in which life expectancy gains fell behind those in comparable countries.14 Many of the problems in the NHS reflect severe staff shortages.15 Here too, there are several reasons, some a direct consequence of policies pursued by governments Truss was a member of, including Brexit16 and pension taxation,17 but also the UK’s failure, unique among industrialised countries, to bring people back into the workforce after the pandemic.18 When the cost of living crisis is superimposed on this situation, the outlook for the UK is dire. While some problems, such as the loss of Russian gas, threaten many countries, the UK is especially vulnerable as it has failed to invest in renewables or gas storage capacity.19 It also faces threats to food supply, again reflecting global factors, such as climate change, but also national ones, in particular Brexit.20 Inflation is the highest in the G721 and the value of the pound is plummeting.22 Many people will have no choice about whether to “heat or eat.” The Guardian 2022 Sept 2. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/02/liz-truss-law-and-order-policies-meaningless-says-police-chief 3 Woodcock A. Truss ready to scrap smart motorways and look at making speed limits advisory.