ABSTRACT
Virtual reality appears an interesting technology to offer healthcare workers innovative programs for managing stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic and when the crisis will be over. However, the unfamiliarity and the cost of virtual reality could represent significant technical and socioeconomic obstacles in its adoption in the mental health panorama. Therefore, this study aimed to explore in a sample of doctors and nurses the use of virtual reality, their interest in this technology, and the availability to spend for purchasing a virtual reality system. Forty-four doctors and nurses completed an online survey (72.2% female;mean age 41.5 ± 10.7). Results showed that: (a) most healthcare practitioners have never tried virtual reality and have a low level of knowledge of this technology, regardless of profession, gender, and age group;(b) healthcare workers showed medium interest in using virtual reality-based programs for stress and anxiety management, both at home and in the hospital, with differences between men and women (p <.01);(c) the cost of virtual reality systems represents for many doctors and nurses a critical barrier to the use of this technology for psychological support. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Social media is emerging as a popular platform for health communication and has gained an even stronger impetus since the COVID-19 pandemic. With conversations about mental health slowly building momentum in recent times even in developing countries like India, this study sought to understand the current status of mental health communication on social media in the country. The factors predicting these communication behaviours were explored as well. The data comprised 421 participants (Mean age = 28.26 years) hailing from metros, urban and semi-urban areas. Almost 64% of participants reported having used social media for mental health communication. The extent of mental health knowledge and empathy emerged as the most consistent predictors of indulging in mental health communication behaviours on social media. Almost 92% of participants reported that they observed an increase in these communication behaviours among people, as a result of the pandemic. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
This study assesses emotional resilience (ER) among people residing in the eastern region of India based on six demographic factors age, gender, education, marital status, working hours and financial status. MATERIAL/METHODS: Researchers conducted a survey through questionnaire among people aged 25 and 75 (mean age =50, mathrm{N}=508) from 1 September 2021 to 20 October 2021 after two COVID-19 outbreaks and analysed the data using the chi-square test, Cronbach alpha, multiple regression (MR) and logistic regression (LR). RESULTS: Results of present research show that ER negatively correlates with age (coeff. =14.315, mathrm{p}=5.298mathrm{E}-11) and positively with financial status (mathrm{t}=8.924, mathrm{p}=1.876mathrm{E}-09). The three personality characteristics impacting ER most were: 1. I am playful. I find humour in rough situations and can laugh at myself. 2. I am curious. I ask questions. I want to know how things work. I like to try new ways of doing things. 3. I learn valuable lessons from my experiences and the experiences of others. CONCLUSION: Of six demographic variables, only two (age and financial status) correlated with ER. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Despite the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection, knowledge of the symptomatology, modalities of transmission, severity and prognosis is limited. Based on the complex analysis of the 701 pediatric cases, from 5 public medical-health institutions in the Republic of Moldova, positively diagnosed with SARS - CoV-2 infection by the RT-PCR molecular method, 73% of the children were in close contact with a COVID-19 positive person in the last 14 days until the illness. Most of the hospitalized children develop moderate clinical forms of COVID-19 (84.17% cases). The mean age of children with severe form is lower compared to those with moderate or mild form. The sex of patients does not influence the course of the disease. Children's age influences paternal manifestations: children of preschool age (<7 years) more often show high fever, changes in consciousness, drowsiness, rash, diarrhea and dyspnea, while children > 10 years: headache, pharyngitis, hypo/anosmia, ageusia, myalgia, arthralgia and vertigo. No statistical correlations were found between the form of the disease and the presence of comorbidities. The evolution of pediatric COVID-19 infection is favorable, considering that 97.57% of children do not show clinical manifestations at discharge. Knowledge of various clinical pictures of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus would allow the doctor to make an early diagnosis, administer adequate treatment and establish preventive measures. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.