Your browser doesn't support javascript.
Show: 20 | 50 | 100
Results 1 - 20 de 49
Filter
Add filters

Document Type
Year range
1.
Heliyon ; 9(6): e16677, 2023 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2328265

ABSTRACT

The digitisation of education has heightened the importance of examining which competences are needed among teachers and student teachers. In the past decade, the opportunities and challenges related to using digital technologies in teaching and training have made the concept of 'digital competence' increasingly relevant. This paper examines how researchers have characterised the dimensions of teachers' digital competences both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a literature review, 116 articles were analysed to identify prevalent understandings of teachers' and student teachers' digital competence. The search was conducted in two rounds: the period up to and including 2019 and supplements from 2020 to 2021. The latter search focused on literature addressing school closures because of 'lockdowns'. The findings indicate that research on teachers' digital competence seems unclear regarding who benefits from teachers' digital competence, the teacher's role and the links between competence and school subject domains. Moreover, teachers have a more functional role than a designer role. In addition, studies on digital competence are typically based on self-reported data, and most publications that have examined the concept of digital competence include knowledge, skills or attitudes. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have increased the focus on the whole group of pupils and on the use of ready-made educational designs. The pandemic may also have increased researchers' reliance on self-reported data.

2.
Stud Health Technol Inform ; 301: 89-95, 2023 May 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2313088

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic brought forth rapid responses and changes in the acceptance of digital health interventions. Digital solutions appear increasingly promising, yet little is known about the peculiarities in the psychiatric context, contrary to other medical branches. The project MeHealth aimed at disclosing specific needs and reservations of patients and professionals in the psychiatric field. Apprehensions towards technology were found to be held on both sides. Cooperating with a psychiatric hospital in Austria, through a transdisciplinary research approach including focus groups and workshops, a framework for an integrated Digital Mental Health Tool was established. The findings leading to the framework show a strong need for patient-empowerment, enhancement of trust in technology and the need for multi-stakeholder cooperation. Digital tools should be designed to enhance the continuity of care and information exchange on behalf of the patient. Learnings were gained, which prove recommendable for future R&D projects on digitalization in the delicate field of psychiatry.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Research Report , Humans , Mental Health , Pandemics , Austria
3.
Espiral-Cuadernos Del Profesorado ; 15(30):24-37, 2022.
Article in English | Web of Science | ID: covidwho-2310623

ABSTRACT

Due to the spread of COVID-19 in the world, almost all countries closed their borders and decreed social confinement, "forcing" face-to-face formal education to migrate to distance education. Educational institutions gradually adapted to distance education according to their possibilities, exposing the enormous digital gaps that exist between students, educational institutions, cities and social classes. Under these conditions, the Social History and Geographical Sciences program of the Hermilio Valdizan National University, Peru, began the process of executing a transdisciplinary curriculum, structured based on training projects that, by its nature, requires direct contact between students and the social environment to solve context problems, as a means to develop the expected competencies. The research, which aims to describe the execution of the training projects in the online mode and interpret the experiences of the students, was carried out with the phenomenological-hermeneutical method that allowed establishing six categories of the accounts of the students' experiences: New formative experience, reading promotion, information divergence, collaborative work, transdisciplinarity and learning-research articulation;evidencing that it is possible to develop transdisciplinary curriculum in times of social confinement.

4.
Public Health Rev ; 44: 1604807, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2292728

ABSTRACT

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically illustrates the consequences of inadequate prioritization of the Public Health Workforce (PHW). This Policy Brief introduces a Call for Action following the plenary session entitled "Revolutionising the Public Health Workforce (PHW) as Agents of Change" as part of the 2020 World Congress on Public Health. Policy Options and Recommendations: In order to revolutionize the PHW, five long-term key approaches are proposed: 1. Transforming public health competencies through transdisciplinary education and inter-professional training; 2. Revolutionizing educational systems by shifting the public health paradigm; 3. Linking public health education and work opportunities; 4. Overcoming the paradoxical shortage and overproduction of graduates and 5. Developing adaptable, multisectoral agents of change. Conclusion: Public health education of the future requires a paradigm shift towards a holistic understanding of public health, characterized by transdisciplinary education, inter-professional training and a closer integration of academia, health services, and communities.

5.
2022 IEEE Future Networks World Forum, FNWF 2022 ; 2022.
Article in English | Scopus | ID: covidwho-2270671

ABSTRACT

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Future Networks International Network Generations Roadmap (INGR) Applications and Services Working Group developed a Transdisciplinary Framework that is sustainable, structured, flexible, adaptable, and scalable framework that extends across end-to-end ecosystems, and caters to different stages of priorities, resources, and technologies. The framework may be used by academic stakeholders for new research topics of interest, industry stakeholders to develop solutions for roadmap identified opportunities while minimizing negative risks, and government stakeholders for governance and policy development. The 2022 edition provides additional details on the Applications and Services Transdisciplinary Framework from Smart Cities, developed in the 1st edition, and was extended towards Smart Communities that include both urban and non-urban areas in the 2021 edition. This edition of the IEEE INGR Application and Services roadmap chapter includes: •Applications and Services Framework: a dynamic sustainable framework for applications and services that extends across end-to-end ecosystems, and caters to the priorities, resources, and technologies for local urban and non-urban areas. ○ Ecosystem of Ecosystems: intra-ecosystem and inter-ecosystem alignments for agriculture, education, electrical power, health care, media and entertainment, public safety, transportation, and water distribution and wastewater treatment ecosystems. ○ Network of Networks: Future networks components (access, service delivery, operations and service management, and network extensions), use case categories and network operations enhancements. ○ Governance Function of Functions: strategic and governance related functions to support local area objectives that include economic development, quality of life, stakeholder attraction and retention, and policy development. •Transdisciplinary Framework Scenarios and Use Cases: smart cities, smart regions, and pandemic planning scenarios The Applications and Services working group will extend the reach and depth of this framework to add new ecosystems and enhance the existing ecosystems already addressed for future INGR editions. © 2022 IEEE.

6.
Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung ; 24(1), 2023.
Article in German | Scopus | ID: covidwho-2279942

ABSTRACT

The application of go-along interviews allows an integrated mix of methods, combining qualitative interviews with participant observation. This facilitates linking discourses and practices. The method's particular sensitivity to the spatial embeddedness and reflection of social processes has been evaluated and described in various research contexts. In our article, we highlight the added value of go-along interviews for social-ecological and transdisciplinary research. The COVID-19 lockdowns and their effects on everyday practices of urban residents served as a lens to trace interactions with nature that have been habitualized into everyday walks. Discussing specific episodes from our interviews, we reflect on methodological features of go-along interviews, such as generating narratives, considering material environments and non-human actors, opening up memories and experiences, reconstructing evaluations, and enabling self-reflection. We contrast these potentials with specific challenges in the application of go-along interviews, especially with regard to the accessibility of the interview space, the methodical requirements of the dynamic interview situation, and the altered relationship between interviewer and interviewee. Considering these challenges, conducting go-along interviews can significantly enrich both, the scientific descriptions of urban ecology and the methodological spectrum of research on urban nature. Furthermore, go-along interviews provide a conceptual proximity to transdisciplinary, participatory, and transformative research. © 2023, Institut für Qualitative Forschung,Internationale Akademie Berlin gGmbH. All rights reserved.

7.
Int J Technol Des Educ ; : 1-19, 2022 Mar 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2286637

ABSTRACT

This paper examines Bauhaus School (1919-1933) innovation and relevance today. The School is a landmark in the history of design as a discipline and the development of design education. The School was also a workplace, commercialising Bauhaus-designed products. While drawing global interest in its innovations, the School faced resistance in Germany because it challenged conventions. This problem raises the questions: How did the School-workplace generate innovations amid the calamity of post-war Germany, and what is the significance of the Bauhaus for post-pandemic education and workplaces one hundred years on? The concept of 'transgression' is used to understand innovation at the Bauhaus School-workplace. Haraway discusses transgressive practices that disrupt established knowledges, moving ways of thinking and doing in new directions. Analysis of workplace learning research reveals that three interfacing dimensions make up innovation: (1) workplace environments, (2) the culture-order that facilitates innovation, and (3) learning in practice in authentic settings. This qualitative case study reports on how Bauhaus innovation emerged at the intersection of these key dimensions. There are surprising commonalities between the Bauhaus approach to innovation in challenging times and contemporary thinking about supporting innovation which are relevant to education, particularly STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) education, and workplaces in a world affected by the COVID 19 pandemic. Thus, encouraging people who challenge boundaries, rules or 'the way things are' can support innovation. This paper addresses a gap in workplace learning research on interrelated dimensions of innovation which the Bauhaus recognized. The study also offers an innovative approach to the examination of innovation across time and space whereas most contemporary studies of innovation focus on the present. Further, conceptualizing innovation as transgression offers a new way of thinking about innovation in design and in the workplace.

8.
Social Computing and Social Media: Applications in Education and Commerce, Scsm 2022, Pt Ii ; 13316:21-29, 2022.
Article in English | Web of Science | ID: covidwho-2238684

ABSTRACT

Social media continues to influence the online behaviours of humans in some of the most profound ways. Furthermore, COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted immense opportunities that socialmedia provides to keep people connected and engaged through difficult circumstances. Unfortunately, it also attracts various dubious users, eager to take advantage to the anonymity of these platforms to conduct unethical and illegal practices. Typical computing studies courses do not focus on developing the skills and attitudes to enable students to work in a globalised environment, and certainly do not focus on exposing many of the social challenges in our societies. Authentic learning experience are not common. An activity was created between the UOW College Australia and UOW College Hong Kong where students from these respective institutions collaborated with each other to identify, explore and suggest a social media-based solution to challenges faced by a NGO located in a third country, that is, not located in Australia or Hong Kong. This gave students to experience working with each other, and through that navigate the various linguistic, cultural and other norms and differences. They also had to identify and communicate with a NGO from a third country, in many cases who had their own linguistic, cultural and other norms about work and communications. This paper will discuss some of the knowledge, skills and attitudes that can be gained from engaging in cross border collaborative social projects. It will also outline some of the challenges and opportunities that exist in establishing these types of learning activities.

9.
Gruppenpsychotherapie Und Gruppendynamik ; 58(4):301-326, 2022.
Article in German | Web of Science | ID: covidwho-2238637

ABSTRACT

This article presents a pilot study of the application of Vamik Volkan's tree model to the societal conflicts and polarizations surrounding the visibility of Muslim religiosity in three countries. In the first part of the article, the theoretical and methodological background of the tree model is presented using field examples from Vamik Volkan's publications. In the second part, the project idea is presented, which could not be implemented in the original format due to the massive restrictions on mobility and socialization during the Covid-19 pandemic. The third part demonstrates the compulsory setting-transformation of the tree model into "meetings on the shore" in the shadow of the pandemic. At the end, the question will be discussed whether group psychotherapists could make a more active contribution to the worldwide socio-political debates about regressive tendencies of today's societies by using their decades-long institutional group-analytical experience.

10.
26th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, WMSCI 2022 ; 1:151-156, 2022.
Article in English | Scopus | ID: covidwho-2232906

ABSTRACT

Dynamic transformation of the knowledge economy, enhanced by Industry 4.0/5.0 development and rise of the networked society in the Digital Age, emergency digitization of all social communicative spheres due to pandemic measures have imposed dramatic changes onto transdisciplinary overlap in different areas of human knowledge and experience, induced by the cross-sectorial job market demands of university level education, curriculum design and learning outcomes. The Covid-19 pandemic induced amplified digitalization measures in the higher education sphere. This end-to end digital shift in the educational processes (communication, content, outcomes and outputs, skills) heralded the introduction of metadisciplinary dimensions of learning – digital, hybrid and, blended. These meta-disciplinary dimensions can be considered conduits of vertical (endocentric) and horizontal (exocentric) transdisciplinary of digital education as a communicative system. Applied trans-disciplinary lens contributes to the solution of holistic modeling of processes and results of updating models and mechanisms of the highly dynamic communication system of education in the digital environment as a whole and its individual formats in the emergency digitization measures of different types. Copyright 2022. © by the International Institute of Informatics and Systemics. All rights reserved.

11.
Journal of Educational Technology & Society ; 25(1):108-123, 2022.
Article in English | APA PsycInfo | ID: covidwho-2231104

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought disruptions and constraints to K-12 STEM education, such as the shortened classroom time and the restrictions on classroom interactions. More empirical evidence is needed to inform educators and practitioners which strategies work and which do not in the pandemic context. In response to the call for more empirical evidence and the need for cultivating responsible and competent 21st century citizens, we designed and implemented a transdisciplinary STEM curriculum during the COVID-19 outbreak. In order to facilitate the smooth delivery of the learning contents and authentically engage learners in the learning process, multi-model video approaches were employed considering the characteristics of three disciplines, STEM, social service, and writing, as well as learner diversity. Pre- and post-test results indicated that students' transdisciplinary STEM knowledge improved significantly after completing the curriculum. The integration of STEM, social service, and writing disciplines promoted the growth of students' empathy, interest, and self-efficacy. Consistent with the quantitative results, students responded in the interview that their STEM knowledge and empathy were both enhanced. Some implementation strategies introduced in the current study are also applicable when the standard teaching order is restored in the post-COVID-19 era. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

12.
Transdisciplinary Journal of Engineering and Science ; 14:95-106, 2023.
Article in English | Scopus | ID: covidwho-2231033

ABSTRACT

Using a real-world, team-led, virtual case study focused on the international pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, more commonly referred to as COVID-19, we assessed if data science could serve as the common discipline for the development of a professional transdisciplinary team. Team success was measured by assessing if al l members contributed to the virtual, student-led case study, which occurred, and if the product of the col laboration transcended the discipline, which occurred when the team created this report due to the success of the online data science program preventing the commonly encountered difficulties such as communication among team members and cognitive obstacles of experts being unable to relate to others outside their expertise. We suggest that future pandemic response training programs consider incorporating data science as a fundamental discipline when developing pandemic response teams. © 2023 by the authors.

13.
Front Public Health ; 10: 996520, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2229879

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Evolving aging societies, ongoing digitalisation and circumstances of COVID-19 are changing living conditions for growing older. There is an increased urgency to view public health with a focus on integrating people of all ages into the matrix of opportunities afforded in their communities. This study initiates the conceptualization of an intergenerational, age-friendly living ecosystem (AFLE) to enhance public health planning. Methodology: A participatory study was conducted using a multi-methods approach. Six virtual co-creation sessions (n = 35-50 participants), alongside a mainly open-ended INTERGEN survey designed specifically for this study (n = 130) were conducted to conceptualize multilevel ideas for building intergenerational age-friendly places using Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems model. At the height of COVID-19, virtual applications (Zoom, Moodboard) and case studies, creative methods (drawing, photography, storytelling and spotlight sessions) were applied to engage academic and non-academic participants between ages 5 - 80+ years, across eight countries. Sessions were video-recorded with visual themes captured by a graphic facilitator. The survey covered issues of multigenerational interactions; intergenerational and age-friendly place features; place safety; and necessary stakeholders required for creating intergenerational and age-friendly places. Data were reflexively analyzed using a team approach to thematic analysis. Results: Findings present both the thematic analysis of Virtual Co-creation Camps (VCCs) and the INTERGEN survey results. These findings are addressed in three overarching categories that highlight the necessary characteristics of AFLEs as suggested by the VCC participants and survey respondents: (i) Sensory factors: feeling and emotion as starting points for physical design; (ii) Physical and digital factors in designing AFLE spaces and places; and (iii) Socio-cultural factors: tackling ageism and exclusion as part of the solution. Discussion: The analysis resulted in a pathway toward enhanced understandings on how multi-generations can better interact with fluctuating organizational domains (industry, voluntary, academic and public sectors) in urban and rural settings to facilitate intergenerational connectivity. Through processes of co-creation, an AFLE proof of concept and roadmap for public health planning was developed to support and provide opportunities for people as they age to reap the socioeconomic benefits of their local and virtual communities and help them become well integrated, valued and contributory members of society.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Ecosystem , United States , Humans , Child, Preschool , Child , Adolescent , Young Adult , Adult , Middle Aged , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , COVID-19/epidemiology , Aging
14.
Med Teach ; : 1-6, 2023 Jan 28.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2222152

ABSTRACT

Healthcare has become highly specialized. Specialists, in medicine as well as in nursing, determine much of the high quality of current health care. But healthcare has also become increasingly fragmented, with professionals trained in separate postgraduate silos, with boundaries often difficult to cross. While a century ago, generalists dominated patient care provision, now specialists prevail and risk becoming alienated from each other, losing the ability to adapt to neighboring professional domains. Current health care requires a flexible workforce, ready to serve in multiple contexts, as the COVID-19 crisis has shown.The new concept of transdisciplinary entrustable professional activities, EPAs applicable in more than one specialty, was recently conceived to enhance collaboration and transfer between educational programs in postgraduate nursing in the Netherlands.In this paper, we reflect on our experiences so far, and on practical and conceptual issues concerning transdisciplinary EPAs, such as: who should define, train, assess, and register transdisciplinary EPAs? How can different prior education prepare for similar EPAs? And how do transdisciplinary EPAs affect professional identity?We believe that transdisciplinary EPAs can contribute to creating more flexible curricula and hence to a more coherent, collaborative healthcare workforce, less determined by the boundaries of traditional specialties.

15.
Front Psychol ; 13: 1006876, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2163104

ABSTRACT

Introduction: After COVID-19 restrictions, hybrid solutions were established that combined smart working and work in presence. Workplace conditions significantly impact employees' lives, particularly in terms of meeting their needs and promoting their wellbeing. Based on a socio-ecological and multilevel methodology, the UP150 concept (Proactive Office 150) represents a possible innovative solution to meet employees' needs and valorize flexible work. It encourages physical exercise and active breaks during the typical workday by using particular architectural modifications, a dedicated App, and physical activity professionals as wellness coaches. The present study is the last step of the preliminary actions planned to check the benefits of the UP150 concept and aims to explore the workers' perceptions after experiencing this project. Methods: The qualitative analysis of a preliminary survey (concerning information about the company structure and workers' habits) performed before conducting a randomized controlled trial intervention study and the analysis of the semi-structured interviews after 8 weeks of a UP150 experience served as datasets for this study and have been examined and discussed. Results: In the preliminary survey, the young (under 40) and generally active (57% of the workers) reported being motivated to exercise but inhibited by a lack of time and a heavy workload. After 8 weeks at a modified workplace designed in accordance with the motive behind the UP150, the workers displayed noticeable positive perceptions and appreciation. Discussion: The qualitative analysis confirmed and supported the effectiveness of the UP150 concept that previous research had already found in quantitative parameters related to employees' motor efficiency, psychophysical status, and amount of physical activity. Participants reported beneficial perceived effects on their wellness and psychophysical status following a UP150 experience. Moreover, the concept improved social relationships and increased motivation. In conclusion, the UP150 concept efficiently fostered a positive perception of physical exercise and directed the employees toward the assumption of healthy behaviors fitting the physical literacy paradigm.

16.
Afkar-Jurnal Akidah & Pemikiran Islam-Journal of Aqidah & Islamic Thought ; 24:173-220, 2022.
Article in English | Web of Science | ID: covidwho-2164499

ABSTRACT

This article explains how the Indonesian Government's policies on handling the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on the Presidential Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 82 Year 2020 concerning the Committee on Handling the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) and National Economic Recovery, Indonesia's policy integrated health and economic strategies. The regulation adopted an interdisciplinary strategy moving towards multidisciplinarity in handling Covid-19 whereby both were deemed insufficient. The theoretical framework in this study applied Ken Wilber's Universal Integralism or Holonic Integralism. This research employs the method of comparison of thinking. The present study establishes a transdisciplinary policy for handling Covid-19 in Indonesia with four strategies: subjective, objective, intersubjective, and interobjective. The researcher compares Indonesian Muslim thinkers on the four strategies models, namely Kuntowijoyo representing the subjective and objective strategy model, M. Amin Abdullah representing the intersubjective strategy model, and Yudian Wahyudi representing the inter -objective strategy model. This finding implies that the handling of Covid-19 in Indonesia will be more synergistic and interconnected between all sectors of human life.

17.
29th ISTE International Conference on Transdisciplinary Engineering, TE 2022 ; 28:748-757, 2022.
Article in English | Scopus | ID: covidwho-2141599

ABSTRACT

Transdisciplinary projects claim to be driven by societal needs and hence it would be expected that motivations are driven by the societal and project beneficiaries. Projects conducted in respect of COVID-19 instinctively meet transdisciplinary status with societal benefit being paramount. This paper presents an analysis of six transdisciplinary COVID-19 projects, assessing the motivations of twenty-nine participants involved. Primary data was collated through semi-structured individual interviews and thematic analysis was used to evaluate the reasons for individual participation. The findings show that of the motivations for participation, ethical motivation was 16%, personal fulfilment was 21% and being able to help was 19%. The extrinsic motivations such as expected rewards and benefits was still present but remained very low at 6%. The qualitative responses from the interviews give an indication that although a societal challenge, the motivations remained more of a personal nature aligning with the societal need. © 2022 The authors and IOS Press.

18.
29th ISTE International Conference on Transdisciplinary Engineering, TE 2022 ; 28:609-618, 2022.
Article in English | Scopus | ID: covidwho-2141596

ABSTRACT

The use of digital simulators is a well-known practice in managerial courses as tools for strategic decision-making. On the other side, engineering students are used to practicing theoretical knowledge in laboratories or real factories due to the tactical nature of the decisions involved. During the COVID pandemic, universities were forced to limit or cancel access to physical facilities. Engineering professors were challenged to keep educational schedules using digital tools. The contribution of this work is a transdisciplinary framework on how to design engineering practices through digital simulation models to keep or improve prepandemic learning levels. The societal challenge involves a change in paradigm for professors, students, and practitioners. The proposed framework was used to design, implement, and feedback a senior student Six Sigma project course, using a tailormade web-based simulator. Two iterations of the framework are currently deployed: one-way information flow, and two-way interaction. The information obtained so far was the base for the third iteration of the framework which involves three-dimensional virtual reality interaction. Case-based learning and management simulators have been successful at bridging theory and practice for management students. The work in this paper builds on these management practices to achieve equivalent learning levels for engineering students. © 2022 The authors and IOS Press.

19.
Int J Environ Res Public Health ; 19(22)2022 Nov 21.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2116203

ABSTRACT

There is widespread recognition that the world of work is changing, and agreement is growing that the occupational safety and health (OSH) field must change to contribute to the protection of workers now and in the future. Discourse on the evolution of OSH has been active for many decades, but formalized support of an expanded focus for OSH has greatly increased over the past 20 years. Development of approaches such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)'s Total Worker Health® concept and the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Healthy Workplace Framework are concrete examples of how OSH can incorporate a new focus with a wider view. In 2019, NIOSH initiated a multi-year effort to explore an expanded focus for OSH. This paper is a report on the outputs of a three-year cooperative agreement between NIOSH and The University of Texas School of Public Health, which led to subject matter expert workshops in 2020 and an international conference of global interest groups in 2021. This article traces the background of these meetings and identifies and assesses the lessons learned. It also reviews ten thematic topics that emerged from the meetings: worker health inequalities; training new OSH professionals; future OSH research and practice; tools to measure well-being of workers; psychosocial hazards and adverse mental health effects; skilling, upskilling and improving job quality; socioeconomic influences; climate change; COVID-19 pandemic influences; and strategic foresight. Cross-cutting these themes is the need for systems and transdisciplinary thinking and operationalization of the concept of well-being to prepare the OSH field for the work of the future.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Occupational Health , United States , Humans , Occupational Health/education , Pandemics/prevention & control , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Workplace , Public Health
20.
BMC Vet Res ; 18(1): 401, 2022 Nov 14.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2115817

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: African swine fever (ASF) has been present in Lithuania since 2014. The disease affects mainly the wild boar population. Thus, hunters play a key role in the performance of disease surveillance and control measures. We used participatory methods to gain insight into the knowledge of hunters and to include their perceptions in the design and the implementation of surveillance and control measures to increase their effectiveness. RESULTS: The willingness and the interest of hunters to participate was high, but only eight focus group meetings with 33 hunters could be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The overall knowledge of Lithuanian hunters regarding ASF, investigated by semi-structured interviews, was sufficient to understand their part in ASF control and surveillance. However, their knowledge did not necessarily lead to an increased acceptance of some ASF control measures, like the targeted hunting of female wild boar. Participating hunters showed a good understanding of the processes of the surveillance system. Their trust in the performance within this system was highest towards the hunters themselves, thus emphasizing the importance of acknowledging their role in the system. Hunters refused measures including the reduction of hunting activities. They feared a complete elimination of the wild boar population, which in turn demonstrates the necessity to increase professional information exchange. CONCLUSIONS: The perceptions of Lithuanian hunters regarding ASF surveillance and control in wild boar resembled those obtained in neighboring countries. It is imperative to communicate the results with decision-makers, to consider the views of hunters, when designing or adapting measures to control ASF in wild boar and to communicate with hunters on these measures and their justification.


Subject(s)
African Swine Fever Virus , African Swine Fever , COVID-19 , Swine Diseases , Female , Swine , Animals , African Swine Fever/epidemiology , African Swine Fever/prevention & control , Lithuania/epidemiology , Pandemics , COVID-19/veterinary , Sus scrofa , Swine Diseases/epidemiology
SELECTION OF CITATIONS
SEARCH DETAIL