Pandemic Challenges and Opportunities for Gender Equity in Clinical Research

In the arena of clinical research, gender equity accelerates research excellence: we need multiple perspectives and all the brain power we can muster to maximize research productivity and quality. [...]women physician investigators enhance enrollment of women as participants in clinical trials, which is crucial to our ability to generalize from the data and to maintain the health of women. Women are underrepresented among academic grand rounds speakers,14 speakers at medical conferences15, and award recipients from medical specialty societies.16 Time pressure is especially intense on young women faculty. Besides spending more time on domestic chores, they spend more time at work on teaching, service, and mentoring. Female primary care physicians spend more time with patients.22 Elderly hospitalized patients treated by female internists experience lower mortality and readmission rates.23 Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting had shorter hospital length of stay when treated by an all-female physician team as compared with an all-male team.24 Female patients treated by male physicians following acute myocardial infarction have higher mortality than those treated by female physicians.25 Sex discordance between patient and surgeon is associated with increased likelihood of adverse postoperative outcomes-and that observation that is driven by worse outcomes for female patients treated by male physicians.26 Clinical trials play a fundamental role in bringing new medications and interventions to our patients, yet women have often been excluded from participation. Among 60 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of lipidlowering therapies reported between 1990 and 2018, there was a modest increase in enrollment of women over time, but women remain underrepresented compared with the relative burden of disease.30 In another study of 317 RCTs of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction published in highimpact journals over the past 20 years, only 25% of participants overall were female, and females were under-enrolled in 72% of these trials.

Workplace violence and associations with health outcomes in public health administration agencies in Taiwan: a survey during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of workplace violence in public health administration agencies and its effects on health outcomes. Methods: A survey was conducted in March 2022. Staff who had been working for at least one year in the Ministry of Health and Welfare or its subordinate agencies, the Department of Health, or in public health centers were recruited. Data were collected anonymously with a structured, online questionnaire. A total of 492 valid questionnaires were collected. Results: A total of 48.17% participants reported having experienced workplace violence (physical, psychological, verbal, or sexual). The most common type of violence was verbal (43.50%), followed by psychological (31.71%). Supervisors were the primary perpetrators of verbal and psychological violence, followed by clients and colleagues. Staff reported long working hours and high levels of psychological and physical stress. Furthermore, 22.97% of workers reported poor self-rated health, 60.57% had personal burnout levels higher than 50, and 63.41% reported poor mental health. Regression analyses showed that low workplace justice was most strongly associated with internal verbal and psychological violence, whereas routine work requiring interaction with the public was most strongly associated with external verbal violence. Staff who had experienced workplace violence in the past year had significantly higher risks of poor self-rated health, mental health, and personal burnout, and poor health was more strongly associated with workplace violence that originated inside the organization than with workplace violence that originated from outside the organization. Conclusions: This survey was conducted on-line anonymously, so the representativeness of our findings might be limited. However, heavy workloads and workplace violence in public health administration agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic are important issues deserving urgent attention. (Taiwan J Public Health. 2023;42(1) :42-61)

Converging Crises and the Cost of Exclusion: Unveiling the Invisible Women of Sri Lanka's Economy

In Sri Lanka, womens labor force participation has never exceeded 35% in over three decades. As of 2022, the country was ranked 110 out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forums Gender Gap Index. The gaps in womens participation in the formal economy alongside womens limited political empowerment are two leading causes for the country to be lagging in such global gender equality indicators. At a large cost to the economy, the existence of archaic gender norms that promulgate womens unpaid care work often exclude women from the formal labor force. This paper dissects the socio-economic and socio-political factors that lead to the invisibility of women in Sri Lankas economy, while seeking to understand how such underlying causes have been aggravated within the precarity of the post-pandemic context. It is important, now more than ever, to recognize the invisibility of women in Sri Lankas formal economy, while bringing about a transformative vision with a multi-pronged approach to address existing gaps and challenges. With reference to key principles of feminist economics, including the theoretical foundations of Claudia Goldin, Nancy Folbre, and Diane Elson, among others, the paper will make a case for inclusivity and intersectionality in policy recommendations aimed at encouraging womens entry, active engagement, contribution, and retention in Sri Lankas economy. The paper reaches a conclusion that when women lead, participate, and benefit equally in all aspects of life, societies and economies will thrive, thereby contributing to sustainable development and inclusive economic growth.

Stabilise, balance and adjust—Framing the early years transitions of children whose parents work non‐standard hours

This study examined talk by parents about the early years transitions of their children (n = 7) in the context of parental non‐standard working hours and Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. Parents were interviewed at three time points: when their child was aged one, four, five or six years (a total of 21 interviews). The third interview was conducted during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This article focuses on the children's ECEC transitions and the interpretative frames used by parents when talking about their work and childcare. The frames used by the parents to discuss the children's transitions were stabilising the children's lives, balancing between staying at home and attending ECEC and adjusting to norms and rules. The diversity of families' experiences and their children's transitions during the early years should be considered when developing family policy and ECEC services. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Social Welfare is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

RECUPERACIÓN LABORAL FUERA DEL TRABAJO: UNA REVISIÓN PARAGUAS DE REVISIONES SISTEMÁTICAS Y METAANÁLISIS

Work is a fundamental condition of human life, but it can become dysfunctional because in certain situations it may lead to undesirable and harmful consequences. The aim of this study is to shed light and provide evidence on the results of the systematic reviews carried out to date. [...]it was conducted an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on work recovery outside working hours. The content analysis of the selected papers enabled us to identify different approaches to the study of external work recovery: (a) time period;(b) work characteristics;(c) recovery experiences;(d) recovery activities;(e) processes that hinder effective recovery;and (f) variables proxy to the recovery process. Furthermore, no research has made special reference to the COVID-19 pandemic in work recovery, nor to the potential influence of new emerging work realities such as teleworking or co-working.

Hybrid and virtual work settings, the interaction between technostress, perceived organisational support, work-family conflict and the impact on work engagement

PurposeThe study assessed the impact of technostress creators, work–family conflict and perceived organisational support (POS) on work engagement for employees operating within the virtual and hybrid work settings. The idea is to redefine the antecedents of work engagement in work settings that are characterised by excessive technology and work–family conflict.Design/methodology/approachData gathered from 302 academics and support staff employees at a selected university in South Africa were utilised to assess the abovementioned relationships via variance-based structural equation modelling.FindingsThe combined effect of technostress, work–family conflict and POS on work engagement indicates that work–family conflict is a critical component in the relationship between technostress and work engagement. Although POS is seen as a job resource that lessens stress, the study found that the influence of work–family conflict is stronger than that of POS;hence, a negative influence is reported on work engagement. Despite the presence of support, overwhelming technostress creators and work–family conflict issues increase demands and influence work engagement negatively.Research limitations/implicationsThe results noted that, in hybrid and virtual work settings, managers can drive employee engagement by focussing on designing more favourable work–life balance (WLB) policies, providing adequate information communication technology (ICT) support, fostering aspects of positive technology and defining the boundaries between work life and family time.Practical implicationsThe managers need to realise the detrimental effects of both technostress and work–family conflict on work engagement in virtual and hybrid work settings. Expanding the personal and job resources of individuals in hybrid and virtual settings is critical to enable them to meet the additional work demands and to manage the strain imposed by technostress. Instituting relevant organisation support has proved to be inadequate to address the challenges relating to technostress and work–family conflict. Therefore, introducing WLB policies that assist employees to set clear boundaries between work and family time to avoid burn out and spillover is critical. This is especially important when dealing with technostress creators in the remote work setting. Additionally, providing adequate ICT support as well as training related to use of different devices and software should be part of the organisational culture.Social implicationsA manageable and reasonable workload should be maintained bearing in mind the complexity and ambiguity associated with the hybrid work setting. Managers should make allowances for employees to adjust managers' schedules to accommodate personal obligations, as well as adjust employees' workloads to accommodate family responsibilities. As for the coping strategy of technostress and work–family conflict, considering the positive effects of the supportive work environment is important.Originality/valueThis study provides a model on the interaction of the redefined antecedents (technostress and work–family conflict) of work engagement in high-tech environments such as virtual and hybrid work settings.

Work from Home Practices and COVID-19: Future Implications

Among several practices to maintain the Work Life Balance (WLB) in organizations is Work From Home (WFH). Started as an option for a specific employee population the practice currently has become the only option due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper assesses the viewpoints and the associated sentiments of the employees engaged in WFH practices. Quantitative analysis based on a self-administered questionnaire and qualitative analysis based on open-ended questions using frequency distribution, word cloud, and sentimental analysis indicate that although employees have favored WFH practices due to flexibility in working hours and increased productivity in terms of personal and some work-related activities, factors like reduced coordination and virtual interactions account for the negative sentiments.

Workload, work–life interface, stress, job satisfaction and job performance: a job demand–resource model study during COVID-19

Purpose: This study, using a comprehensive job demand–resources (JD-R) model, aims to explore the pressures of workload, work–life interface and subsequent impacts on employee stress and job satisfaction, with implications for employee job performance, in the context of working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional sample of employees at seven universities (n = 4,497) and structural equation path analysis regression models are used for the analyses. Findings: The results show that a partial mediation JD-R model was supported, where job demands (such as workload and actual hours worked) and job resources (including expectations, support and job security) have relationships with work interference with personal life and personal life interference with work. These have subsequent negative path relationships with stress. Further, stress is negatively related to job satisfaction, and job satisfaction is positively related to employee job performance. Practical implications: Potential policy implications include mitigation approaches to addressing some of the negative impacts on workers and to enhance the positive outcomes. Timely adjustments to job demands and resources can aid in sustaining balance for workers in an uncertain and fluid environmental context. Originality/value: This study makes a contribution to knowledge by capturing sentiments on working arrangements, perceived changes and associated outcomes during a key period within the COVID-19 pandemic while being one of the rare studies to focus on a comprehensive JD-R model and a unique context of highly educated workers' transition to working from home. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Manpower is the property of Emerald Publishing Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Beating Burnout

Defining burnout, and why it has increased among pediatric health care providers The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently provided updated guidance on physician wellness, in which they discussed burnout among pediatricians.1 Pediatricians are not immune to burnout, according to the AAP. Approximately half of physicians in pratice experience burnout, which can lead to medical errors, higher cost, lower quality of care, and worse patient outcomes overall.2 Suicidal thoughts were also frequent, reported by 14% of physicians. "The health care system has moved to higher workloads, less autonomy, and more standardization as groups and delivery systems get larger and more automated," Jellinek said. Investigators from Pennsylvania State University recommended following a hierarchy of needs, starting with prioritizing the basic physical and mental health needs of physicians.2 Higher-order needs include connection, respect, appreciation, and changes in interactions with electronic systems.

Conjoint Analysis based Predictive Analytics to study the employee attitude towards virtual and digital work practices in IoT work environments

Covid-19 has been one of the most disruptive pandemics to date. Among the other aspects of disruption, it also disrupted the way people work in organizations. Many of the organizations surrendered their offices for good. However, there are many ill effects of these unconventional work practices also. This research study aims to explore the perception of the employees towards the adoption of Virtual and flexible work practices. The study uses a conjoint analysis approach on different possible Work Practice Profiles, that specify the nature of work (Virtual, offline, or hybrid), nature of work schedule (flexible, or fixed), nature of ownership (individual, or team), and length of working hours (8.5 hours, or 9.5 hours or 10.5 hours). The study finds that the number of working hours is the most important criterion for the employees followed by mode of work, responsibility, and work schedule. © 2023 IEEE.

Cezhraničná cirkulácia slovenských opatrovateliek v Rakúsku počas pandémie na pozadí krízy starostlivosti

The paper focuses on the cross-border care circulation of Slovak care workers who work in Austria, with the care crisis and the pandemic in the background. Slovak care workers often work in short-term two-week work rotas, allowing them to balance work and private life. They remain primarily responsible for the social reproduction and care of their households. The pandemic and imposed measures have fundamentally affected this transnational circulation of care. Caregivers faced the challenge of mobilizing capacities and resources to cope with emerging situations, developing new strategies, and modifying existing ones. Based on interviews with care workers, employment agencies, and a non-governmental organization focusing on the rights of care workers, the study presents how care workers coped with the measures introduced during the pandemic period, describes selected strategies of care workers to ensure social reproduction in their families despite the pandemic, and also discuss selected changes in the individual life trajectories of women, to which the pandemic period contributed. The paper argues that although women contributed to addressing the emerging care deficit reinforced by the pandemic crisis, they had to rely on their capacities for the care needs of their families.

The Association of Experienced Long Working Hours and Depression, Anxiety, and Suicidal Ideation Among Chinese Medical Residents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multi-Center Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Long working hours are common among medical residents and may increase the risk of mental disorders. We aimed to investigate the association between experienced long working hours and depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among Chinese medical residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study was conducted in September 2022; 1343 residents from three center in Northeastern China were included in the final analysis (effective response rate: 87.61%). The data were collected from participants via online self-administered questionnaires. Depression and anxiety were measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale, respectively. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were determined after adjusting for potential confounders by binary unconditional logistic regression. Results: The effective response rate was 87.61%. Among the 1343 participants, 12.88% (173), 9.90% (133), and 9.68% (130) had experienced major depression, major anxiety, and suicidal ideation, respectively. We found that longer weekly worktime increased the risk of major depression, particularly in those who worked for more than 60 hours per week (≥ 61 hours vs ≤ 40 hours, OR=1.87, P for trend = 0.003). However, this trend was not observed for either major anxiety or suicidal ideation (P for trend > 0.05 for both). Conclusion: This study revealed that there was a considerable incidence of poor mental health among medical residents; furthermore, the longer weekly worktime was associated with a higher risk of major depression, especially for those who worked more than 60 hours per week, but this association was not observed in either major anxiety or suicidal ideation. This may help policymakers to develop targeted interventions.

Lecturers' Experiences of the Blurring of Work and Home Boundaries During the Covid-19 Pandemic at a South African ODeL University

The unprecedented extended Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns forced higher education institutions (HEIs) to find innovative ways to effectively deliver student tuition and support. The lockdown brought many challenges to the education sector, including increasing the blurring of the work-home boundaries. This study investigated how Covid-19 accelerated the blurring of lecturers' work-home boundaries in the College of Education at a distance education institution in South Africa. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from 15 lecturers. The results showed that a lack of workspace at many lecturers' homes forced them to work beyond normal office hours. One of the key findings was that complete segmentation and integration were impossible because these lines were continuously blurred during the pandemic. The demand for immediate feedback by students exacerbated the situation for many lecturers. There is a need for the design of fluid policies that can be readily implemented during times of emergency such as the pandemic.

Addressing employee turnover in retail through CSR and transformational leadership

PurposeEmployee turnover, a reality that Indian retail organizations cannot ignore, is the central theme of this paper. The authors have aimed to empirically establish corporate social responsibility initiatives (CSRI) and transformational leadership (TL) as rather unconventional predictors that can potentially influence retail employees' intention to stay (ITS) through sequential mediation by employer branding (EB) and organizational identification (OI).Design/methodology/approachData collected using a structured questionnaire from three hundred and five frontline employees working with twenty-nine Indian retail outlets in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) region was tested using structural equation modelling.FindingsFindings confirmed the impact of both CSRI and TL on ITS, with sequential mediation by EB and OI. While OI partially mediated the effect of EB on ITS, TL exerted more influence than CSRI in enhancing EB.Originality/valueThis study enhances retail literature by empirically testing a unique fusion of organization and individual-level predictors that influence ITS as an individual-level outcome. Having TL and a firm corporate philosophy of CSR spending can enhance a retailer's image as a preferred employer brand and generate OI to successfully address employee turnover

Influence of COVID-19 on the work environment of health workers in Ecuador

Introduction: the quality of medical care is directly related to the appropriate work environment and the satisfaction of the health staff. With the appearance of COVID-19, the work environment in health institutions has worsened. Background: to identify the factors that influence the work environment of the public and private health institutions of Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, Ecuador, during the period June-August 2021. Method: implementation of a study with a quantitative approach of correlational scope and transectional design in 349 health workers, to whom a 25-questions questionnaire was applied, that measured factors such as: contagion risk, working hours, medical resources and job stability. The results of the study were statistically analyzed through SPPS 20 and AMOS 24, with the previous development of Cronbach's alpha. Results: 94% of the participants considered the work environment of their institutions as inappropriate, while 6% said they did not. Females, and ages ranging between 22-35 years predominated. All the variables of the hypothesized model exceeded 0.70 and the total Cronbach's alpha reached 0.728;the hypothesized model met the convergent and discriminant validity of the variables. The risk of contagion yielded a value of beta=0.148, while the working day resulted with beta=0.010, medical resources beta=0.006 and job stability beta=0.007. Conclusions: the findings determined that the risk of contagion is the most influential factor in the work environment of the institutions under study during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The impact of COVID-19 on the work–life balance of working mothers: evidence from Nigerian academics

Purpose Given the limiting gender role conditions arising from the prevalence of patriarchy in Nigeria and the shift to workers staying at home due to the deadly spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), this article aims to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work–life balance of professional mothers using the work–home resources model as a conceptual lens.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative data is based on telephone interviews with 28 married female university academics with children.FindingsThe findings reveal that the confinement policies enforced due to the need to combat the spread of COVID-19 and patriarchal norms deeply embedded in the Nigerian culture have exacerbated stress amongst women, who have needed to perform significantly more housework and childcare demands alongside working remotely than they did prior to the pandemic. The thematic analysis showed a loss of personal resources (e.g. time, energy, and income) resulting in career stagnation, health concerns, and increased male chauvinism due to the abrupt and drastic changes shaping the "new normal” lifestyle.Research limitations/implicationsThe study relies on a limited qualitative sample size, which makes the generalisation of findings difficult. However, the study contributes to the emerging global discourse on the profound negative consequences of COVID-19 on the lives and livelihoods of millions, with a focus on the stress and work–family challenges confronting women in a society that is not particularly egalitarian – unlike Western cultures.Originality/valueThe article provides valuable insights on how the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected professional working mothers in the sub-Saharan African context, where literature is scarce.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Anxiety, Depression and Post-traumatic Stress among Frontline Nurses during COVID-19: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: COVID-19 is a public health emergency and has caused traumatic experiences among nurses worldwide. However, the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress symptoms in frontline nurses, and affecting factors such as demographics or working conditions have largely remained unknown. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the levels of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress of frontline nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic and related risk factors. Methodology: A web-based survey was conducted in a cross-sectional design. A total of 244 nurses working with patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were selected using convenience sampling. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Results: Of the participants, 48% had anxiety levels higher than the cut-off value, 68% had high depression levels, and 51.2% had high post-traumatic stress levels. The inadequate organizational support was determined as a predictor of anxiety and of depression. For each one point increase in working hours per week, there was a 1 % increase in depression. Two predictors of post-traumatic stress were the unit where nurses worked and having had colleagues diagnosed with COVID-19. Conclusions: This study found that during the COVID-19 pandemic nurses had high levels of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. It was concluded that the most striking predictors affecting nurses' mental health were number of weekly working hours and the level of received organizational support. The study contributes to the literature for planning psychosocial interventions that can be implemented to frontline nurses.

Covid Kills Books, Too

When Wickstrom was a child, she had open access to vast shelves of books at her local libraries. Her favorite multistoried library filled an entire block. It was open from 6 a.m. until at least 10 p.m. Even though she frequently browsed the shelves before school and after work, she felt she would never come to the end of it. And new books appeared all the time. No matter where she wandered down aisles and into alcoves, books on topics she'd never thought about demanded to come home with her, called out to be read. Books seemed to jump off the shelves into her hands or summoned her from distant racks. She read about everything from deep-sea pearl diving to the invention of the Dvorak keyboard. One particular librarian at the Hill Street Branch liked to tell her about books she enjoyed. She had the feeling she'd read every book in her branch of the library. She even convinced her to try holding her breath underwater, like the deep-sea pearl divers.