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Cultural competency is the ability to respectfully engage, understand, and communicate through conscientious interaction, enabling effective work and meaningful relationships in cross-cultural situations. Cultural competency recognizes the importance for organizations of participants' diverse social and cultural values, beliefs, and behaviors, and has gained attention because it can bridge health perspectives, understanding, and respect between health professionals and patients. There remains a need for cultural competency in healthcare as disparities persist across the U.S. in racial and ethnic minority groups who experience worse health outcomes and lower healthcare quality than the general public. Therefore, a cultural competency training curriculum was created using various resources to improve interactions between Pacific Islander patients and healthcare professionals. This training helps to reduce racial/ethnic disparities in healthcare by encouraging mutual understanding and improving patient satisfaction, adherence to medical instructions, and overall health outcomes by highlighting patient-centered care as a result of utilizing components of cultural competency. To improve patient experiences in Hawai'i, healthcare professionals need the tools to better interact with patients from different cultures, such as Pacific Islanders. This training provides healthcare professionals with culturally-based content for improving cultural competence techniques for interacting with Pacific Island patients. This training was pilot tested with key stakeholders from community organizations and Cancer Center faculty/staff. Local health clinics, providers, and practices will have the opportunity to participate in this training through a Zoombased electronic training format and be provided with three continuing medical education credits. The initial delivery of the training was intended for in-person sessions;however, a virtual format was adapted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent social distancing regulations. Healthcare providers are provided pre-training resources, a pre- and post-test, and a course evaluation to determine the validity of training objectives. To date, two Federally Qualified Health Centers have been provided the training, n=60, as well as one Cancer Health Equity Partnerships' Scientific Workshop, n=40. For attendees, the analysis of correct responses from the pretest to post-test showed a significant improvement on 6 of the 12 questions. Respondents also agreed that the training resources aligned with the course objectives. Improved patient interactions from this training can help support better patient outcomes, adherence to medical advice regarding cancer screenings, and many other aspects of improving health equity for Pacific Islanders.
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Broiler chicken eggs are one of the main and strategic foods for the people of Indonesia and contribute to regional and national inflation. Broiler egg production in Indonesia differs between regions. Areas with a surplus of eggs tend to have lower prices than areas with a deficit. This research is to measure the transmission of broiler egg prices between markets in surplus and deficit areas, using weekly price time series data for the period January 2018-December 2021. Areas of surplus broiler eggs, East Java Province (the highest broiler egg production in Indonesia) which become one of the main suppliers to the Province of East Nusa Tenggara as a deficit area. Using the Johannsen cointegration test it is found that there is no cointegration or there is no relationship between the surplus and deficit regions in the long term but not in the short term. Factors of marketing infrastructure, market information systems, and geographical conditions can be obstacles to the absence of cointegration. The VAR (Vector Auto-Regressive) Vector Error Correction model (VECM) test, found that price transmission occurred between surplus and deficit areas, meaning that between the two regions, there was market integration prior to Covid. The transmission has weakened, and due to the Covid situation, there have been restrictions on the movement of people and goods. The government and other market players need to study the response of the broiler egg market, in the short and long term so that market players can make the right policies.
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Background: Studies show that wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) for long periods of time can lead to discomfort such as headaches, which could affect the performance of healthcare workers. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of headaches related to PPE in healthcare workers at a COVID-19 referral hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 174 healthcare workers in a COVID-19 referral hospital in Bali. We conducted interviews using a questionnaire that consisted of three main parts: characteristics of the subjects, PPE usage, and PPE-associated headaches. A multiple logistic regression was used to analyze the data. Results: The analysis results showed that the PPE-associated headaches had a prevalence of 63.8% and were gradual in onset, pressure-like in quality (46%), and mild in intensity (80.1%). PPE level III-associated headache was the most common type. The majority of the participants had headaches up to 6 hours after using the protective gear, but improving within 15-30 minutes of removal and/or after pharmacotherapy. A Chi-squared analysis showed a statistically significant association between duration of PPE use, working units, and PPE levels (p<0.05). A logistic regression analysis found a significant relationship between PPE level and headache occurrence (OR=4.826;95%CI: 2.433-9.572;p<0.001). Conclusion: The frequency of PPE-associated headache was high and the PPE level was a risk factor of headache among healthcare workers. Better strategies are needed to reduce the duration of PPE exposure so that the work performance and quality of life of healthcare workers are not significantly affected.
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Background:The COVID-19 pandemic has considerably impacted individuals' lives, extensively from mental and socioeconomic aspects, that requires someone to adapt. For postpartum mothers who also need to go through the maternal psychological adaptation phase, the pandemic could impose overwhelming emotional tension on them, increasing the risk of experiencing postpartum blues. This study aims to analyze the relationship between social factors that are affected during a pandemic with the incidence of postpartum blues on screening test results during the transition period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Banyumanik, Semarang. Subjects and Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Banyumanik, Semarang, from November to December 2022.39 subjects were selected using a consecutive sampling technique. The dependent variable is postpartum blues. The independent variables include marital status, employment status of the mother, employment status of the spouse, and family income level. The study instrument was EPDS questionnaire. The data were analyzed used Chi-square. Results: Out of 39 subjects, 13 (33.3%) were experiencing postpartum blues, and 26 (66.7%) were not experiencing it. Mother's employment status associated with postpartum blues. Mothers who unemployed have a risk of experiencing postpartum blues 1.65 times compared to employed, but these were not statistically significant (OR= 1.65;95% CI= 0.40 to 6.77;p= 0.727). Family income level associated with postpartum blues. Mothers with low to moderate family income reduced postpartum blues by 0.73 times compared to mothers with high income levels, but these were not statistically significant (OR= 0.73;95%CI= 0.19 to 2.80;p= 0.908). Meanwhile, marital status and spouse employment status were not related to the incidence of postpartum blues. Conclusion: Mother's employment status and family income status associated with postpartum blues. Meanwhile, marital status and spouse employment status were not related to the incidence of postpartum blues.
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The idyllic tourist atmosphere in the beautiful Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANIs) nature's floating paradise, which relatively had fewer cases of the COVID-19 virus, as compared to mainland India, was suddenly shattered. The locals depend on the tourists for their livelihood and with the sudden surge of COVID-19 cases in the country and other nations, the government imposed a lockdown and the ensuing travel ban put everything on hold. The psycho-economic fallout had just begun as people were grappling with what was happening all around and what lay ahead. Coastal tourism, which is considered to be the world's key economic area, is a huge economy booster for the nation's GDP, and the Island tourism suddenly shut down along with the deficit revenue to the government. The worst affected were those whose livelihoods were involved with tourists on a daily basis. Thus, the initiatives of special packages by the government and NGOs are released in order to boost the tourism activities. This work mainly addresses the effect of this deadly pandemic on the lives of the people, more so its governmental implications on the psychological and socioeconomic conditions of the Islanders. The government subsidies and necessary measures for sustainability can help them tide over the crisis. Now the government has administrated the vaccination program and initiated the opening of many recreation places for the public. Gradually, the government keenly executed the necessary steps to bring life to normal. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.
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Throughout 2020, according to the Spanish Ministry of Home Office, 23,023 irregular migrants reached the coasts of the Canary Islands in Spain, 757% more than the previous year. The migrants left from the coasts of West Africa, mainly from Senegal, trying to reach the nearest European Union (EU) territory. Apart from the migrants who arrived in the Canary Islands, nearly 1,500 stayed on the way, and 594 of them died drowned or of dehydration. Behind this migratory tragedy, there is a combination of factors, with three essential ones operating synergistically: climate change, which is affecting agriculture, fishing and exacerbating coastal erosion;overfishing, which is depleting regional fisheries;and the COVID-19 pandemic, which, in addition to the victims caused, has left the region without tourism, and with an economy in recession. This paper reviews these causal factors, highlighting his influence on migration and the responsibility of migrants receiving countries – especially those in the EU – for the causes of migration.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the tourism industry in Bali, leading to a decline in tourist visits. To address this issue, efforts have been made to restore tourism by building the intention of tourists to revisit the island. This study aimed to investigate the factors that influence tourists' revisit intentions, with a specific focus on the impact of electronic word-of-mouth (E-WOM) and travel experience, and the mediating role of destination image. The study targeted domestic tourists who had visited Bali, and a sample of 250 respondents was selected through purposive sampling. Data collection was conducted through the distribution of questionnaires, and the analysis was performed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique with the SmartPLS tool. The study revealed that E-WOM had no significant influence on the intention to revisit, while travel experience had a positive and significant effect on the intention to revisit. The image of the destination also had a positive and significant impact on tourists' revisit intentions. Additionally, E-WOM and travel experiences positively affected the destination image. The study also found that the destination image partially mediated the influence of E-WOM and tourist experience on the intention to revisit. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the factors that affect tourists' revisit intentions and can be used to develop effective strategies for restoring the tourism industry in Bali. The study highlights the importance of providing high-quality travel experiences and promoting a positive destination image to encourage tourists to revisit Bali. Additionally, the study emphasizes the need to carefully consider the role of E-WOM in promoting tourism and suggests that it may not always have a significant impact on tourists' revisit intentions. Overall, this study contributes to the body of knowledge on tourism marketing and provides practical recommendations for tourism practitioners and policymakers.
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Covid-19 is a global pandemic that has an impact on all sectors, when compared to consumption in the period before and after, the consumption of fruit in the province of North Sumatra has decreased but there has been an increase in the average monthly per capita expenditure (rupiah) of fruit commodities. This study aims to analyze the factors that influence people's consumption of fruit in the city of Medan and the impact of the coronavirus (covid-19) on fruit consumption in the city of Medan. The research method used is the case study method. The method of determining the research area used is purposive and the data used are primary data obtained through interviews with 100 respondents. The results of the analysis show that the factors that influence consumption patterns include income, number of family members, age, and education have a significant effect simultaneously on the amount of fruit consumption. Income, number of family members and education partially affect the amount of fruit consumption, while the age variable has no significant effect partially on the amount of fruit consumption. Based on the results of hypothesis testing, it can be concluded that the Covid-19 virus affects the amount of fruit consumption in the city of Medan. Fruit consumption in Medan before, during and after the Covid-19 virus is different. With the Covid-19 pandemic, health and body immunity are very important to maintain their performance. Ways to maintain health during the pandemic, ranging from wearing masks, washing hands with soap to consuming vitamins and minerals that can be obtained from consuming fruits.
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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked anxiety and worry in society. Active cases have continued to grow since the government announced the first patient of COVID-19 in Indonesia. In the midst of this spread, adolescents are one of the dominant groups in society infected with COVID-19. This condition can trigger worry and fear of being infected again. Coupled with the transition of activities that were originally carried out outside the home, they had to change from home only. This situation can affect the psychological condition of adolescents. This study aims to analyze the relationship between the history of COVID-19 and anxiety and symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in adolescents aged 20-24 years in Surabaya. Subjects and Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Surabaya City from October to November 2022. As many as 100 youth aged 20-24 years in Surabaya were the subjects of this study. The dependent variable is anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms. The independent variable is adolescents aged 20-24 years with a history of COVID-19. The instruments used were questionnaires and PCR swab evidence collection. Research data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation. Results: The results showed that 74 subjects (74%) had mild anxiety. Meanwhile, there were 16 subjects (16%) who had symptoms of OCD. Analysis of the chi-square correlation test between history of COVID-19 disease and anxiety showed that there was no relationship between the two variables with a p value = 0.704. Analysis of the chi-square correlation test between history of COVID-19 disease and OCD symptoms showed that there was no relationship between the two variables with a p value = 0.086. Conclusion: There is no relationship between history of COVID-19 disease and anxiety in adolescents aged 20-24 years in Surabaya and there is no relationship between history of COVID-19 disease and symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in adolescents aged 20-24 years in Surabaya.
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BACKGROUND: The durability of SARS-CoV-2 antibody response and the resulting immunity to COVID-19 is unclear. OBJECTIVES: To investigate long-term humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: In this nationwide, longitudinal study, we determined antibody response in 411 patients aged 0-93 years from two waves of infections (March to December 2020) contributing 1063 blood samples. Each individual had blood drawn on 4-5 occasions 1-15 months after disease onset. We measured total anti-SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) antibody using a qualitative RBD sandwich ELISA, IgM, IgG and IgA levels using an quantitative in-house ELISA-based assay and neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) using an in-house ELISA-based pseudoneutralizing assay. IgG subclasses were analyzed in a subset of samples by ELISA-based assay. We used nonlinear models to study the durability of SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses and its influence over time. RESULTS: After 15 months, 94% still had detectable circulating antibodies, mainly the IgG isotype, and 92% had detectable NAbs. The distribution of IgG antibodies varied significantly over time, characterized by a biphasic pattern with an initial decline followed by a plateau after approximately 7 months. However, the NAbs remained relatively stable throughout the period. The strength of the antibody response was influenced by smoking and hospitalization, with lower IgG levels in smokers and higher levels in hospitalized individuals. Antibody stability over time was mainly associated with male sex and older age with higher initial levels but more marked decrease. CONCLUSIONS: The humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection varies depending on behavioral factors and disease severity, and antibody stability over 15 months was associated with sex and age.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , Male , Longitudinal Studies , SARS-CoV-2 , Antibodies, Viral , Antibodies, Neutralizing , Immunoglobulin G , Denmark , ImmunityABSTRACT
The use of antidepressants (ADs) has increased significantly as a result of COVID-19 and its consequences. However, there are some notable differences in the relative levels of use between geographical areas and population groups. The aim of this work is to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the consumption of ADs in the Canary Islands, focusing on the islands of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, by analyzing the trends in prescriptions of ADs during the pandemic period (2020) compared to the pre-pandemic period (2016-2020). Data were extracted from the community pharmacy wholesaler at a population level. Consumption patterns are expressed as the number of defined daily doses per 1000 inhabitant/day. The overall consumption of DIDs was higher in Gran Canaria, mainly in urban areas and the capital. It was similar in both Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, but particularly localized in the capital, which are considered semi-urban areas. Lanzarote and Fuerteventura present the same pattern of prescription ADs use, whereas Gran Canaria is notably different. This finding was also observed in the more consumed active pharmaceutical ingredients, although small inter-island variations in the ranking and percentages were observed. Sertraline and escitalopram are two of the most prescribed N06AB ADs, whereas the most recent N06AX ADs such as venlafaxine, mirtazapine and desvenlafaxine are more commonly prescribed. These differences in prescription ADs can be explained by demographical characteristics, population size, the fact of living in an urban area and general medical practice. In this context, the COVID-19 pandemic did not have an impact on the overall trend of the use of ADs between 2016 and 2020 in the islands under study.
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Background: Corona Virus (COVID-19) is a new respiratory viral infectious disease that can cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to severe acute respiratory syndrome. Subsequently, as of May 31, 2022, the government of South Sulawesi reported 143,276 confirmed cases, 2,463 deaths, and 140,395 recovered patients. Purpose: To analyze the impact of behavior, travel history, and comorbidities on the incidence of COVID-19 in South Sulawesi. Methods: This is observational research with a cross-sectional study design and was conducted from January-April 2022 in 7 districts of South Sulawesi Province. A population of 650 respondents with a total sample of 161 patients confirmed positive and 189 suspected of having COVID-19. The Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results: There was a relationship between travel history (p 0.00;OR 2.19), knowledge (p 0.03;OR 1.74), and actions (p 0.00;OR 0.18) on the incidence of COVID-19. Additionally, no relationship was reported between comorbidities (p 0.85), attitudes (p 0.90), and level of knowledge (p 0.08 > (0.05)) on the incidence of COVID-19. The most influential variable in the rapid spread was travel history, with an exp(B) value of 2.19 CI (95%) (LL=1.26;UL=3.80). Conclusion: The results showed that travel history, knowledge, and actions made a major contribution to the spread of COVID-19 in South Sulawesi Province.
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Background: Maternal mortality is one of the health statuses that is considered global. Central Java Province has the highest maternal mortality rate in Indonesia, and one of the regencies with a high MMR (Maternal Mortality Rate) is Grobogan. Purpose: This research wants to describe maternal mortality in Grobogan in 2020-2021. In further research, we can determine the relationship between risk factors that cause maternal death and use them to develop program decisions to reduce maternal mortality in Grobogan. Methods: This study used a descriptive-quantitative study using Maternal and Infant Mortality data from the Health Office of Grobogan in 2020-2021 and analyzed averages and proportions. Results: This study showed that 103 mothers died, 69% mothers at the age of 20-35 years, 46.60% mothers had Junior High School, 8% were in the Purwodadi 2 area, 73% with gestational age >28 weeks, 52% had 2-3 parity, 87.38% of mothers never abortion, 57% of mothers died during the puerperium, and 39% caused by being infected of COVID-19. Conclusion: Maternal mortality in Grobogan Regency during the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic, most of the causes of death were due to COVID-19 infection, which mainly occurred in mothers aged 20-35 years, last educated at junior high school, at gestational age >28 weeks, parity 2-3, more common in mothers who have never had a history of abortion, and is currently experiencing the puerperium. This maternal death occurred in 28 of the 30 Puskesmas in Grobogan.
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This chapter explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has played out in Iceland. Due to its specificities (insularity, remoteness, small population), the country has featured prominently in the history of health studies. From Cliff and Haggett's pioneering work on the modelling of the diffusion of diseases to deCODE Genetics' research projects, Iceland has been used as laboratory to forge new theories and experiment with new methods. In the chapter, this special status is reconsidered in the light of the pandemic. Using fine-grained data, it analyses the spatio-temporal spread of the disease from March 2020 to April 2021 and describes how health authorities constantly adjusted their responses to the virus, managing rather successfully to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. The increasing entanglement of Iceland with processes of global mobilities is stressed. The chapter concludes by suggesting that concepts such as remoteness and insularity do not capture the reality of connectedness that is so important in understanding the still-ongoing COVID-19 saga. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
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As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was felt worldwide, the tourism sector was forced to seek ways of reinventing itself. Two decades prior to this crisis, in varied rural areas and island contexts, small-scale, community-based creative tourism had appeared as a sustainable place-making solution to foster place vitality, competitive distinctiveness, regenerative development and destination resilience. From an island perspective, this article presents the theoretical framework, methodological approaches, and empirical practices of the Creatour Azores project, which was carried out in the North Atlantic archipelago of the Azores from 2019-2022. Given this timeframe, the investigators and pilot projects that implemented this research-practice project were confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic, which accentuated the isolation and remoteness that tend to characterize islandscapes, especially peripheral islands such as the Azores. At the same time, however, this devastating global pandemic, which impacted the tourism sector especially, ended up offering unexpected opportunities along with special challenges, seeming to underscore the relevance of studies focused on the isolation and remoteness that characterize islandscapes. After describing the project methodologies and practices, as well as the adjustments adopted due to the pandemic, this article considers future possibilities for creative tourism on islands, in general, and in the Azores.
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Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 is an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 which spreads throughout the world, including Indonesia, and causes quite high anxiety for patients. One way to detect COVID-19 is the RT-PCR method. This method is a must and is applied to preoperative patients in the operating room. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of anxiety in preoperative patients with RT-PCR. swab results. Methods: Correlation Analytic with a Cross-Sectional Approach The population was preoperative patients with an RT-PCR swab procedure in the operating room in July-September 2021. There were 36 respondents with purposive sampling. Anxiety instrument with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HARS). The data were analyzed by using the Spearman Rho test. Results: The results of this study showed that the most dominant level of anxiety experienced was moderate anxiety, with an anxiety level of 30.6%, while the level of severe anxiety reached 13.9%. The Spearman test showed that there was a relationship between the results of the RT-PCR swab and the level of anxiety in preoperative patients, namely a very strong relationship p = 0.000 (p <0.05) and r = 0.594. Conclusion: The implication of the study showed that the results of the RT-PCR swab detection of Covid-19 preoperative patients had the most positive reaction when the patient had delayed surgery and would undergo self-isolation. The anxiety level of preoperative patients was the highest, with most experiencing moderate anxiety due to the delay in surgery, then multiplying leaflets as a tool to provide education on surgical services and management of preoperative surgical precautions before undergoing RT-PCR swabs.
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The main food consumption of farming families is an important concern during the pandemic. Farmers in West Nusa Tenggara (WNT) survive with the availability of rice to support household health and food security during the pandemic. In addition to its nutritional content, rice also contains phenolic compounds and has antioxidant activity. This study aims are to measure the frequency of rice consumption, food variety, varieties of rice consumed daily during the pandemic in WNT, as well as the antioxidant properties of several rice varieties grown in WNT. This study was conducted from September 2020 to June 2021 in East Lombok, Sumbawa and Bima Regencies, WNT Province, Indonesia using a survey approach. The data collection techniques were observation, Focus Group Discussion, recording, interviews with 74 respondents with a semi-structured questionnaire and study literature related to the nutritional content and bioactive compound of the rice. Quantitative data was tabulated to determine the frequency and average then descriptively analyzed, while qualitative data was thematically analysed. The most consumed rice varieties are seen from the production data of seed breeders in the WNT region, the phenolic content was determined using Folin-Ciocalteu, antioxidant activity was examined using DPPH assay. The result showed that the highest portion of food consumed by farmer households in WNT is rice. The most variety of rice produced by breeders is the Inpari 32 variety. There are about 97% of farmers consume rice for 3 times a day, while 3% of the remaining consume 2 times a day of rice. Food variety includes 7.9% vegetable-rice and 92.1% rice-vegetables-meat protein. The results of the analysis of antioxidant properties and phenolic content in rice is depending on the variety. The antioxidant properties of the Jeliteng, Baroma, Pamelen, Nutrizinc and Inpari 32 rice varieties were 44.85+or-0.51%, 9.87+or-1.55%, 9.96+or-1.22%, 9.75+or-1.09%, and 14.305+or-1.24%, respectively, while the phenolic contents were 9.76+or-0.09, 4.23+or-0.03, 4.48+or-0.02, 4.64+or- 0.07, 4.58+or-0.42 mg GAE/g dryrice extract, respectively. The results of this study indicate that rice has been used as one of antioxidants source for farming families during the pandemic.
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BACKGROUND: This paper responds to Asante et al. (in Hum Resour Health, 2014), providing an updated picture of the impacts of Cuban medical training in the Pacific region based on research carried out in 2019-2021, which focused on the experiences of Pacific Island doctors trained in Cuba and their integration into practice in their home countries. METHODS: The research focussed on two case studies-Solomon Islands and Kiribati. Study methods for this research included multi-sited ethnographic methods and semi-structured interviews as well as qualitative analysis of policy documents, reports, and media sources. RESULTS: The Cuban health assistance programme has had a significant impact on the medical workforce in the Pacific region increasing the number of doctors employed by Pacific Ministries of Health between 2012 and 2019. Qualitatively, there have been some notable improvements in the medical workforce and health delivery over this period. However, the integration of the Cuban-trained doctors into practise has been challenging, with criticisms of their clinical, procedural and communication skills, and the need for the rapid development of bridging and internship training programmes (ITPs) which were inadequately planned for at the outset of the programme. CONCLUSIONS: The Cuban programme in the Pacific is an important model of development assistance for health in the region. While Cuba's offer of scholarships was the trigger for a range of positive outcomes, the success of the programme has relied on input from a range of actors including support from other governments and institutions, and much hard work by the graduates themselves, often in the face of considerable criticism. Key impacts of the programme to date include the raw increase in the number of doctors and the development of the ITPs and career pathways for the graduates, although this has also led to the reorientation of Cuban graduates from preventative to curative health. There is considerable potential for these graduates to contribute to improved health outcomes across the region, particularly if their primary and preventative health care skills are utilised.
Subject(s)
Internship and Residency , Physicians , Humans , Cuba , Pacific IslandsABSTRACT
Stressors are especially widespread in urban agglomerations. Common themes of built environment interventions that support health and well-being are blue and green infrastructure, indoor and outdoor air quality, thermal comfort, access to natural lighting, and acoustics. Given the current megatrends of increasing summer temperatures and the high popularity of home offices, we aimed at modeling thermal comfort changes of people working at home in three Austrian cities (Vienna, Innsbruck, and Graz) during the next decades until 2090. We present findings based on (I) an inter-disciplinary literature search and (II) indoor and outdoor climate simulations for actual and future climate scenarios. Based on the results, we discuss the potential impacts for work and human health and well-being, and we suggest a framework for the home office in "post-COVID-19 Austria” that integrates social, ecological, and economic aspects. The results of our study indicate that, in future climate scenarios, overheating of the interior can no longer be prevented without active cooling measures and nature-based solutions. Recommendations on the adjustment of behavior under climate change, including greening, adequate ventilation, and cooling techniques, are thus urgently needed for employees who are working from home in order to maintain physical and mental health and wellbeing.
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The collection in this anthology exposes the multifarious entanglements that emerge on islands in the face of encounters with tourism. Multidisciplinarity lies at the heart of island studies and while the scholarship of islands is clearly a critical aspect of ensuing discourses, authors demonstrate how they arrive at this juncture using a variety of scholarly vantage points. At the tourism and islandscapes juncture, three key themes simultaneously emerge that illustrate the upshot of this crossover and how islands are the products of multiple knowing, translocal sites of everyday life and vulnerable adaptive social-ecological systems. The COVID-19 pandemic has offered islands dependent on tourism a measure of respite, while also highlighting the economic and social-ecological implications that the slump in tourism has wrought. Islandscapes and their encounters with tourism evoke a broad range of reactions and outcomes, and the perspectives in this anthology showcase that.