Knowledge and Attitude of Dental Practitioners toward Geriatric Dental Care during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Questionnaire Study

Aim: To evaluate the knowledge and attitude of dentists toward geriatric dental care during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and methods: An online questionnaire survey was conducted among a self-selected sample of dentists from different parts of India. The first part of the questionnaire comprised 12 items that collected information regarding knowledge, and the second part comprised 14 items that assessed the attitude of participants toward geriatric dental care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Evaluating knowledge–65% of participants were aware of guidelines by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) for dentists that should be practiced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 93.6% were aware of post-COVID complications present in older adults after recovering from the acute phase of the disease. Evaluating attitude: A total of 69.8% of them found it difficult to deliver dental care to geriatric patients after following all the COVID-19 practice guidelines, and 97.1% of participants were willing to treat a post-COVID older adult in the dental clinic. Conclusion: A total of 69.8% of them found it difficult to deliver dental care to geriatric patients after following all the COVID-19 practice guidelines. Around 31.4% of dentists were not aware of the precautions to be taken to treat older adults with post-COVID complications. Hence there is a need for further studies on post-COVID complications and guidelines for treating the elderly during the pandemic. Clinical significance: As a consequence of newly emerged barriers and post-COVID complications, much poorer oral health outcomes might occur among geriatric patients in the near future. Hence it is important to understand the knowledge and attitude of dentists towards geriatric dental care in order to equip the already small workforce interested in geriatric oral health care. © The Author(s). 2023.

Knowledge Practice Gap Among Nurses Towards COVID-19 Patients' Dead Body Care in a Tertiary Care Hospital

COVID-19 due to SARS-CoV-2 is a global pandemic that presents a serious challenge from many angles for healthcare professionals. The virus causes a potentially fatal disease that is easily transmitted among patients and caregivers, hence specific dead body care is required for such patients. Our study was conducted to identify knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 dead body care among hospital nursing personnel. A cross sectional survey-based study was performed involving 282 nurses who worked in COVID-19 units during data collection from July 2020 to September 2020. The online structured questionnaire was based on world health organization guidelines, institutional infection control protocols, and course material regarding emerging respiratory diseases including COVID-19. We found that work experience in the COVID-19 unit had a significant impact on knowledge and practice regarding COVID-19 dead body care. Similarly, we observed that training improved the knowledge and practice of nursing personnel regarding dead body care. Good knowledge, attitude, and practice were observed in experienced and trained nurses (p-value <0.005). No significant changes were observed with age, gender, and education qualification. Overall knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 dead body care were moderate to good. Adequate training among nurses should prevent the transmission of disease due to occupational exposure.Copyright © 2023, Science Publications. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 as a trigger for dynamic capability development and supply chain resilience improvement

A firm's ability to manage risk and resilience in supply chains has turned out to be an invaluable capability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fast responsiveness, quick decision-making, and the ability to reconfigure the resource base have helped firms during the pandemic, which caused rapid disruptive effects for which they were unprepared. This research applies the dynamic capability view as a theoretical framework to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on firms' dynamic capabilities and, the influence of dynamic capabilities on supply chain resilience. These capabilities are highly needed to survive during the pandemic. Using the survey data, we found that the impacts that COVID-19 had on a firm's upstream supply chain influence firms' capabilities to seize opportunities or neutralise threats. Furthermore, we found that reconfiguring ability has a strong influence on supply chain resilience. Thus, the impacts of COVID-19 on the downstream supply chain pushed firms to realign resources to respond better to demand. Upstream disruptions pushed companies to react to threats and opportunities in the supply market, while downstream disruptions leveraged reconfiguring capabilities.

Adaptation and Validation of Portuguese Version of Olfactory Disorders Questionnaire (PT-ODQ).

Introduction Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is often a devaluated sensorial affection. The objective evaluation of this dysfunction doesn't evaluate its compromise in patients' daily life. Therefore, the use of a Portuguese-validated tool is of uttermost importance to objectively scale the pathology presented by these patients. Objective We aim to validate and cross-culturally adapt the Olfactory Disorders Questionnaire (ODQ) in the Portuguese language. Methods A prospective study was carried out to evaluate and compare 56 consecutive patients who had olfactory disorders and 54 asymptomatic controls. A cross-cultural adaptation process was taken into account in order to transform the original English tool into a valid Portuguese version. We explored the psychometric properties of the European-Portuguese version of the Portuguese version of ODQ (PT-ODQ) concerning its internal consistency, reproducibility, feasibility, and discriminatory validity. Results Cronbach alpha for the tool was 0.924 showing strong internal consistency. We also found a statistically significant difference in PT-ODQ between patients with olfactory disorders and patients without olfactory disorders, according to the Mann-Whitney test. Conclusions The PT-ODQ seems to be a valid tool for assessing the individual effect of olfactory disorders on patients' quality of life and, therefore, could be applied in olfactory disorders research and daily practice.

The physical and mental burden on obstetricians and gynecologists during the COVID-19 pandemic: A September 2020 questionnaire study.

AIM: The aim of this study was to clarify the physical and mental burden of the COIVD-19 pandemic on obstetricians and gynecologists in Japan and to identify factors that increase the burden of their psychological stress. METHODS: A web-based questionnaire was sent to obstetricians and gynecologists in Japan via email and social media to collect voluntary responses. This survey was conducted from September 1 to 30, 2020. RESULTS: A total of 852 valid responses were included in the analysis; 76% (644) of the physicians felt that the COVID-19 pandemic caused them physical and mental stress equal to or greater than the most severe disaster they had ever experienced. Physicians who reported high mental and physical stress were more likely to be in areas with high numbers of infected patients (odds ratio (OR) 1.571, p = 0.012). Physicians experienced great stress to the point of wearing heavy personal protective equipment during routine vaginal deliveries by mothers with no COVID-19 symptoms. This trend was markedly pronounced for physicians working in regions with fewer cases of COVID-19 infection. CONCLUSIONS: Obstetricians and gynecologists who reported high mental and physical stress were more likely to be in areas with high numbers of infected patients. One potential reason for this may be that they were required to wear more personal protective equipment than necessary. Infection control methods that ensure the safety of obstetricians and gynecologists while not causing unnecessary physical or psychological stress are needed.

Psychological and occupational impact on healthcare workers and its associated factors during the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

PURPOSE: China was affected by an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in 2019-2020. Research data are needed to develop evidence-driven strategies to reduce the adverse psychological and occupational impacts on healthcare workers (HCWs). METHODS: From March 1, 2020, to March 8, 2020, 946 HCWs in China completed a survey consist of sociodemographic data, precautionary measures against COVID-19, and concerns about COVID-19. Self-administered questionnaire were collected to assess psychological and occupational adverse outcomes of HCWs. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with the outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 55.0%, 56.0% and 48.3% of the HCWs experienced burnout, psychological distress and posttraumatic stress, respectively. A total of seven factors were independently associated with burnout: good health status (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.36-0.71), fear of contagion (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.003-1.79), avoiding contact with children (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.03-1.91), enough staff support at the workplace (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.38-0.92), having to work overtime (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.03-1.83), maladaptive coping (OR 3.28, 95% CI 2.42-4.45) and adaptive coping (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.35-0.62). A total of 11 factors were independently associated with high psychological distress: having one child (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.38-0.77), good health status (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.39-0.83), alcohol abuse (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.02-2.25), thinking the epidemic would continue for quite a long time (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.08-2.34), wearing extra-work clothes (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.06-2.15),effective protective equipment (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.22-0.90), enough staff support at the workplace (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.34-0.89), unable to take care of families (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.42-2.78), economic losses (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.14-2.31), maladaptive coping (OR 6.88, 95% CI 4.75-9.97),and adaptive coping (OR 0.29, 95% CI 0.21-0.41). These factors were independently associated with posttraumatic stress: living with the elderly (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.04-2.05), alcohol abuse (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.002-1.98), working at a 3A hospital(OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.49-0.88), acquaintances confirmed COVID-19 (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.20-3.84), fear of contagion (OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.40-2.50), believing they would survive if infected (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.46-0.86), self-disinfected after arriving home (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.01-2.02), interpersonal isolation (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.21-2.26), unable to take care of families (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.05-1.88) and maladaptive coping (OR 3.09, 95% CI 2.32-4.11). CONCLUSION: The variance in adverse outcomes was explained by the effect of various factors, which will help policymakers better prepare for subsequent potential outbreaks of COVID-19.

Assessment of knowledge of oral pathologists and postgraduate students on safe laboratory practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Oral pathologists are involved in laboratory diagnosis and receive specimens of biopsy, oral cytologic smears and samples for hematology, biochemistry and microbiology and thus are at a risk for laboratory-acquired infections, which may occur inadvertently and can be considered as an occupational hazard. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic to assess the knowledge of oral pathologists and oral pathology postgraduate students regarding the safe laboratory practices, procedures and guidelines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was a cross-sectional online questionnaire-based study. Questions were framed to evaluate the knowledge on specimen/sample collection, its handling, disposal and protective measures for laboratory personnel. The study population comprised oral pathologists and oral pathology postgraduate students of various dental colleges in India. A Google Doc format was used to create an effective computerized questionnaire system, and the link was forwarded to around 500 participants. The survey was fielded online between August 29, 2020, and September 5, 2020. Three hundred and twelve responses were received, which were downloaded as spreadsheets for subsequent data analysis. RESULTS: Mean value of right answers for the oral pathologists was 8.11 ± 2.02 and for postgraduate students was 7.38 ± 1.75. When the knowledge score between the two groups was compared, a statistically significant difference was found. CONCLUSION: This article compares and highlights the knowledge lacunae among the oral pathologists and oral pathologists postgraduate students in relation to guidelines to be followed for safety in the laboratory. Adhering to these biosafety regulations reduces occupational health hazards and enhances a safe working environment in the laboratory.