A Pilot Nurse-Led Tele-Counseling Intervention to Parents of Children With Cerebral Visual Impairment on Adherence to Eye Activities During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pre-experimental Study.

AIM: To assess the impact of a culturally appropriate and theoretically driven nurse-led tele-counseling intervention to parents of children with cerebral visual impairment (CVI) on the adherence to visual therapy advised by the ophthalmologists. DESIGN: A pre-experimental design was used. METHODS: Parents of children with CVI aged 2-9 years were enroled telephonically during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic through the Pediatric Ophthalmology Clinic of a tertiary eye care center. Pre-assessment of participants was done telephonically as per the interview schedule. As per the protocol, the trained nurse-delivered tele-counseling intervention two times weekly for the first 2 weeks and weekly for the next 2 weeks via audio and video two-way tele-interaction with parents. A CVI information booklet was shared with parents via WhatsApp interface and individualized visual therapy was reinforced in accordance with the advice of the treating ophthalmologist. It was based on a thorough review of clinical records of the child, such as a detailed CVI questionnaire, history, and findings of clinical examination and neuro-visual behavior of a child. In addition, parents were encouraged to maintain a diary of the daily sessions of visual therapy and share recorded videos of their training exercises which were then evaluated and discussed with the ophthalmologist for any deviation. Outcome measures included adherence to eye activities for 7-8 sessions per day. Data were analyzed by using SPSS statistics for windows, version 20. RESULTS: Overall, improvement of adherence to visual therapy was observed among children with CVI (p < 0.0001). Nearly half (47.6%) of participants adhered to 3-4 sessions/day and only 28.6% were adherent to the recommended 7-8 sessions/day. CONCLUSION: The pilot study demonstrated the potential of the nurse-led tele-counseling intervention to supplement the ongoing health treatment of patients in improving the adherence to eye activities among parents of children with CVI.

Investigating the effectiveness of tele-counseling for the mental health of staff in hospitals and COVID-19 clinics: a clinical control trial.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of tele-counseling for the mental health of staff working in hospitals and reference clinics during the COVID-19 outbreak. METHODS: In the first stage of the study, using a convenience sampling strategy, 313 staff members working at Iran's hospitals and COVID-19 clinics answered a Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Short Health Anxiety Inventory online. In a second stage, 95 staff members who were willing to participate in the intervention were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 51) or control (n = 44) groups. The intervention consisted of seven intensive tele-counseling sessions. RESULTS: In the first stage, the percentages of anxiety and depression related to coronavirus were 79.2% and 82.1% and the mean health anxiety score was 17.42. In the intervention phase, anxiety related to coronavirus and to perceived risk of illness (likelihood of illness) were significantly lower in the intervention group in comparison with the control group (p = 0.001). Depression related to coronavirus and anxiety related to the negative consequences of infection were non-significantly reduced in the intervention group compared to the control group (p = 0.08 and 0.12; respectively). CONCLUSION: Continuous monitoring of the negative psychological impacts on medical staff of outbreaks as well as implementation of appropriate interventions to respond to them should be emphasized in order to improve staff mental health.

COVID-19-related issues on tele-counseling helpline in Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVE: To provide a brief description of COVID-19-related issues presented by callers to a tele-counseling helpline in Bangladesh. METHOD: Counselors who receive calls write brief descriptions of each call. These descriptions were coded and analyzed. RESULTS: Eighty-six percent of callers displayed anxiety and/or sleeplessness; these callers also displayed a range of issues including family/interpersonal problems, financial difficulties, physical health concerns, mental illness, and difficulty managing quarantine. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate the mental health challenges faced in Bangladesh due to lockdown and can inform future interventions.