How to bring residents' psychosocial well-being to the heart of the fight against Covid-19 in Belgian nursing homes-A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Nursing homes (NH) for the elderly have been particularly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic mainly due to their hosted vulnerable populations and poor outbreak preparedness. In Belgium, the medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) implemented a support project for NH including training on infection prevention and control (IPC), (re)-organization of care, and psychosocial support for NH staff. As psychosocial and mental health needs of NH residents in times of Covid-19 are poorly understood and addressed, this study aimed to better understand these needs and how staff could respond accordingly. METHODS: A qualitative study adopting thematic content analysis. Eight focus group discussions with direct caring staff and 56 in-depth interviews with residents were conducted in eight purposively and conveniently selected NHs in Brussels, Belgium, June 2020. RESULTS: NH residents experienced losses of freedom, social life, autonomy, and recreational activities that deprived them of their basic psychological needs. This had a massive impact on their mental well-being expressed in feeling depressed, anxious, and frustrated as well as decreased meaning and quality of life. Staff felt unprepared for the challenges posed by the pandemic; lacking guidelines, personal protective equipment and clarity around organization of care. They were confronted with professional and ethical dilemmas, feeling 'trapped' between IPC and the residents' wellbeing. They witnessed the detrimental effects of the measures imposed on their residents. CONCLUSION: This study revealed the insights of residents' and NH staff at the height of the early Covid-19 pandemic. Clearer outbreak plans, including psychosocial support, could have prevented the aggravated mental health conditions of both residents and staff. A holistic approach is needed in NHs in which tailor-made essential restrictive IPC measures are combined with psychosocial support measures to reduce the impact on residents' mental health impact and to enhance their quality of life.

[Health professionals facing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: What are the mental health risks?] / Les professionnels de santé face à la pandémie de la maladie à coronavirus (COVID-19) : quels risques pour leur santé mentale ?

OBJECTIVES: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused major sanitary crisis worldwide. Half of the world has been placed in quarantine. In France, this large-scale health crisis urgently triggered the restructuring and reorganization of health service delivery to support emergency services, medical intensive care units and continuing care units. Health professionals mobilized all their resources to provide emergency aid in a general climate of uncertainty. Concerns about the mental health, psychological adjustment, and recovery of health care workers treating and caring for patients with COVID-19 are now arising. The goal of the present article is to provide up-to-date information on potential mental health risks associated with exposure of health professionals to the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Authors performed a narrative review identifying relevant results in the scientific and medical literature considering previous epidemics of 2003 (SARS-CoV-1) and 2009 (H1N1) with the more recent data about the COVID-19 pandemic. We highlighted most relevant data concerning the disease characteristics, the organizational factors and personal factors that may contribute to developing psychological distress and other mental health symptoms. RESULTS: The disease characteristics of the current COVID-19 pandemic provoked a generalized climate of wariness and uncertainty, particularly among health professionals, due to a range of causes such as the rapid spread of COVID-19, the severity of symptoms it can cause in a segment of infected individuals, the lack of knowledge of the disease, and deaths among health professionals. Stress may also be caused by organizational factors, such as depletion of personal protection equipment, concerns about not being able to provide competent care if deployed to new area, concerns about rapidly changing information, lack of access to up-to-date information and communication, lack of specific drugs, the shortage of ventilators and intensive care unit beds necessary to care for the surge of critically ill patients, and significant change in their daily social and family life. Further risk factors have been identified, including feelings of being inadequately supported, concerns about health of self, fear of taking home infection to family members or others, and not having rapid access to testing through occupational health if needed, being isolated, feelings of uncertainty and social stigmatization, overwhelming workload, or insecure attachment. Additionally, we discussed positive social and organizational factors that contribute to enhance resilience in the face of the pandemic. There is a consensus in all the relevant literature that health care professionals are at an increased risk of high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder, which could have long-term psychological implications. CONCLUSIONS: In the long run, this tragic health crisis should significantly enhance our understanding of the mental health risk factors among the health care professionals facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Reporting information such as this is essential to plan future prevention strategies. Protecting health care professionals is indeed an important component of public health measures to address large-scale health crisis. Thus, interventions to promote mental well-being in health care professionals exposed to COVID-19 need to be immediately implemented, and to strengthen prevention and response strategies by training health care professionals on mental help and crisis management.

Hospital Pharmacy: Comprehensive management of medical devices during SARS-CoV-2.

Medical devices have become essential to the prevention and control of the  COVID-19 pandemic, being crucial for health professionals and patients in  particular, and the population in general. It is important to be aware of the laws  that regulate the management, distribution, and control of medical devices.  Article 82 of the Spanish Law 29/2006 on Guarantees and Rational Use of  Medicines and Medical Devices establishes that it is the responsibility of Hospital  Pharmacy Services "to participate in and coordinate the purchase of medicines and medical devices in the hospital to ensure an efficient acquisition  and rational use of medical devices". For this reason, working groups of the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy and other scientific societies have issued technical guidelines and consensus statements to provide technical support and updated information on the use of masks, individual  protection equipments and other medical devices. In addition, the shortage of  medical devices caused by the high demand has resulted in the uncontrolled  production and distribution of medical devices. This phenomenon, added to the  fraudulent selling of medical devices, highlights the need for a closer surveillance of the market to guarantee the efficacy and safety of available medical devices. A rational use of medical devices is necessary to ensure the availability and safety of these products, which requires the involvement of  different stakeholders, including hospital pharmacists. Thus, it is essential that  hospital pharmacists receive specific training in technical aspects concerning the possession and use of medical devices. This will help guarantee an effective and safe use of medical products. The acquisition and use of medical  devices requires a keen understanding of the technical and legal aspects  concerning these products, which makes hospital pharmacists essential for the  integral management of medical devices.

Los productos sanitarios se han convertido en imprescindibles en la prevención y control de la pandemia actual generada por COVID-19, tanto para el personal  sanitario y pacientes, como para la ciudadanía en su totalidad. Los productos  sanitarios cuentan con una legislación propia que es preciso conocer para su  correcta gestión, distribución y control. El artículo 82 de la Ley 29/2006 de  garantías y uso racional de los medicamentos y productos sanitarios establece  que es responsabilidad de los servicios de farmacia hospitalaria "participar y  coordinar la gestión de las compras de los productos sanitarios del hospital a  efectos de asegurar la eficiencia de la misma y así contribuir al uso racional de  los mismos". Por este motivo, grupos de trabajo de expertos de la Sociedad Española de Farmacia Hospitalaria, junto a otras sociedades científicas, han desarrollado durante esta pandemia documentos técnicos y consensos para dar soporte técnico e informativo de forma actualizada en  relación con las mascarillas, los equipos de protección individual y otros  productos sanitarios. Por otro lado, los problemas de desabastecimiento  secundarios a la elevada demanda han llevado a una producción y  comercialización descontrolada de productos sanitarios. Este hecho, asociado a  la comercialización fraudulenta de productos sanitarios en el mercado, ha  generado la necesidad de una vigilancia exhaustiva, capaz de garantizar la  eficacia y seguridad de los productos sanitarios en circulación. El uso racional,  para asegurar la disponibilidad y seguridad de los productos sanitarios, es una  responsabilidad multidisciplinar compleja. Para ello, es fundamental una  formación específica como la del farmacéutico de hospital en aspectos técnicos  de tenencia y uso que permite salvaguardar las garantías de eficacia, seguridad  y calidad de los productos sanitarios. El conocimiento técnico y legal que  requieren los productos sanitarios hace imprescindible la implicación del  farmacéutico de hospital como uno de los profesionales sanitarios capacitado  para la gestión integral de estos productos.

The Effect of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Breast Cancer Teamwork: A Multicentric Survey.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Despite the large amount of clinical data available of Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19), not many studies have been conducted about the psychological toll on Health Care Workers (HCWs). PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this multicentric descriptive study, surveys were distributed among 4 different Breast Cancer Centers (BCC). BCCs were distinguished according to COVID-19 tertiary care hospital (COVID/No-COVID) and district prevalence (DP) (High vs. Low). DASS-21 score, PSS score and demographic data (age, sex, work) were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 51 HCWs were analyzed in the study. Age, work and sex did not demonstrate statistically significant values. Statistically significant distribution was found between DASS-21-stress score and COVID/No-COVID (p=0.043). No difference was found in the remaining DASS-21 and PSS scores, dividing the HCWs according to COVID-19-hospital and DP. CONCLUSION: Working in a COVID-19-hospital represents a factor that negatively affects psychosocial well-being. However, DP seems not to affect the psychosocial well-being of BCC HCWs. During the outbreak, psychological support for low risk HCWs should be provided regardless DP.

Medical and Surgical Education Challenges and Innovations in the COVID-19 Era: A Systematic Review.

The aim of this systematic review was to identify the challenges imposed on medical and surgical education by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the proposed innovations enabling the continuation of medical student and resident training. A systematic review on the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases was performed on April 18th, 2020, and yielded 1288 articles. Sixty-one of the included manuscripts were synthesized in a qualitative description focused on two major axes, "challenges" and "innovative solutions", and two minor axes, "mental health" and "medical students in the frontlines". Shortage of personal protective equipment, suspension of clinical clerkships and observerships and reduction in elective surgical cases unavoidably affect medical and surgical education. Interesting solutions involving the use of virtual learning, videoconferencing, social media and telemedicine could effectively tackle the sudden cease in medical education. Furthermore, trainee's mental health should be safeguarded, and medical students can be involved in the COVID-19 clinical treatment if needed.

The Pandemic: Lessons for Bioethics?

Seeking useful ways to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, bioethicists have been tempted to claim for themselves what Alasdair MacIntyre characterized in After Virtue as the moral fiction of managerial expertise. They have been eager to offer a wide range of policy prescriptions, presenting themselves as bureaucratic managers and suggesting an expertise that bioethics may not in fact be able to offer. This was evident, for example, in the petition published by The Hastings Center in March 2020. The pandemic could foster a more hopeful future for bioethics if it were to focus attention less on policy decisions that belong to all citizens and more on some of the most basic moral questions that life presents and with which bioethics has always dealt-including, surely, the virtues needed in order to live well in a time of pandemic.