Psychologists' perspective of mental health in Yemen during the civil war and COVID-19: a qualitative inquiry.

In comparison to other Middle Eastern nations that are experiencing conflicts and wars, Yemen has the greatest rate of mental health issues since the war was accompanied by distressing experiences and severe chronic psychological crises. This study aims to examine the current state of psychological problems from the perspectives of psychologists and psychiatrists in light of the ongoing civil war and the COVID-19 pandemic. This study included 20 psychologists and psychiatrists in total. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews with the psychologists and psychiatrists were done between October 2021 and December 2021 and between May 2022 and June 2022. Handwritten notes and field notes were used to record the interview process. The transcripts were inductively analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analytic approach to get the main themes and subthemes. The four major themes that emerged from the emerging codes are the impact of war on mental health, the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, the healthcare system, and the lack of awareness about mental health. These themes reveal how the civil war and COVID-19 contributed to Yemenis' mental health issues and resulting psychological disorders. Yemenis' mental health and well-being are under several threats; thus, the government and other relevant authorities must take urgent measures to lessen the impact of mental illness on society.

A cross-sectional study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychological outcomes: Multiple indicators and multiple causes modeling.

Although the psychological impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been evaluated in the literature, further research is needed, particularly on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychological outcomes, is needed. This study aims to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychological outcomes (depression, anxiety, and insomnia). A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted using the following instruments: Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation model (SEM), multiple indicators and multiple causes (MIMIC) modeling, and differential item functioning (DIF) were performed to analyze the collected data. According to the results, participants with PTSD (n = 360) showed a higher level of depression, anxiety, and insomnia than those without PTSD (n = 639). Among the participants, 36.5% experienced moderate to severe symptoms of depression, and 32.6% had mild depressive symptoms. Moreover, 23.7% of participants experienced moderate to severe anxiety symptoms, and 33.1% had mild anxiety symptoms. In addition, 51.5% of participants experienced symptoms of insomnia. In conclusion, the PTSD caused by COVID-19 is significantly associated with depression, anxiety, and insomnia at the level of latent constructs and observed variables.

Psychologists’ perspective of mental health in Yemen during the civil war and COVID-19: a qualitative inquiry

In comparison to other Middle Eastern nations that are experiencing conflicts and wars, Yemen has the greatest rate of mental health issues since the war was accompanied by distressing experiences and severe chronic psychological crises. This study aims to examine the current state of psychological problems from the perspectives of psychologists and psychiatrists in light of the ongoing civil war and the COVID-19 pandemic. This study included 20 psychologists and psychiatrists in total. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews with the psychologists and psychiatrists were done between October 2021 and December 2021 and between May 2022 and June 2022. Handwritten notes and field notes were used to record the interview process. The transcripts were inductively analysed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analytic approach to get the main themes and subthemes. The four major themes that emerged from the emerging codes are the impact of war on mental health, the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, the healthcare system, and the lack of awareness about mental health. These themes reveal how the civil war and COVID-19 contributed to Yemenis’ mental health issues and resulting psychological disorders. Yemenis’ mental health and well-being are under several threats;thus, the government and other relevant authorities must take urgent measures to lessen the impact of mental illness on society.

Exploring Factors Affecting Graduate Students' Satisfaction toward E-Learning in the Era of the COVID-19 Crisis.

BACKGROUND: Shifting the educational system from a traditional to an online context during COVID-19 necessitated several considerations to assure students' satisfaction with e-learning. AIM: This study aims to explore the factors influencing students' satisfaction with e-learning during the COVID-19 crisis. In particular, it tests multiple mediations, student factors, and system quality between students' satisfaction and each course evaluation and instructor's performance. METHODOLOGY: In this cross-sectional study, 258 undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in online courses at multiple Malaysian universities were recruited using non-probabilistic purposive sampling. Data were collected using a questionnaire that assessed four factors that influenced students' satisfaction with e-learning during the COVID-19 crisis (i.e., instructor performance, course evaluation, student factors, and system quality) and analyzed using the partial least squares route structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). RESULTS: The results indicated that the four factors were significantly associated with students' satisfaction with e-learning during COVID-19. Student factors and system quality were the most factors predicting students' satisfaction with e-learning. Findings indicate statistically significant relationships between the instructor's performance, student factors, course evaluation, and system quality on students' satisfaction. Furthermore, the results depict that both course evaluation and system quality serially mediate the relationship between instructors' performance and students' satisfaction. CONCLUSION: This study finds that improving and enhancing student factors and system quality is critical for students' satisfaction with e-learning. Furthermore, e-learning platforms should contain new advances of computer-mediated technologies that enable collaboration, which is a critical factor in the success of e-learning systems.

Protection of COVID-19 vaccination and previous infection against Omicron BA.1 and Delta SARS-CoV-2 infections, the Netherlands, 22 November 2021- 19 January 2022 (preprint)

Given the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 variant and the roll-out of booster COVID-19 vaccination, evidence is needed on protection conferred by primary vaccination, booster vaccination and previous SARS-CoV-2 infection against Omicron BA.1 compared with Delta infection. We employed a test-negative design and used multinomial logistic regression on data from community PCR testing in the Netherlands, from 22 November 2021 to 19 January 2022. S-gene target failure (SGTF) was used as proxy for Omicron BA.1 infection versus Delta. A total of 528,488 tests were included, of which 38,975 SGTF and 41,245 non-SGTF infections. Protection from primary vaccination was 25% (95% confidence interval (CI): 21-29) and from previous infection 33% (95% CI: 31-35) against Omicron BA.1 infection. Protection against Delta infection was higher with 76% (95% CI: 75-76) for primary vaccination and 78% (95% CI: 76-80) for previous infection. Higher protection was observed in individuals with both primary vaccination and earlier infection compared with either one. Waning of vaccine- or infection-induced protection over time was observed against both variants. Booster vaccination considerably increased vaccine effectiveness against Omicron BA.1 to 76% (95% CI: 72-79) and 68% (95% CI: 67-69) with and without previous infection, respectively. Primary vaccination with current COVID-19 vaccines and pre-Omicron SARS-CoV-2 infections offer low protection against Omicron BA.1 infection. Booster vaccination considerably increases protection against Omicron BA.1, although protection remains lower than against Delta.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Psychological Outcomes: Multiple Indicators and Multiple Causes (MIMIC) Modeling (preprint)

Background: Due to the limited research examining the psychological impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), our study aims to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychological outcomes and assess the differences between participants with and without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on the psychological outcomes as latent factors and items. Methods: : An online survey was conducted on 999 participants. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) assessed the psychological impact, while outcomes were measured by Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). A series of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), structural equation model (SEM), Multiple Indicators and Multiple Causes (MIMIC), and Differential Item Functioning (DIF) were conducted. Results: : The IES-R has significant effects on the psychological outcomes. Participants with PTSD have a higher impact on latent factors (depression, anxiety, and insomnia) than those without PTSD. Among participants, 36.5% experienced moderate to severe symptoms of depression, and 32.6% had mild depressive symptoms. For anxiety, 23.7% of respondents experienced moderate to severe anxiety symptoms, and 33.1% had mild symptoms of anxiety. For the ISI, 51.5% of participants experienced symptoms of insomnia. Conclusion: the IES-R for COVID-19 has a significant impact on depression, anxiety, and insomnia at the level of latent constructs and observed variables.