COVID-19 Patients' Life Events, Emotional Health And Post-Illness Awareness: A Qualitative Study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the life events, emotional health and post-illness awareness of COVID-19 patients. We interviewed 25 people who experienced COVID-19. DESIGN: The study was executed in qualitative descriptive design. METHODS: The study was conducted with a phenomenological design approach. Data were collected using an in-depth, semi-structured interview method. We interviewed 25 people who experienced COVID-19. FINDINGS: Three themes were identified in the content analysis: "Experiences before COVID-19," "The active experience of COVID-19," "Remnants of COVID-19." We found that when participants first heard they tested positive for COVID-19, the anxiety they experienced turned into panic and fear of death as the duration and severity of the symptoms of the disease increased. That uncertainty, as well as the influence of the media, intensified their fears. However, despite the unfavorable conditions, experiencing the disease led to positive awareness in all the participants. CONCLUSIONS: We observed that the intensity of the symptoms of COVID-19, the uncertainty of the treatment process, and the attitude of the media were important factors in producing fear and anxiety. Experiencing the illness created an awareness that resulted in the participants' questioning the meaning of life. CLINICAL EVIDENCE: Within the scope of preventive health services, there is a need for informative programs of education on COVID-19 prevention, coping, and self-improvement that will be useful in reducing the psychological effects of the disease.

A prospective study of Willis-Ekbom disease/restless legs syndrome during and after pregnancy.

OBJECTIVES: Willis-Ekbom disease/restless legs syndrome (WED/RLS) is the most common sleep-related movement disorder in pregnancy. We designed a prospective longitudinal study to investigate the correlates of WED/RLS during and after pregnancy. DESIGN: A total of 138 pregnant women with WED/RLS and a control group of 251 age-matched pregnant women were enrolled prospectively. A questionnaire was administered during a face-to-face interview at first evaluation during pregnancy and three months after delivery. RESULTS: Among all women in the first trimester, 15.6% were diagnosed with WED/RLS, whereas 32.8% of those in the second trimester and 38.8% of those in the third trimester were diagnosed with WED/RLS (p = 0.032). In regression analysis, later gestational age [p < 0.001; odds ratio (OR) 1.054] and previous history of WED/RLS (p = 0.001; OR 2.795) were positively correlated with the presence of WED/RLS, while ferritin levels (p = 0.001; OR 0.956) were negatively correlated with the presence of WED/RLS. Ferritin levels were also negatively correlated with the International RLS Study Group severity index (p = 0.041). Forty-eight patients (34.8%) experienced WED/RLS symptomatology after delivery. The ferritin levels were lower, and the mean number of pregnancies was higher, in women with residual WED/RLS (p = 0.008). CONCLUSION: Our survey showed that WED/RLS was more common in the second and third trimesters. Emergence of WED/RLS during the second trimester was strongly associated with residual WED/RLS. Lower ferritin levels were associated with both WED/RLS in pregnancy and residual WED/RLS after delivery. A higher number of pregnancies were also associated with a greater likelihood of having residual WED/RLS after delivery.