Emotional Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Nursing Students Receiving Distance Learning: An Explorative Study.

Social restrictions have a significant impact on higher education, especially on nursing students. The main goal of our study was to assess the emotional state of nursing students who received e-learning during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The secondary objective was instead to measure the usability and acceptability of distance learning systems. A cross-sectional survey design was used to assess the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-year undergraduate nursing students attending the University of Messina, Italy, using an anonymous online questionnaire. The data of 522 nursing students were examined. All participants completed the online questionnaire, declaring the good usability of e-learning education (SUS mean 68.53 ds: 16.76). Moreover, we found that high levels of satisfaction in the use of the means of distance learning (based on the SUS score) were positively correlated with low levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and mental distress. In conclusion, the present study provided relevant information on usability and mental distress related to e-learning and use in a sample of nursing students. It was found that students generally found this method to be good for use. Although e-learning can be a valuable and usable teaching tool, the study suggests that students prefer a blended or presence modality, based on their perception of learning. So teaching nursing students in the future could integrate the two ways to enhance learning. Further studies are needed to evaluate this aspect.

Cognitive rehabilitation outcomes in patients with Multiple sclerosis: Preliminary data about the potential role of personality traits.

Background Multiple Sclerosis (MS) can be associated with personality changes. Personality traits affect the cognitive functions, mood, and psychological well-being of people with MS and their families. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate whether personality traits might be predictors of cognitive recovery in people with MS. Methods. Thirty-one patients with a diagnosis of MS were enrolled in this study. Each participant was evaluated by a neuropsychologist before (T0) and after the end of the rehabilitation treatment (T1). The Five-Factor Model (FFM) has been used to describe the basic personality structure by highlighting five personality traits: extroversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness. The rehabilitation program included conventional physiotherapy, speech therapy, psychological support, cognitive rehabilitation, and nutritional therapy as well as robotic rehabilitation, advanced cognitive rehabilitation, and virtual reality. Logistic regressions are carried out to measure the changes score between T0 and T1. Results The results showed that patients had significant improvement in cognitive and behavioral functioning. Here, we considered the relationships between the scores of cognitive and emotional/behavioral domains, the five scales of the BFQ, besides the psychiatric symptoms. In particular, the mental quality of life, visuospatial and verbal long-term memory were positively influenced by the agreeableness trait, while depression was negatively affected by this trait. Conclusion Our data suggest that personality traits could influence cognitive and behavioral recovery in patients with MS.

How COVID-19 Has Affected Caregivers' Burden of Patients with Dementia: An Exploratory Study Focusing on Coping Strategies and Quality of Life during the Lockdown.

COVID-19 has caused a public and international health emergency, leading to isolation and social distancing. These restrictions have had a significant impact on the caregivers of people with dementia, increasing the burden of patient management. The purpose of this study was to investigate the stress perceived by caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) during the pandemic. We used a cross-sectional survey design to evaluate the caregivers' psychological responses and coping strategies. Eighty-four caregivers of patients with a diagnosis of AD were involved in this study by completing an online questionnaire. They presented a high perception of stress (the Perceived Stress Scale mean ± DS: 33.5 ± 4.5), and their high burden in caring was mainly related to physical difficulties (Caregiver Burden Inventory-Physical Burden mean ± DS: 15.0 ± 2.1) and perception of loss of time (Caregiver Burden Inventory-Time-dependence Burden mean ± DS: 16.5 ± 1.4). Moreover, caregivers perceived their quality of life as very low (Short Form-12 Health Survey Physical mean ± DS: 13.5 ± 2.7; Short Form-12 Health Survey Mental Health mean ± DS: 16.4 ± 4.2). Finally, we found that participants mostly used dysfunctional coping strategies, such as avoidance strategies (Coping Orientation to Problem Experiences-Avoidance Strategies mean ± DS: 39.5 ± 7.1), but these strategies did not affect the stress level of caregivers. Given that caregivers present a high burden and stress, innovative tools could be a valuable solution to investigate and support their emotional and behavioral status during difficult periods, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.