Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) have experienced anxiety and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. We established and report findings from an occupational health programme for HCWs in Zimbabwe that offered screening for SARS-CoV-2 with integrated screening for comorbidities including common mental disorder (CMD) and referral for counselling.
Methods: Quantitative outcomes were fearfulness about COVID-19, the Shona Symptom Questionnaire (SSQ-14) score (cutpoint 8/14) and the number and proportion of HCWs offered referral for counselling, accepting referral and counselled. We used chi square tests to identify factors associated with fearfulness, and logistic regression was used to model the association of fearfulness with wave, adjusting for variables identified using a DAG. Qualitative data included 18 in-depth interviews, two workshops conducted with HCWs and written feedback from counsellors, analysed concurrently with data collection using thematic analysis.
Results: Between 27 July 2020-31 July 2021, spanning three SARS-CoV-2 waves, the occupational health programme was accessed by 3577 HCWs from 22 facilities. The median age was 37 (IQR 30-43) years, 81.9% were women, 41.7% said they felt fearful about COVID-19 and 12.1% had an SSQ-14 score ≥ 8. A total of 501 HCWs were offered referral for counselling, 78.4% accepted and 68.9% had ≥1 counselling session. Adjusting for setting and role, wave 2 was associated with increased fearfulness over wave 1 (OR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.00-1.60). Qualitative data showed high levels of anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms and burnout related to the pandemic. Mental wellbeing was affected by financial insecurity, unmet physical health needs and inability to provide quality care within a fragile health system.
Conclusions: HCWs in Zimbabwe experience a high burden of mental health symptoms, intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainable mental health interventions must be multisectoral addressing mental, physical and financial wellbeing.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2022.152321 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
December 2024
Department of Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematical Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
This study presents a web application for predicting cardiovascular disease (CVD) and hypertension (HTN) among mine workers using machine learning (ML) techniques. The dataset, collected from 699 participants at the Gol-Gohar mine in Iran between 2016 and 2020, includes demographic, occupational, lifestyle, and medical information. After preprocessing and feature engineering, the Random Forest algorithm was identified as the best-performing model, achieving 99% accuracy for HTN prediction and 97% for CVD, outperforming other algorithms such as Logistic Regression and Support Vector Machines.
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December 2024
Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
E-cigarette/vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI) is strongly associated with vitamin E acetate and often occurs with concomitant tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) use. To uncover pathways associated with EVALI, we examined cytokines, transcriptomic signatures, and lipidomic profiles in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from THC-EVALI patients. At a single center, we prospectively enrolled mechanically ventilated patients with EVALI from THC-containing products (N = 4) and patients with non-vaping acute lung injury and airway controls (N = 5).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLasers Surg Med
December 2024
Department of Dermatology, Veterans Health Administration, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Objectives: Glomangiomas are benign vascular malformations that exist within the spectrum of glomuvenous malformations which consist of varying amounts of glomus cells, vascular spaces, and smooth muscle. Glomangiomas are often treated due to associated pain, particularly when located on pressure areas such as the back or extensor surfaces, which can cause difficulty with certain activities and occupational functions. Histologically glomangiomas consist of prominent dilated vascular spaces lined by glomus cells typically situated in the deep-dermis to subcutaneous fat which limits treatment to modalities capable of reaching the depth of the tumor including excision, sclerotherapy, and laser therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Public Health
December 2024
Department of Ophtalmology, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
Background: Recent studies suggest that increased digital technology usage could be a factor in the rising occurrence and severity of headache episodes. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine whether the severity of primary headaches (migraine and tension-type headache) is associated with problematic internet use taking many covariates into account.
Methods: We conducted an online cross-sectional survey using a quantitative, descriptive questionnaire, targeting university students enrolled in correspondence courses, aged 18 to 65.
Patient Prefer Adherence
December 2024
Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway.
Background: As the global population ages, there is increasing pressure on health systems to provide high-quality and cost-effective care for this growing segment of the population. Reablement, primarily a strategic home-based rehabilitation approach, has been demonstrated to be a cost-effective, multidisciplinary, holistic, and person-centred approach to maintaining functional independence as one ages. Given that care delivery in the home setting for older persons is complex, a key feature of effective implementation of reablement is the integration of a multidisciplinary team.
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