Understanding the Singapore COVID-19 Experience: Implications for Hospital Medicine

Influencing Factors of Patients' Trust in Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the nurse-patient trust among in-patients in the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic; it further analyzed the related influencing factors, which will provide a theoretical basis for developing corresponding measures.

METHODS

This study employed a mixed-method design and analyzed 149 patients at the Hongqi Hospital, affiliated with Mudanjiang Medical University, from December 2020 to February 2021. Quantitative analysis was carried out using the "Nurse Patient Trust Scale," and qualitative analysis was performed using a semi-structured interview with in-patients.

RESULTS

The average score on the scale was 46.65 ± 2.83, and the scores of the 2 dimensions were: 23.24 ± 1.51 for ability and peace of mind, and 23.32 ± 1.53 for attitude and care. According to the interview data, the factors included 3 aspects: a comfortable hospital environment and humane management measures; the nurse's own competence; and effective communication with patients.

CONCLUSION

During the COVID-19 epidemic, there are still many factors affecting patients' trust in nurses that can be addressed by taking different measures. All these factors must be considered by the relevant managers and clinical nursing staff to maintain a better nurse-patient trust relationship.

Measuring global pandemic governance: how countries respond to COVID-19

Covid-19 is an unprecedented crisis that faces the majority of governments around the world. The pandemic has resulted in substantial changes to government work cultures, financial management, and the implementation of good governance. The paper has shown how these governments react to the crisis caused by Covid-19. We analyse strategy, policy, and financial management when facing Covid-19 and give a result that will contribute to the development of crisis governance field. In this article, we argue that the most successful action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in high income, upper-middle income, and lower-middle income countries is guided by the implementation of good governance principles. Data used in this research was obtained from the World Health Organization and the World Bank. The results indicate that countries that have been able to manage the COVID-19 pandemic have good governance indicators, such as voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence/terrorism, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption.

Neurohospitalist Practice and Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background and Purpose

Neurohospitalists play an important role in, and have been variably affected by, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we survey neurohospitalists to characterize practice changes and the impact of the pandemic on their well-being.

Methods

A 22-item survey was distributed to neurohospitalists through the Neurohospitalist Society and the American Academy of Neurology Neurohospitalist, Stroke & Vascular Neurology, and Critical Care & Emergency Neurology Sections.

Results

After 2 weeks of collection, 123 responses were received, with 57% of respondents practicing in academic settings, 23% in private practice, and 7% in community hospitals. A minority of neurohospitalists (8%) were redeployed to care for COVID-19 or non-COVID-19 medicine patients. The most common neurologic diagnoses they reported in COVID-19 patients were delirium (85%), cerebrovascular events (75%), and seizure (35%); however, most neurohospitalists (59%) had evaluated fewer than 10 patients with COVID-19. Respondents observed that fewer patients with unrelated neurological diseases were admitted to the hospital compared to before the pandemic. Neurohospitalists experienced changes in administrative (27%), educational (15%), and research duties (11%), and had overall worse well-being and work-life balance (77%).

Conclusions

The most common neurologic diagnoses seen in COVID-19 patients by neurohospitalists in this sample are delirium, cerebrovascular disease, and seizure. Though the majority of survey respondents reported not being primary frontline providers, they report key clinical and operational roles during the pandemic, and report worse well-being as compared to before the pandemic. Our data suggests that there are opportunities to improve neurohospitalists' experience through flexible work practices and providing family care support.

One Year on: An Overview of Singapore's Response to COVID-19-What We Did, How We Fared, How We Can Move Forward

Background—One year has passed since the first COVID-19 case in Singapore. This scoping review commemorates Singaporean researchers that have expanded the knowledge on this novel virus. We aim to provide an overview of healthcare-related articles published in peer-reviewed journals, authored by the Singapore research community about COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic. Methods—This was reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) protocol. It included healthcare-related articles about COVID-19 published between 23 January 2020 and 22 January 2021 with a Singapore-affiliated author. MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and local journals were searched. The articles were screened independently by two reviewers. Results—The review included 504 articles. Most of the articles narrated the changes to hospital practice (210), while articles on COVID-19 pathology (94) formed most of the non-narrative papers. Publications on public health (61) and the indirect impacts to clinical outcomes (45) were other major themes explored by the research community. The remaining articles detailed the psychological impact of the pandemic (35), adaptations of medical education (30), and narratives of events (14). Conclusion—Amidst a resurgence of community cases involving variant COVID-19 strains, the resources from the research community will provide valuable guidance to navigate these uncertain times.

Canada's Decentralized "Human-Driven" Approach During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic

A country's early response to a pandemic is critical for controlling the disease outbreak. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of southeast Asian countries adopted centralized, coordinated, rapid, and comprehensive approaches that involved smart technology (the "techno-driven" approach). In comparison, Canada's approach appeared to be decentralized, uncoordinated, and slow, and it focused on educating citizens and enhancing social and human capital (the "human-driven" approach). We propose that in future pandemics, early and coordinated "techno-driven" approaches should receive more careful consideration to curtail outbreaks; however, these approaches must be balanced with protecting individuals' freedoms.