Fear of the novel coronavirus

The Impact of COVID-19 on Psychiatric Acuity in a Community Psychiatric Hospital

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has had extensive impacts on mental health care delivery. Anecdotal observations of inpatient care teams at Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute suggested increased patient acuity during the pandemic. The authors found no consensus definition for measuring psychiatric acuity in the literature. We performed an interrupted time series analysis to identify whether COVID-19 was associated with changes in several hospital parameters that might reflect our patients' access to psychiatric services and acuity. We found increases in inpatient parameters for length of stay, rates of involuntary admissions, and the incidence of restraints, seclusion, and 1:1 observation orders. Observing these increasing trends can inform mitigation efforts to improve the quality of mental health care treatment and care delivery. We suggest the use of these metrics for objective measurements of psychiatric acuity.

Business or Hope? The Vaccine of the Day after, a Life Expectancy

This approach reflects the moments when humanity was infected by the new pandemic from a health point of view. The acceleration to find the vaccine that will protect us from the pandemic brings some interesting questions from the point of view of possible side effects and from the point of view of the economy. The growing interest in first producing the so-called ‘morning after’ vaccine calls into question whether this is a purely scientific act open to all countries of the world free of charge. Along the way, there are still the interests of many companies that have been favoured in one way or another to increase their profits. The analysis exposes the paradigm of health versus economy, of life expectancy versus business. Within this framework, humanity is discussed as a balance, perhaps taken advantage of by some of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies located in the strongest countries in the market, to the detriment of the weakest.

Mental Health Among College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

This study examines the prevalence and severity of stress, anxiety, depression, and substance use among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic at a Hispanic-serving institution. The aim of the study is to increase knowledge about student mental health during a public health emergency in order to help develop strategies that promote student success. Using the Perceived Stress Scale-4 (PSS-4) and the Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression and Anxiety-4 (PHQ-4), we found high levels of stress, depression, and anxiety in the sample. Based on these findings, we propose a greater investment of time and resources to promote mental health and positive coping strategies among college students through culturally competent mental health and supportive programs.

Investigation of the Perceived Coronavirus Threat, E-Health Literacy, and Psychological Well-Being in Turkey

This study aims to examine the relationship between e-health literacy, psychological well-being, and perceived coronavirus disease threat in people aged 18 and over living in Turkey. Another aim of the study is to reveal whether the participants' perceptions about the threat of coronavirus disease, e-health literacy, and psychological well-being differ according to various socio-demographic characteristics. Data was collected from 5153 people through a questionnaire created via Google Form on the Internet. The data collection process was carried out on April 22-27, 2020. According to the result of the regression analysis made in line with the data obtained; it was determined that the perceived coronavirus threat explained 4.6% of the total variance on psychological well-being and 2.7% of the total variance on e-health literacy; and finally, e-health literacy explained 18.6% of the total variance on psychological well-being. The study also revealed that the participants' scores regarding the perceived coronavirus threat show statistically significant differences depending on age, gender, marital status, education level, place of residence, income level, having a chronic disease, regular drug use, smoking use, the degree of information about the coronavirus disease and watching TV programs about the current coronavirus news. As a result of this research, it is thought that individuals should minimize their perception of coronavirus threats by increasing their e-health literacy levels, and thus, their psychological well-being levels should be increased.

The Relationship Between Social Media Digitalization and Coronavirus Disease 2019 Fear Among Service Sector Employees

In the age of digitalization, social media has played a significant role in quickly spreading the news about current affairs. From December 2019 to now, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with its several mutated shapes, has more transmissible potential catastrophe and has become a severe phenomenon issue worldwide. The international spread of the epidemic has created fear among people, especially employees working physically in different organizations. The present research aimed to measure the impact of social media on its users in the China. The social media users more often were influenced by shocking news instructively and destructively. The research analysis was based on service sector employees and data collected from 630 respondents via a structured questionnaire. This research was confirmed the negative impact of fear on social media on the performance of employees. This research was also confirmed the moderation impact of the COVID-19 vaccine on the relationship between social media fear and employee performance. This research recommends that the China Censor Board checked the news and its validity to reduce the fear of COVID-19 among employees. This research will become a roadmap for organizations and media controllers to understand the impact of social media during an intense situation. The telecommunication sector will reduce psychological disease and enhance the work capability of employees by controlling unnecessary and unapproved material about sensitive issues.

Healthcare Workers' Emotions, Stressor Experiences and Coping Strategies During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Vietnam

Purpose

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are a crucial resource in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic but are vulnerable to both SARS-CoV-2 infection and negative psychological consequences. This study evaluated HCWs’ emotions, stressor experiences and coping strategies during the pandemic.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs at the University Medical Center in Ho Chi Minh City. The questionnaire was adapted from the MERS-CoV Staff Questionnaire to measure HCWs’ emotions, stressor experiences and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results

Among the 1423 participants eligible in the data analysis, the majority were female (71.1%) with a mean age of 34.2 (standard deviation 7.8) years. While most participants reported that they did their job because of their professionalism and duty as HCWs (87.4%), a high number reported feeling nervous and scared (86.0%). Most participants reported worry about transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to their families or friends (76.6%) and concern that a small mistake or lapse in concentration could infect themselves and others (76.7%). The most common coping strategies were following strict personal protective measures (95.3%), avoiding going out (92.5%) and reading about SARS-CoV-2 (92.3%). Females who had a higher educational level and less than 5-years work experience and those who worked at clinical departments and subclinical departments were more vulnerable.

Conclusion

This study indicates an urgent need for psychological support for HCWs, especially for those at high risk of having stress. Interventions and support should utilize psychological resources and approaches effectively to adapt to the new situation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Perceived Stress and Coping Strategies During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Public Health and Preventive Medicine Students in Vietnam

PURPOSE

Little is known about the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on public health and preventive medicine students, particularly in resource-limited countries. This study evaluated stress level in this population in Vietnam and their coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2020 among 563 public health and preventive medicine students. A structured questionnaire included background information, the level of stress measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and coping strategies evaluated by the Brief COPE. To compare the PSS score and Brief COPE score among participants with different characteristics, two-sided t tests or ANOVA tests were used when appropriate.

RESULTS

Most participants were females (71.4%), and the mean age was 21.6 years old (SD = 2.1). Almost all had moderate to high levels of knowledge, attitude and skill toward COVID-19 prevention and protection. The mean PSS score was 17.02 (SD 4.06), and more than 80% had a certain level of stress. The mean score of approach coping strategies was higher than avoidant coping strategies (2.74 and 1.84). Students with a high level of stress had a higher preference for avoidance coping strategies.

CONCLUSION

Although students reported relatively good knowledge, attitude and skill as well as the preference for adaptive coping strategies, they experienced a high level of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of public health education on undue fear of COVID-19 among nurses: The mediating role of psychological capital

This study looked into the mechanism through which health education can reduce the fear of being infected with COVID-19 because health education helps individuals to improve their knowledge and attitudes towards a disease. The spread of COVID-19 has escalated the level of fear among public and nurses. Nevertheless, the mechanism that contributes to minimize the fear towards this pandemic remains unexplored. A cross-sectional survey was adopted to test the relationships among public health education, psychological capital, and fear of COVID-19. In total, 243 responses were obtained via online survey from nurses. The results revealed that public health education can reduce one's fear of COVID-19. Psychological capital emerged as a strong explanatory mechanism for the phenomenon. Drawing on spillover theory, public health education seems to reduce fear of COVID-19 with the mediating role of psychological capital. Limitations and future directions are at the end of this paper. The study outcomes revealed that organizations should focus on educating nursing staff to overcome fear of COVID-19. One way to induce positivity among nursing staff is by holding trainings.

The Reasons for Higher Mortality Rate in Opium Addicted Patients with COVID-19: A Narrative Review

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused COVID-19 has developed into an unexampled worldwide pandemic. The most important cause of death in patients with COVID-19 is Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Opium is widely used for its analgesic features in control of acute and chronic pain related to different diseases. Opium consumption is increased over the last three decades and leads to adverse effects on the respiratory system; opium also affects the lungs' functions and respiration. The contemplative issue is the higher mortality rate due to SARS-CoV-2 infection in opium addicts' patients. Studies have shown that despite the decrease in proinflammatory cytokines production in opium addicts, there are at least 4 reasons for this increase in mortality rate: downregulation of IFNs expression, development of pulmonary edema, increase thrombotic factors, increase the expression of Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Therefore, identifying the causes of mortality and approved therapies for the treatment of COVID-19 patients who use opium for any reason is an important unmet need to reduce SARS-CoV-2 infection-related mortality. This review study demonstrated the effects of opium on immune responses and the reasons for the higher mortality rate in opium addicts' patients with COVID-19.

The prognostic value of comorbidity for the severity of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

With the increase in the number of COVID-19 infections, the global health apparatus is facing insufficient resources. The main objective of the current study is to provide additional data regarding the clinical characteristics of the patients diagnosed with COVID-19, and in particular to analyze the factors associated with disease severity, lack of improvement, and mortality.

METHODS

102 studies were included in the present meta-analysis, all of which were published before September 24, 2020. The studies were found by searching a number of databases, including Scopus, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Embase. We performed a thorough search from early February until September 24. The selected papers were evaluated and analyzed using Stata software application version 14.

RESULTS

Ultimately, 102 papers were selected for this meta- analysis, covering 121,437 infected patients. The mean age of the patients was 58.42 years. The results indicate a prevalence of 79.26% for fever (95% CI: 74.98-83.26; I2 = 97.35%), 60.70% for cough (95% CI: 56.91-64.43; I2 = 94.98%), 33.21% for fatigue or myalgia (95% CI: 28.86-37.70; I2 = 96.12%), 31.30% for dyspnea (95% CI: 26.14-36.69; I2 = 97.67%), and 10.65% for diarrhea (95% CI: 8.26-13.27; I2 = 94.20%). The prevalence for the most common comorbidities was 28.30% for hypertension (95% CI: 23.66-33.18; I2 = 99.58%), 14.29% for diabetes (95% CI: 11.88-16.87; I2 = 99.10%), 12.30% for cardiovascular diseases (95% CI: 9.59-15.27; I2 = 99.33%), and 5.19% for chronic kidney disease (95% CI: 3.95-6.58; I2 = 96.42%).

CONCLUSIONS

We evaluated the prevalence of some of the most important comorbidities in COVID-19 patients, indicating that some underlying disorders, including hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic kidney disease, can be considered as risk factors for patients with COVID-19 infection. Furthermore, the results show that an elderly male with underlying diseases is more likely to have severe COVID-19.

Anxiety, meaning in life, self-efficacy and resilience in families with one or more members with special educational needs and disability during COVID-19 pandemic in Greece

BACKGROUND

According to World Health Organization, the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the world inducing considerable fear, worry and concern in the population.

AIMS

This study explores anxiety, meaning in life, self-efficacy and resilience in university students belonging to families with one or more members with SEND during the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece, the differences between participants and the regression coefficients.

METHODS & PROCEDURES

Study population consisted of 61 participants, aged 20-58 years. A Self-report Questionnaire, the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Resilience Scale and the Brief Resilience Scale were used for data collection.

OUTCOMES & RESULTS

Participants presented higher levels of anxiety, meaning in life (presence), general self-efficacy and resilience (than average scale). Parents had higher values than university students in state anxiety, state-trait anxiety (total), meaning in life (presence) and resilience. Individuals with higher levels of resilience and meaning in life had lower anxiety levels. A significant correlation was observed for the regression coefficients according to pathway analysis.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Families having members with SEND, although experiencing difficult situations and anxiety due to the unprecedented conditions of the pandemic, activate mechanisms, such as self-efficacy, meaning in life and resilience, to maintain their balance and mental health.

Burnout, Psychological Capital and Health during COVID-19 Social Isolation: A Longitudinal Analysis

Background: Drawing on the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic and its sanitary measures on coping strategies for preserving health, it is also necessary to add exposure to certain work stressors, such as burnout. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of the confinement situation caused by COVID-19 on the levels of self-perceived health and psychological capital in a sample of workers, as well as to analyze whether exposure to burnout before social isolation would help to explain the levels of health and psychological capital. Methods: Data were collected in a longitudinal design. Time 1 surveys (December 2019) were sent to a sample of 354 Spanish workers while in Time 2 (April 2020) the employees completed 235 questionnaires. Results: Our findings indicate a significant worsening of employees’ health perception (t = −4.13; p < 0.01) and psychological capital (4.10, p < 0.01) levels during mandatory confinement in Spain. Our results also revealed that emotional exhaustion is the only burnout dimension capable of explaining the variance of health while self-efficacy does regarding psychological capital. Conclusion: We conclude a significant reduction in self-perceived health and psychological capital during COVID-19 mandatory confinement, and that burnout acts as a predictor variable in both health and psychological capital variance.

Work Resumption After Epidemic Using Three-Way Decisions

After the epidemic, all enterprises are faced with the difficult decision about whether the enterprise should resume work and production immediately, which is related to the safety and development of enterprises. The three-way decisions offer a novel study perspective to solve this problem. Firstly, we describe some relevant attributes of the enterprise with double hierarchy hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets, and construct double hierarchy hesitant fuzzy linguistic information systems for each enterprise. Secondly, we get the weights of attributes with the entropy weight method, and take the weighted aggregation of attributes information as the conditional probability that the enterprise is in a safe state. Next, we classify each enterprise according to its size. Considering the influence of different sizes of enterprises, we put forward the corresponding loss function matrix. Then we get the decision results about work resumption based on the principle of minimizing the loss, which demonstrates the practicability and effectiveness of our method. Finally, we compare the method proposed by us with the other method and discuss the advantages and limitations of our proposed method.

Genetic Aspects and Immune Responses in Covid-19: Important Organ Involvement

In the last two decades, the world has experienced outbreaks of three major coronaviruses with high morbidity and mortality rates. The most recent of these started in the form of an unusual viral pneumonia in Wuhan, China, and now the world is facing a serious pandemic. This new disease has been called COVID-19 and is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Understanding the specific genetic and phenotypic structure of SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 pathogenesis is vital in finding appropriate drugs and vaccines. With this in mind, this review sheds light on the virology, genetics, immune-responses, and mechanism of action of this virus.

Is Higher Subjective Fear Predictive of Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in a Sample of the Chinese General Public?

Background: COVID-19 has taken a huge toll on medical resources and the economy and will inevitably have an impact on public mental health. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as the most common mental illness after an epidemic, must be seriously addressed. This study aimed to investigate the subjective fear of the Chinese general public during COVID-19 and to explore how it affected the development of PTSD. Methods: An online questionnaire survey was conducted among 1,009 people from January 30 to February 14, 2020 (about 1 month after the COVID-19 outbreak). The subjective fear was measured by a self-reported single-choice question. Four items from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were selected to measure the subjects' sleep quality. Their post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) were measured by the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Pearson correlation, hierarchical multivariate regression analysis, multiple mediator model, and bootstrapping were used in statistical analyses. Results: Different people showed different levels of subjective fear in response to the outbreak. There was a significant positive correlation between subjective fear and the total score of PCL-5 (R = 0.513, P < 0.01), meaning that the higher the degree of subjective fear, the more severe the symptoms of post-traumatic stress are. Subjective fear was an important predictor of PTSS, accounting for 24.3% of the variance. The total effect of subjective fear on PCL-5 scores was significant (total effect = 7.426, SE = 0.405, 95% CI = 6.631-8.221). The total indirect effect of subjective fear on PCL-5 scores through sleep quality was also significant (total indirect effect = 1.945, SE = 0.258, 95% CI = 1.436-2.470). Conclusions: Subjective fear has an important predictive effect on PTSS. In addition to the direct effect, our findings firstly demonstrate the mediating role of sleep quality in the relationship between subjective fear and PTSS.

Global scenario, public health concerns and mitigation strategies to counter current ongoing SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 pandemic

Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus- 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has posed a great public health threat to the global community as a pandemic. The origin of the virus has been linked to animals, through a yet-to-be-identified intermediate host. The disease is transmitted to humans mainly through inhalation or contact with infected droplets. The variable clinical presentation of COVID-19 includes fever, cough, sore throat, breathlessness, fatigue and malaise; however, cutaneous, ocular, neurological, and gastrointestinal manifestations have also been reported. There is an urgent need to strengthen One Health surveillance, intervention, and management strategies to understand the ecology of coronaviruses and to prevent epidemics in the future. Global attention toward the development of treatments, immunotherapies, vaccines, and control options to combat the COVID-19 pandemic has been on an increasing trend. Here, we review the current epidemiological status, public health concerns, and mitigation strategies for COVID-19.

Prevalence of underlying diseases in died cases of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Underlying disease have a critical role in vulnerability of populations for a greater morbidity and mortality when they suffer from COVID-19. The aim of current study is evaluating the prevalence of underlying disease in died people with COVID-19.

METHODS

The current study have been conducted according to PRISMA guideline. International database including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane and google scholar were searched for relevant studies up to 1 June. All relevant articles that reported underlying disease in died cases of COVID-19 were included in the analysis.

RESULTS

After screening and excluding duplicated and irrelevant studies, 32 articles included in the analysis. The most prevalent comorbidities were hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, lung disease, malignancy, cerebrovascular disease, COPD and asthma. Among all reported underlying disease, highest and lowest prevalence was related to hypertension and asthma which were estimated 46% (37% - 55%) and 3% (2%- 6%), respectively.

CONCLUSION

In summary, underlying disease have a critical role in poor outcomes, severity of disease and high mortality rate of COVID-19 cases. Patients with hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes should be carefully monitored and be aware of health protocols.

A national cross-sectional survey of public perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic: Self-reported beliefs, knowledge, and behaviors

Introduction

Efforts to mitigate the global spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) have largely relied on broad compliance with public health recommendations yet navigating the high volume of evolving information can be challenging. We assessed self-reported public perceptions related to COVID-19 including, beliefs (e.g., severity, concerns, health), knowledge (e.g., transmission, information sources), and behaviors (e.g., physical distancing) to understand perspectives in Canada and to inform future public health initiatives.

Methods

We administered a national online survey aiming to obtain responses from 2000 adults in Canada. Respondent sampling was stratified by age, sex, and region. We used descriptive statistics to summarize responses and tested for regional differences using chi-squared tests, followed by weighted logistic regression.

Results

We collected 1,996 eligible questionnaires between April 26^th and May 1^st, 2020. One-fifth (20%) of respondents knew someone diagnosed with COVID-19, but few had tested positive themselves (0.6%). Negative impacts of pandemic conditions were evidenced in several areas, including concerns about healthcare (e.g. sufficient equipment, 52%), pandemic stress (45%), and worsening social (49%) and mental/emotional (39%) health. Most respondents (88%) felt they had good to excellent knowledge of virus transmission, and predominantly accessed (74%) and trusted (60%) Canadian news television, newspapers/magazines, or non-government news websites for COVID-19 information. We found high compliance with distancing measures (80% reported self-isolating or always physical distancing). We identified associations between region and self-reported beliefs, knowledge, and behaviors related to COVID-19.

Discussion

We found that information about COVID-19 is largely acquired through domestic news sources, which may explain high self-reported compliance with prevention measures. The results highlight the broader impact of a pandemic on the general public’s overall health and wellbeing, outside of personal infection. The study findings should be used to inform public health communications during COVID-19 and future pandemics.

The Adoption of Preventive Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China and Israel

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. The rapid transmission rate of the virus, as well as the lack of effective medications and vaccines, has posed serious challenges to controlling the spread of the disease. Dealing with this public health crisis has required major changes in people’s behavior, including the adoption of social distancing measures such as avoiding meeting with family members and friends, crowded places, and public transportation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors associated with the adoption of these behaviors in China and Israel. We relied on the 3Cs model that has been used to predict the adoption of a specific preventive behavior (vaccinations) with the goal of testing its applicability to other preventive behaviors such as in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The model indicates that confidence in social institutions, complacency (fear of and assessments about the risk of becoming ill) and constraints (levels of self-efficacy and confidence in being able to engage in the behaviors) are predictors of adopting preventive behaviors. Data were collected in China and Israel through an online survey of the population (n = 1406). We used latent variables and structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses derived from the 3Cs model. The findings indicate that there are some differences in the types of preventive behaviors adopted in the two countries. In Israel, higher levels of confidence predicted the adoption of avoidant behaviors and more constraints predicted engaging in fewer avoidant behaviors. In China, more constraints also contributed to the adoption of fewer avoidant behaviors, but people’s level of confidence fully mediated this result. The multi-group analysis indicated that the conceptualized model fits the Chinese and Israeli data reasonably well. The findings suggest that the 3Cs model can be generalized from getting vaccinated to adopting avoidant behaviors and that the model can be used across cultures and countries.

A Longitudinal Study on the Emotional Impact Cause by the COVID-19 Pandemic Quarantine on General Population

COVID-19 pandemic represents, not only a public physical health emergency, but a mental health serious problem as well. However, little is known about the psychological impact of the quarantine during this pandemic. The aim of this study is to assess the emotional impact of the lockdown measures imposed by the Argentinian government to fight the virus. For this, a survey was distributed on social network. We surveyed the Argentinian general population twice: 2 days after the mandatory quarantine started (time 1), and 2 weeks later (time 2). Anxiety levels were assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-II; and affect was assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. A total of 6057 people answered both surveys. In addition, different socio-demographic factors were considered, such as risk factors for COVID-19, age, gender, educational level, variation in family income due to quarantine, number of children, whether they have older adults in charge or not and the number of hours viewing information about COVID-19. Statistically significant variations were observed between the two time points. The effect size, however, was very small. Depression tends to increase slightly, while levels of anxiety and affect (positive and negative) tend to decrease. Also, some slight differences related to the socio-demographic factors were found. Findings suggests that sustaining the lockdown measures could have a larger effect on mental health in the long term. It is necessary to continue monitoring emotional distress and other related mental health problems on the general population. It is also necessary to create programs aimed at promoting mental health, and to distribute information about it.

Covid-19 and the impacts on mental health: a sample from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Pandemics such as that of COVID-19 affect a relatively large number of people and impose new rules and social habits on the world population. Information about the pandemic is constant in the media. Moreover, social distancing has been adopted in Brazil to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which may have economic and psychosocial consequences. This study aimed to verify the factors associated with indicators of mental disorders symptoms in residents of Rio Grande do Sul during the initial period of the social distancing policy. The study was approved by CONEP. There were 799 participants, aged between 18 and 75 years (M = 36.56; SD = 12.88); 82.7% were women, who answered a sociodemographic questionnaire of social distancing and the Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20). The results indicated that having decreased income in the period, being part of the risk group and being more exposed to information about deaths and infected, are factors that can significantly harm mental health in this pandemic period. Investigating social determinants that contribute to greater vulnerability to the mental illness of the population is vital in the field of collective health for the planning of public actions and policies.

A cross-sectional study of Persian medicine and the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran: Rumors and recommendations

Background

Traditional medicine structures such as Persian medicine (PM) are deeply rooted in the global health system. These modalities, if applied correctly, could help health systems overcome situations such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the mismanagement of such traditional structures results in fear, stress, anxiety, and risky behavior among society. The current study aimed to assess the penetration of the recommendations and rumors related to PM during the COVID-19 pandemic and the relationships of these recommendations and rumors with related health factors.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study performed in March 2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic) in southern Iran, eligible participants were randomly selected. The participants completed a 29-item online questionnaire assessing different aspects of the rumors and recommendations pertaining to PM linked with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results

In total, 523 participants took part in the survey. The mean fear score was 65.2/100. Approximately 99% of the study population had heard at least one of the rumors/recommendations of PM related to COVID-19. The average scores of disagreement with the rumors and recommendations linked to PM were 16.4/50 and 18.4/35, respectively. The fear score and the level of disagreement with the rumors were significantly related (p = 0.024).

Conclusions

The use of PM might be beneficial in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic provided that a revolution occurs in data sharing. Various approaches should be considered in the management of traditional medicine modalities such as PM during disease outbreaks to help overcome the current dilemma.

Psychological Influence of Coronovirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic on the General Public, Medical Workers, and Patients With Mental Disorders and its Countermeasures

Background: Coronovirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first broke out in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in 2019, and now it spreads in more than 100 countries around the world. On January 30th, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern. It was classified as a pandemic by the WHO on March 11, 2020. With the increase in the number of cases reported by various countries every day, the COVID-19 pandemic has attracted more and more attention around the world. At the same time, this public health emergency has caused a variety of psychological problems, such as panic disorder, anxiety, and depression. In addition, the Wuhan Mental Health Center's analysis of 2144 calls from the psychological hotline from February 4 to February 20, 2020, showed that the general public accounted for 70%, medical workers accounted for 2.2%, patients with mental disorders accounted for 19.5%, and other personnel accounted for 8.3% (https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/kmff1vnaLsT2d9xQkK5pwg). Conclusion: Therefore, while controlling the pandemic, the government should also pay attention to the mental health of the general public, medical workers, and patients with mental disorders. Community mental health service systems, online mental health services, telemedicine, and other measures for patients with mental disorders may play a vital role during the pandemic.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic and Economic Impact

In less than two decades, the world has experienced three outbreaks of deadly Coronaviruses, including the recent pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China. COVID-19 posed an emergency of international concerns, and cases have been reported in more than 200 countries/regions that resulted in health, lives, and economic losses. China’s economic growth is projected to fall to 5.6% this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that policy investment and tax policies to implement $3.3 trillion and contributes further $4.5 trillion. IMF forecasts grow from 3.7% of global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 to 9.9% in 2020. GDP ratio projected from 3.0% in 2019 to grow 10.7% in 2020, the US ratio expected to increase from 5.8% to 15.7%. France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom (UK) each reported public sector funding programs totalling > 10% of their yearly GDP. There is a dire need for regional and international co-operation to extend hands to prevent further spreading of COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a scoping review

BackgroundIn December 2019, a pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan, China and has rapidly spread around the world since then.AimThis study aims to understand the research gaps related to COVID-19 and propose recommendations for future research.MethodsWe undertook a scoping review of COVID-19, comprehensively searching databases and other sources to identify literature on COVID-19 between 1 December 2019 and 6 February 2020. We analysed the sources, publication date, type and topic of the retrieved articles/studies.ResultsWe included 249 articles in this scoping review. More than half (59.0%) were conducted in China. Guidance/guidelines and consensuses statements (n = 56; 22.5%) were the most common. Most (n = 192; 77.1%) articles were published in peer-reviewed journals, 35 (14.1%) on preprint servers and 22 (8.8%) posted online. Ten genetic studies (4.0%) focused on the origin of SARS-CoV-2 while the topics of molecular studies varied. Nine of 22 epidemiological studies focused on estimating the basic reproduction number of COVID-19 infection (R0). Of all identified guidance/guidelines (n = 35), only ten fulfilled the strict principles of evidence-based practice. The number of articles published per day increased rapidly until the end of January.ConclusionThe number of articles on COVID-19 steadily increased before 6 February 2020. However, they lack diversity and are almost non-existent in some study fields, such as clinical research. The findings suggest that evidence for the development of clinical practice guidelines and public health policies will be improved when more results from clinical research becomes available.