1
|
Melchiorre MG, Cerea S, Socci M, Lamura G. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on frail older people ageing in place alone in two Italian cities: Functional limitations, care arrangements and available services. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0298074. [PMID: 38489312 PMCID: PMC10942073 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
The study aimed to explore and compare effects of lockdown, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, on frail older people living alone at home in Brescia and Ancona, two urban cities located respectively in Northern and Central Italy. This country was the Western epicenter of the first wave of the pandemic (February-May 2020), which affected the two cities differently as for infections, with a more severe impact on the former. A follow-up study of the IN-AGE research project (2019) was carried out in July-September 2020, by means of telephone interviews, involving 41 respondents. Semi-structured questions focused on the effects of the first wave of the pandemic on their mobility and functional limitations, available care arrangements, and access to health services. The lockdown and social distancing measures overall negatively impacted on frail older people living alone, to a different extent in Ancona and Brescia, with a better resilience of home care services in Brescia, and a greater support from the family in Ancona, where however major problems in accessing health services also emerged. Even though the study was exploratory only, with a small sample that cannot be considered as representative of the population, and despite differences between the two cities, findings overall suggested that enhancing home care services, and supporting older people in accessing health services, could allow ageing in place, especially in emergency times.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Gabriella Melchiorre
- Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Ageing, IRCCS INRCA—National Institute of Health and Science on Ageing, Ancona, Italy
| | - Stefania Cerea
- Social Policy Laboratory, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Polytechnic University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco Socci
- Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Ageing, IRCCS INRCA—National Institute of Health and Science on Ageing, Ancona, Italy
| | - Giovanni Lamura
- Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Ageing, IRCCS INRCA—National Institute of Health and Science on Ageing, Ancona, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Abu-Ras W, Ashraf AbuLaban A, Talat AlQaisi S, AlQaisi MTH, Decker E. Orphans in Syria and Iraq Juggling Balls: Wars, COVID-19, and the NGO's financial crisis. Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being 2023; 18:2170010. [PMID: 36744740 PMCID: PMC9904298 DOI: 10.1080/17482631.2023.2170010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic's impact varies between and within nations, causing new forms of inequality. Refugee and orphan children in conflicted areas are more likely to suffer due to poverty, vulnerability, and limited access to essential services including reduction in donor funding. This qualitative study is the first to assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial crisis on Iraqi and Syrian orphaned children and their mothers. The Modified Grounded Theory was used for the preliminary analysis to expand the range of themes. This study has identified five major themes: financial crisis, low educational attainment, child labour, mental health issues, violence, and social problems. The impact of COVID-19 children and adolescents' mental health is of great concern. These multiple crises may significantly impact orphan children and adolescents' cognitive, mental health, and physical development. It is critical to address mental health issues during the current crisis and to plan for possible future pandemics and their intersecting outcomes. A Holistic approach requires providers to be aware of their clients' intersecting circumstances and needs using a range of lenses, including the person in the environment, family dynamics, culture, politics, and structural challenges. Offering food, medical supplies, and housing are considered basic needs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wahiba Abu-Ras
- Adelphi School of Social Work, Garden City, NY, United States,CONTACT Wahiba Abu-Ras Adelphi School of Social Work, One South Avenue Garden City, Garden City, New York11530
| | | | | | | | - Eliza Decker
- MSW Candidate Adelphi School of Social Work, Garden City, NY, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kedia SK, Entwistle C, Lee G, Magaña L, Burke EM, Joshi A. Expectations of employers in the United States for entry-level public health job skills with a bachelor's degree: an analysis of the positions advertised in an online job portal. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1218509. [PMID: 37869185 PMCID: PMC10585022 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1218509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Objectives To analyze the current public health labor market for bachelor's-level graduates. Methods Public health-related job postings (N = 365) from across the United States were collected from an online job portal, Indeed.com, from November 7-14, 2022. Job titles, organization type, degree requirements, work experience, job location, and preferred skills for bachelor's-level public health positions were analyzed. Results Thirty-one job titles were identified. Approximately one-third (32.33%) of postings were from the Northeastern US; 23.56% were from the Southeastern region. Thirty-five job skill categories were identified. Most jobs (92.33%) required oral and written communication skills, and 85.21% specified educational skills for public health promotion. Cultural competency, project management, and case management abilities were also highly sought. Conclusion This study revealed the needs of the public health workforce and bolstered the case that public health degree-seekers should be equipped with a set of strategic skills applicable to a range of multisectoral and multidisciplinary public health jobs. Policy implications Given the rapid changes in the field of public health, ongoing analysis of the labor market benefits educators, employers, and policymakers alike.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Satish K. Kedia
- School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States
| | - Coree Entwistle
- School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States
| | - Guijin Lee
- School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States
| | - Laura Magaña
- Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), Washington, DC, United States
| | - Emily M. Burke
- Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), Washington, DC, United States
| | - Ashish Joshi
- School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Soultatou P, Vardaros S, Bagos PG. School Health Services and Health Education Curricula in Greece: Scoping Review and Policy Plan. Healthcare (Basel) 2023; 11:1678. [PMID: 37372798 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11121678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The new generation's health and wellbeing is of paramount importance: it constitutes United Nations' priority, complies with Children's Rights and responds to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. In this perspective, school health and health education, as facets of the public health domain targeted at young people, deserve further attention after the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic crisis in order to revise policies. The key objectives of this article are (a) to review the evidence generated over a span of two decades (2003-2023), identifying the main policy gaps by taking Greece as a case study, and (b) to provide a concrete and integrated policy plan. Following the qualitative research paradigm, a scoping review is used to identify policy gaps in school health services (SHS) and school health education curricula (SHEC). Data are extracted from four databases: Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar, while the findings are categorized into the following themes following specific inclusion and exclusion criteria: school health services, school health education curricula, school nursing, all with reference to Greece. A corpus of 162 out 282 documents in English and Greek initially accumulated, is finally used. The 162 documents consisted of seven doctoral theses, four legislative texts, 27 conference proceedings, 117 publications in journals and seven syllabuses. Out of the 162 documents, only 17 correspond to the set of research questions. The findings suggest that school health services are not school-based but a function of the primary health care system, whereas health education retains a constantly changing position in school curricula, and several deficiencies in schoolteachers' training, coordination and leadership impede the implementation. Regarding the second objective of this article, a set of policy measures is provided in terms of a problem-solving perspective, towards the reform and integration of school health with health education.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pelagia Soultatou
- Department of Public and Community Health, University of West Attica, 11521 Athens, Greece
| | - Stamatis Vardaros
- Department of Political Science, University of Crete, 74100 Rethymno, Greece
| | - Pantelis G Bagos
- Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, 35100 Lamia, Greece
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Saulnier DD, Duchenko A, Ottilie-Kovelman S, Tediosi F, Blanchet K. Re-evaluating Our Knowledge of Health System Resilience During COVID-19: Lessons From the First Two Years of the Pandemic. Int J Health Policy Manag 2022; 12:6659. [PMID: 37579465 PMCID: PMC10125099 DOI: 10.34172/ijhpm.2022.6659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2022] [Indexed: 08/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Health challenges like coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are becoming increasingly complex, transnational, and unpredictable. Studying health system responses to the COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity to enhance our understanding of health system resilience and establish a clearer link between theoretical concepts and practical ideas on how to build resilience. METHODS This narrative literature review aims to address four questions using a health system resilience framework: (i) What do we understand about the dimensions of resilience? (ii) What aspects of the resilience dimensions remain uncertain? (iii) What aspects of the resilience dimensions are missing from the COVID-19 discussions? and (iv) What has COVID-19 taught us about resilience that is missing from the framework? A scientific literature database search was conducted in December 2020 and in April 2022 to identify publications that discussed health system resilience in relation to COVID-19, excluding articles on psychological and other types of resilience. A total of 63 publications were included. RESULTS There is good understanding around information sharing, flexibility and good leadership, learning, maintaining essential services, and the need for legitimate, interdependent systems. Decision-making, localized trust, influences on interdependence, and transformation remain uncertain. Vertical interdependence, monitoring risks beyond the health system, and consequences of changes on the system were not discussed. Teamwork, actor legitimacy, values, inclusivity, trans-sectoral resilience, and the role of the private sector are identified as lessons from COVID-19 that should be further explored for health system resilience. CONCLUSION Knowledge of health system resilience has continued to cohere following the pandemic. The eventual consequences of system changes and the resilience of subsystems are underexplored. Through governance, the concept of health system resilience can be linked to wider issues raised by the pandemic, like inclusivity. Our findings show the utility of resilience theory for strengthening health systems for crises and the benefit of continuing to refine existing resilience theory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dell D. Saulnier
- Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
- Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anna Duchenko
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Fabrizio Tediosi
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Karl Blanchet
- Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Alberque B, Laporte C, Mondillon L, Baker JS, Mermillod M, Brousse G, Ugbolube UC, Bagheri R, Bouillon-Minois JB, Dutheil F. Prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Healthcare Workers following the First SARS-CoV Epidemic of 2003: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022; 19:13069. [PMID: 36293650 PMCID: PMC9603193 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192013069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The world is still in the grip of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, with putative psychological consequences for healthcare workers (HCWs). Exploring the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the first SARS-CoV-1 epidemic in 2003 may inform us of the long-term effects of the actual pandemic, as well as putative influencing factors such as contact with the virus, time effects, or the importance of some sociodemographic data. This information may help us develop efficient preventive strategies. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of PTSD in HCWs following the SARS-CoV-1 in 2003. PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, Psychinfo, and Web of Science were searched until September 2022. Random-effects meta-analyses were stratified by the time of follow-up. We included 14 studies: 4842 HCWs (32.0 years old, 84% women). The overall prevalence of PTSD was 14% (95CI 10 to 17%). The prevalence of PTSD was 16% (8 to 24%) during the epidemic, 19% (16 to 22%) within 6 months after the epidemic, and 8% (4 to 13%) more than one year after the end of the epidemic. The longest follow-up was three years after the epidemic, with 10% of HCWs with PTSD. Nevertheless, the prevalence of PTSD was significantly lower more than one year after the end of the epidemic than the first six months after the epidemic (Coefficient -10.4, 95CI -17.6 to -3.2, p = 0.007). In conclusion, the prevalence of PTSD in HCWs was high during the first epidemic of SARS-CoV in 2003 and remained high in the long term. The lessons from the SARS-CoV-1 epidemic may help prevent a wave of PTSD following the latest COVID-19 pandemic.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bastien Alberque
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LaPSCo, Physiological and Psychosocial Stress, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Catherine Laporte
- Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, CNRS, Institut Pascal, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Laurie Mondillon
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LaPSCo, Physiological and Psychosocial Stress, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Julien S. Baker
- Centre for Health and Exercise Science Research, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | | | - George Brousse
- Département de Psychiatrie, Université Clermont Auvergne, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, EA 7280 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Ukadike Chris Ugbolube
- School of Health and Life Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, South Lanarkshire G72 0LH, UK
| | - Reza Bagheri
- Department of Exercise Physiology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan 81746-73441, Iran
| | - Jean-Baptiste Bouillon-Minois
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LaPSCo, Physiological and Psychosocial Stress, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Frédéric Dutheil
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LaPSCo, Physiological and Psychosocial Stress, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| |
Collapse
|