How has the University Community Been Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic? An Iranian Survey

Wellbeing Convene during COVID-19: A pilot intervention for improving wellbeing and social connectedness for staff, students, residents, and faculty

Background

Canada is facing its worst crisis among healthcare workers in recent healthcare history. Anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and severe burnout are higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic. University Faculties of Medicine (FoMs) are vital to healthcare systems. Not only are they responsible for training personnel, but clinicians and staff from FoMs often work directly within healthcare systems. FoMs include students, staff, residents, faculty members, residents, researchers, and others, many experiencing higher stress levels due to pandemic tensions. Most FoMs emphasize cognitive and psychomotor learning needs. On the other hand, affective learning needs are not as well addressed within most FoMs. Finding innovative means to ameliorate mental and emotional health status, particularly at this critical juncture, will improve health and wellness, productivity, and retention. This article discusses a pilot program, Wellbeing Convene during COVID-19, in a Canadian FoM, which aimed to (1) provide staff, faculty, residents, and students with a toolkit for greater wellbeing and (2) build a sense of community during isolating times.

Results

Participants found the program beneficial in both regards. We recommend that these kinds of programs be permanently available to all members in FoMs, at no cost. Wellness programs alone, however, will not solve the root causes of mental and emotional stress, often based on concerns related to finances, hierarchical workplace structures, and nature of the work itself, among other factors.

Conclusion

Addressing the mental and emotional health of people in FoMs is vital to improving productivity and reducing stress of FoMs, healthcare professionals, and, ultimately, patients.

Job Satisfaction and Overcoming the Challenges of Teleworking in Times of COVID-19: A Pilot Study Among Iranian University Community

The coronavirus pandemic changed the academic world in many ways, and most academic institutions continue operating through teleworking. The aim of the present study was to determine how satisfied the university community (faculty/staff members and students) in Iran has been with remote work, and the ways in which they have dealt with the lockdown and working from home during the coronavirus pandemic. A survey was conducted among 196 academics from different universities in Iran. The results show that a majority of our participants (54%) are very or somewhat satisfied with the current work-from-home arrangement. The most frequently used methods for managing the challenges of teleworking were social contacts with colleagues or classmates at a distance, solidarity and offering kindness and support to the people around them. The least used coping method was trusting state or local health authorities in Iran. The coping strategies that have the highest impact on overall teleworking satisfaction are "Make myself busy with my working day because it makes me feel useful,""I care for my mental and physical health," and "Think about what I can do rather than what I can't do." The findings were discussed in detail, taking into consideration the theoretical approaches, as well as bringing forth more dynamic aspects of the culture.

Living through a Global Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Psychological Resilience of the University Population in Iran

AIMS

This study aimed to describe and understand the individual and social dimensions of resiliency among Iranian academics as professionals during the early wave of the ongoing pandemic. Furthermore, we aimed to emphasize the cultural context in our analysis.

METHOD

A cross-sectional survey design was adopted. We used convenient sampling, administered through an online survey, among academics at Iranian universities (n = 196, 75% women). We employed the CD-RISC 2 instrument, items on life meaning, and a modified version of Pargament's RCOPE instrument (Meaning, Control, Comfort/Spirituality, Intimacy/Spirituality, and Life Transformation).

RESULTS

The results revealed a strong level of resilience among men (M = 5.78) and women (M = 5.52). Self-rated health was rated as excellent, very good, or good among a majority (92%) of the participants, more so among men. Family was one of the factors that most strongly gave life meaning, followed by friends, work/school, and religion/spirituality. There was a strong correlation between self-rated health and life as part of a greater whole, being alone, and listening to the sounds of the surrounding nature.

CONCLUSIONS

Both personal and social levels of resilience and meaning-making are seen in the results, with an ability to balance between obstacles and resources. Cultural practices are interdependent, which also include the individual and social dimensions of resiliency and meaning-making.

When a Pandemic Strikes: Resilience of Swedish Academics in the Face of Coronavirus

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the world with severe health consequences, affecting some populations more than others. One understudied population is the academic community. This study, part of a larger project looking at COVID-19 in Sweden and internationally, aims to understand the individual and collective dimensions of resilience among academics in Sweden during the early wave of the pandemic.

METHOD

A quantitative research design was applied for this cross-sectional study. We used simple random sampling, administered through an online survey, on academics at Swedish universities (n = 278, 64% women). We employed the CD-RISC 2 (the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale) to measure personal/individual resilience, additional items for social/collective resilience, and a meaning-making coping instrument (meaning, control, comfort/spirituality, intimacy/spirituality, life transformation).

RESULTS

The results revealed a strong level of personal/individual resilience among men (M = 6.05) and a level just below strong among women (M = 5.90). By age group, those 35-49-year-olds showed strong resilience (M = 6.31). Family was the dominant social/collective resilience factor, followed by friends, nature, work/school, and, lastly, religion/spirituality. There was a positive and significant correlation between self-rated health and personal/individual resilience (r = 0.252, p = 0.001) and positive but weak correlations and negative significant correlations between personal/individual resilience and religious coping methods.

CONCLUSIONS

During the pandemic, the family took priority in meaning-making, which is an interesting change in a strong individual-oriented society such as Sweden.

Coping Methods and Satisfaction with Working from Home in Academic Settings during the COVID-19 Pandemic

In this paper, we examined how university staff and students coped with challenges related to working or studying from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the level of satisfaction with working from home. An online survey was conducted among faculty, staff, and students at universities in 24 countries (n = 674). The results show that over 80% of the respondents used multiple coping methods. Three clusters of coping methods were generated through factor analysis: (1) social and health factor, with focus on personal health and the social surrounding, (2) activity factor, i.e., being busy with work or studies, finding up-to-date information about COVID-19, while thinking about what one could do rather than what one could not do, and (3) public health factor, which meant trusting health authorities while avoiding misinformation from sources such as social media. Furthermore, 56% of the respondents were very or somewhat satisfied with working from home. Differences in the methods of coping and satisfaction with working from home highlight the need for employers to prepare for working from home beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Existential Meaning-Making Coping in Iran: A Qualitative Study among Patients with Cancer

This article is written on the basis of a study on meaning-making coping in Iran. The study is a part of an international project in 10 countries with different religious and cultural backgrounds. This article aims to discuss the secular existential meaning-making coping methods employed by Iranian cancer patients. Interviews were conducted with 27 participants with various kinds of cancer. Nine secular existential meaning-making coping strategies emerged from the analyses of the qualitative interviews. These coping methods are as follows: Ignoring the illness, Distraction, Altruism, Encounter with others, Nature, Discourse of the self, Visualization, Positive solitude, and Positive thinking and transformational orientation. It seems that, using these strategies, our sample of Iranian cancer patients/survivors have been denying/ignoring their illness, and/or empowering themselves. We discuss the results, considering the potential influence of cultural elements, including Iranian Islam, Persian mysticism, and Persian literature, on the selection of the coping strategies. The study contributes to our understanding of coping via elucidating how seriously ill individuals in Iran try to manage the challenges caused by a health crisis.