Challenges to manage pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Iran with a special situation: a qualitative multi-method study.

BACKGROUND: With the unprecedented expansion of COVID-19 in the world since December 2019, Iran's health system, like other countries, faced various challenges in managing the disease, which led to numerous experiences and lessons learned. This study was conducted to identify these challenges regarding unique political, economic, and cultural issues, which could help other countries with similar situations. METHODS: The present study was performed using a qualitative multi-method approach with a content analysis method. The data were collected through in-depth and semi-structured interviews and focused group discussions with 60 key persons who were selected purposefully, including policymakers, health care workers, and affected people by the disease, and the review of all available national reports between February 21, 2020, and March 22, 2021. The data collection and analysis were done simultaneously. RESULTS: Identified critical challenges for the management of COVID-19 in the health system were limited evidence and scientific controversies, poor social prevention and social inequalities, burnout and sustained workload among healthcare workers, improper management of resources and equipment, the lack of a guideline for contact tracing, and patient flow management, and mental health problems in the community. CONCLUSIONS: According to our results, measures should be taken to conduct a continuous comprehensive risk assessment and develop a national response plan with an emphasis on precise contact tracing, active screening, patient flow, paying attention to the psychological and social dimensions of the disease, and also transparency of social inequalities in the face of risk factors of the COVID-19. Also, the social protection programs should become a vital tool for policymakers and supporting the vulnerable groups using the capacity of the community and international cooperation to develop a vaccine, which is difficult to procure due to the sanctions.

Applied distance learning methods in disaster preparedness: A systematic review.

Nowadays, accidents and disasters are one of the most important issues facing humans. Training is an important feature in disasters and distance learning is a suitable method for education in every place and at every time. The aim of this study is to determine distance learning methods in disaster preparedness. This study was conducted to this question: what types of distance learning methods can use in disaster preparedness?". In this study, all published English language papers, with no time limit, were extracted by the end of December 2021 through search in PubMed, Scopus, Google scholar, ISI WOS (Web of Science), and Embase. The primary search used "distance learning", "disaster" and their MeSH terms. Quality appraisal carried out with CASP. Information in the articles including study time, study population, e-learning methods, and type of disasters or emergencies were extracted. Based on the search, 46 studies were carried out between 2002 and 2021. The most studied target group in the studies was health professionals and the content of the courses was attributed to disaster preparedness as well as biological disasters. Regarding e-learning methods, the most used method was 'simulation'. At the time of disasters, including pandemics, disruption in education may be long-term and may require overlapping response and recovery periods. And virtual education during a disaster may be rejected or endorsed by individuals or groups based on cultural, ideological, or prejudicial issues. Distance education can be used for effective disaster education in different phases of the disaster cycle, depending on the available facilities and infrastructure.

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Environmental Health (Two Sides of the Same Coin): A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019 has led to many changes such as reduced human activities and effects on the environment. There is no big picture of the effects of pandemics on the environment using related evidence. OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on environmental health. METHODS: A systematic search of English language studies was performed in major electronic databases; Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Google scholar web search engine from December 2019 to February 2022. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standard guidelines were used to follow up the review process. finally 58 articles entered the review procedure. RESULTS: The results of indicate a significant reduction of air pollutants and improved air quality. It improved the water quality of some rivers, canals, and seas during the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. The effects of this disease on the environment cannot be fully described yet. CONCLUSION: In the short term, the amount of air, water, and coastal pollution has been reduced. few studies have examined the effects of pandemics on the environment in the long run, which paves the way for more researches.

Systematic review of health policy and behavioral economics: A neglected point in health promotion.

BACKGROUND: Health policymakers use a variety of policy tools. These policies are either based on external factors or are based on paternal considerations; people may need to have help in the selection of items that may be regretted about them in the future. However, recent research on behavioral economics shows that major decision-making mistakes are not only limited to vulnerable groups but also are ubiquitous and systematic. The purpose of this study was on health policy making with a behavioral economics approach in health promotion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The eligible studies were obtained from Medline (PubMed), Web of Science, and Scopus databases. The search strategy uses a combination of keywords in the titles. The keywords of behavioral economics along with the keyword of health have been used to find related articles. RESULTS: After deleting duplicate articles, a total of 38 articles were identified. After reviewing the title and abstract, 13 studies were omitted because they did not meet the inclusion criteria. Ten articles were removed from the found articles due to the unavailability of the full text and four articles were excluded because their method was quantitative. Finally, a total of 11 articles were eligible for including this review study. CONCLUSION: Recent research on behavioral economics shows that decision-making errors are not limited to vulnerable groups but are ubiquitous and systematic. Forgotten income or negligible income is very high and is reasonably explained by transaction costs. Educational interventions often have little effect and do not benefit from basic cost-benefit tests. In addition, the seemingly insignificant aspects of choice-frameworks and assumptions-often have a profound effect on behavior.

Triage live lecture versus triage video podcast in pre-hospital students' education.

INTRODUCTION: Triage is the process of determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their conditions. The aim of the present study was to survey the effect of triage video podcasting on the knowledge and performance of pre-hospital students. METHODS: Sixty pre-hospital students were randomly divided into two groups of a 30-subject control group and a 30-subject intervention group. A pre-test was administered among all students. Afterwards, for the first group, triage education was offered through lectures using PowerPoint, while for the second group, audio and video podcasts tailored for this training program were employed. Right after the training as well as one month later, post-tests were run for both groups, and the results were analysed using an independent t-test and covariance. RESULTS: No significant difference was observed between the effects of both types of education on knowledge and performance, either immediately, or one month after training. DISCUSSION: We suggest that video podcasts are ready to replace traditional teaching methods in triage.