Healthy Food Prices Increased More Than the Prices of Unhealthy Options during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Concurrent Challenges to the Food System.

Food prices have escalated due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on global food systems, and other regional shocks and stressors including climate change and war. Few studies have applied a health lens to identify the most affected foods. This study aimed to assess costs and affordability of habitual (unhealthy) diets and recommended (healthy, equitable and more sustainable) diets and their components in Greater Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 2019 to 2022 using the Healthy Diets Australian Standardised Affordability and Pricing protocol. Affordability was determined for reference households at three levels of income: median, minimum wage, and welfare-dependent. The recommended diet cost increased 17.9%; mostly in the last year when the prices of healthy foods, such as fruit, vegetables and legumes, healthy fats/oils, grains, and meats/alternatives, increased by 12.8%. In contrast, the cost of the unhealthy foods and drinks in the habitual diet 'only' increased 9.0% from 2019 to 2022, and 7.0% from 2021 to 2022. An exception was the cost of unhealthy take-away foods which increased by 14.7% over 2019-2022. With government COVID-19-related payments, for the first time recommended diets were affordable for all and food security and diets improved in 2020. However, the special payments were withdrawn in 2021, and recommended diets became 11.5% less affordable. Permanently increasing welfare support and providing an adequate minimum wage, while keeping basic, healthy foods GST-free and increasing GST to 20% on unhealthy foods, would improve food security and diet-related health inequities. Development of a Consumer Price Index specifically for healthy food would help highlight health risks during economic downturns.

Microwave-Generated Steam Decontamination of N95 Respirators Utilizing Universally Accessible Materials.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused a severe, international shortage of N95 respirators, which are essential to protect healthcare providers from infection. Given the contemporary limitations of the supply chain, it is imperative to identify effective means of decontaminating, reusing, and thereby conserving N95 respirator stockpiles. To be effective, decontamination must result in sterilization of the N95 respirator without impairment of respirator filtration or user fit. Although numerous methods of N95 decontamination exist, none are universally accessible. In this work we describe a microwave-generated steam decontamination protocol for N95 respirators for use in healthcare systems of all sizes, geographies, and means. Using widely available glass containers, mesh from commercial produce bags, a rubber band, and a 1100W commercially available microwave, we constructed an effective, standardized, and reproducible means of decontaminating N95 respirators. Employing this methodology against MS2 phage, a highly conservative surrogate for SARS-CoV-2 contamination, we report an average 6-log 10 plaque forming unit (PFU) (99.9999%) and a minimum 5-log 10 PFU (99.999%) reduction after a single three-minute microwave treatment. Notably, quantified respirator fit and function were preserved, even after 20 sequential cycles of microwave steam decontamination. This method provides a valuable means of effective decontamination and reuse of N95 respirators by frontline providers facing urgent need.

Microwave-Generated Steam Decontamination of N95 Respirators Utilizing Universally Accessible Materials.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has caused a severe, international shortage of N95 respirators, which are essential to protect health care providers from infection. Given the contemporary limitations of the supply chain, it is imperative to identify effective means of decontaminating, reusing, and thereby conserving N95 respirator stockpiles. To be effective, decontamination must result in sterilization of the N95 respirator without impairment of respirator filtration or user fit. Although numerous methods of N95 decontamination exist, none are universally accessible. In this work, we describe a microwave-generated steam decontamination protocol for N95 respirators for use in health care systems of all sizes, geographies, and means. Using widely available glass containers, mesh from commercial produce bags, a rubber band, and a 1,100-W commercially available microwave, we constructed an effective, standardized, and reproducible means of decontaminating N95 respirators. Employing this methodology against MS2 phage, a highly conservative surrogate for SARS-CoV-2 contamination, we report an average 6-log10 plaque-forming unit (PFU) (99.9999%) and a minimum 5-log10 PFU (99.999%) reduction after a single 3-min microwave treatment. Notably, quantified respirator fit and function were preserved, even after 20 sequential cycles of microwave steam decontamination. This method provides a valuable means of effective decontamination and reuse of N95 respirators by frontline providers facing urgent need.IMPORTANCE Due to the rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there is an increasing shortage of protective gear necessary to keep health care providers safe from infection. As of 9 April 2020, the CDC reported 9,282 cumulative cases of COVID-19 among U.S. health care workers (CDC COVID-19 Response Team, MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 69:477-481, 2020, https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6915e6). N95 respirators are recommended by the CDC as the ideal method of protection from COVID-19. Although N95 respirators are traditionally single use, the shortages have necessitated the need for reuse. Effective methods of N95 decontamination that do not affect the fit or filtration ability of N95 respirators are essential. Numerous methods of N95 decontamination exist; however, none are universally accessible. In this study, we describe an effective, standardized, and reproducible means of decontaminating N95 respirators using widely available materials. The N95 decontamination method described in this work will provide a valuable resource for hospitals, health care centers, and outpatient practices that are experiencing increasing shortages of N95 respirators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A 'extravagância' de trabalhar doente: o corpo no trabalho em indivíduos com diagnóstico de ler/dort / The 'extravagance' of working sick: the body work in individuals diagnosed with rsi/wrmd / La 'extravagancia' de trabajar enfermo: el cuerpo en el trabajo en individuos con diagnóstico de ler/epo

Resumo Dentre as doenças do trabalho mais prevalentes estão as lesões por esforços repetitivos/distúrbios osteomusculares relacionados ao trabalho, as quais relacionam-se diretamente à organização do trabalho que ignora os limites do corpo e as singularidades dos trabalhadores. O objetivo deste artigo foi investigar os significados do corpo no trabalho em indivíduos com esse tipo de lesão/distúrbio. Para alcançar o objetivo proposto, fez-se um estudo de caso com abordagem qualitativa, a qual está embasada na teoria sócio-histórica da psicologia. Utilizaram-se entrevistas abertas individuais para coleta de dados, realizadas com nove participantes, os quais tinham diagnóstico de lesões por esforços repetitivos/distúrbios osteomusculares relacionados ao trabalho e eram acompanhados no Centro de Referência em Saúde do Trabalhador de Botucatu (São Paulo). A análise dos dados revelou três núcleos de significação: necessidade de trabalhar — o corpo em movimento; submissão do corpo — falta de autonomia/poder; e corpo impedido — 'eu travei, eu parei minha vida'. Com base nesses núcleos foram identificados os significados e os elementos explicativos. O presenteísmo destacou-se entre os significados encontrados. A expressão que melhor define todo o processo saúde-doença dos participantes é 'a extravagância de trabalhar doente', e o produto deste é um futuro incerto.

Abstract Among the most prevalent occupational diseases are the Repetitive Strain Injury and Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (RSI/WRMD), which are directly related to the organization of the work that ignores the limits of the body and the uniqueness of each worker. The study main focus was to investigate the significance of the body at work in individuals diagnosed with lesion/disturb. To achieve the proposed objective, a case study was held in a qualitative approach, which is based in the socio-historical theory of psychology. The means used to achieve the data was through individual open interviews with nine subjects whom had been diagnosed with RSI/WRMD and were accompanied at the Worker's Health Reference Center in Botucatu (São Paulo, Brazil). As a result, three meaning cores have been revealed: need to work - the 'body' in motion; body submission - lack of autonomy/power; and prevented body — 'I caught, I stopped in my life'. In addition to these, meanings and explanatory material have composed the illustrator scheme of results of this research. The phrase that best defines the whole process of health/disease measured in the interviews according to the scenario reported by the individuals is 'The extravagance of working sick', and the product of this, is an uncertain future.

Resumen Entre las enfermedades profesionales con mayor prevalencia se encuentran las lesiones por esfuerzos repetitivos/enfermedades profesionales osteomusculares (LER-EPO), las cuales se relacionan directamente con la organización del trabajo que ignora los límites del cuerpo y las particularidades de los trabajadores. El objetivo principal del estudio que dio origen a este artículo fue investigar los significados del cuerpo en el trabajo, en individuos con este tipo de lesión/enfermedad. Para alcanzar el objetivo propuesto, se realizó un estudio de caso con enfoque cualitativo, fundamentado en la teoría socio-histórica de la psicología. Se utilizaron entrevistas abiertas individuales para la recolección de datos, realizadas con nueve participantes, los cuales tenían diagnóstico de lesiones por esfuerzos repetitivos/enfermedades profesionales osteomusculares y tenían seguimiento del Centro de Referencia en Salud del Trabajador de Botucatu (São Paulo, Brasil). El análisis de los datos reveló tres núcleos de significación: necesidad de trabajar —el cuerpo en movimiento; sumisión del cuerpo —falta de autonomía/poder; y cuerpo impedido —'tuve un bloqueo, mi vida se detuvo'. En base a estos núcleos, se identificaron los significados y los elementos explicativos; El presentismo se destacó entre los significados encontrados. La expresión que mejor define todo el proceso salud-enfermedad de los participantes es 'la extravagancia de trabajar enfermo', y el producto de éste es un futuro incierto.