Viable Supply Chain Management toward Company Sustainability during COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia

Since the pandemic first appeared in early 2020, the manufacturing industry across the globe has experienced a decline. Concerns regarding public health were present at the start of the new decade, and as the pandemic reached its peak in March 2020, manufacturers all over the world were forced to contend with high demand, reduced workforce requirements, subsequent lockdowns, and major disruptions to their supply chains to prevent the global spread of the pandemic. No research has been done on the interaction of these variables because the idea of VSCM is still relatively new, particularly in Malaysia's manufacturing industry. The purpose of this study is to present management researchers with a novel idea for coping with a pandemic situation in today's business environment. Furthermore, the purpose of this research is to determine VSCM practices that contribute to company sustainability so that such future incidents can be controlled and revamped. The report also advocated a VSCM framework to improve supply chain resilience and sustainability. This study's objective is to analyze the relationship between viable supply chain management (VSCM) practices and company sustainability for manufacturing companies in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic. 197 respondents from Malaysian manufacturing companies were surveyed using a quantitative approach. Using PLS-SEM analysis, all surveys are examined. As a result, the direct relationship between VSCM and company sustainability has demonstrated a significant positive effect. The implication of this study is to strengthen the viability and reliability of viable supply chain management and contribute further to the COVID-19 outbreak's impact on company sustainability. Moreover, a successful supply chain model would guarantee that manufacturers are compelled to respond swiftly to safeguard and support their employees and maintain operations that are critical lifelines for consumers and communities. © 2023 by the authors.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Towards Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) among Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was recognized and has caused serious illness and numerous deaths. The ultimate scope and effect of this outbreak are unclear at present as the situation is rapidly evolving. The disease causes respiratory illness (like the flu) with main clinical symptoms such as a dry cough, fever, and in more severe cases, difficulty in breathing. Objective(s): To assess knowledge, attitude, and practice of medical students towards corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Material(s) and Method(s): An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students in India from September 2020 to February 2021. Participants were recruited using a snowball sampling technique and all data were collected via an online self-reported questionnaire using Google Forms (http://forms.google.com/) as the data collection period coincided with implementation of the COVID-19 lockdown policy in India. Socio-demographics characteristics, social interaction history, information-seeking behavior, as well as knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 were collected through a self-reported questionnaire. A p-value of <0.04 indicated statistical significance. Result(s): A total of 2000 eligible participants completed the survey, 71.5% of whom were female, and their mean age was 19.4 years old (SD = 2.1). Almost all had sufficient knowledge (87.1%) and good preventive practice (93.6%) towards COVID-19;however, there was also a rather low level of positive attitude recorded, at 65.7%. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that the female participants, and the receiving of information from the official websites, reported a significantly higher level of good practice. Besides, students who had a high level of sufficient knowledge and positive attitude towards COVID-19 were more likely to have good preventive practices (All p<0.001). Conclusion(s): Many undergraduate medical students in India had positive attitude and practice against COVID-19, yet only a few had adequate knowledge. This warrants further interventions to keep them updated with COVID-19 evidence to maximize their potentials in raising public awareness on COVID-19. Copyright © 2022 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.

Budding Medical Professionals And Covid-19: The Impact Of Covid-19 On Mental Health And Medical Students.

BACKGROUND: Due to the Novel Coronavirus Disease, medical education has transformed from a physical to an online-medium. The importance of physical education in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), where online education can be challenging there is a need to explore the factors that affect online education. This study assesses the perspective and mental health of students whose medical education has been impacted by the pandemic. Methods: An online-questionnaire was distributed through social media platforms from October-to-December 2020 through Google-Forms among medical students across Pakistan. Two grading-scales were used to score anxiety and depression. Descriptive statistics and a logistic regression analysis were used to identify factors associated with anxiety and depression among medical students. p<0.05 was considered as significant. Data was analyzed using STATA v.15. RESULTS: Total of 433 medical students participated in the study where 68.1% had some form of depression and 10.9% had anxiety. Around 65%-participants disagreed with the preference for online-classes. Seventy percent agreed on "Has the thought of the pandemic made you worry about your academic future" being associated with COVID-19 related-depression (OR: 2.03, 95%CI: 1.32-3.11). Multivariate analysis showed agreeing to "COVID affected my educational performance" was associated with anxiety (OR:1.45, 95%CI: 1.03-2.06) and depression (OR: 1.27, 95%CI: 1.03-1.56). CONCLUSIONS: Being part of the Low- and-Middle-Income Countries (LMIC), online-education itself becomes a challenge. Given the continued shutdown of universities across the country and the growing anxiety and depression amongst the students, adequate measures should be taken to help in coping up with the current challenge.

The Influence of Universal Face Mask Use on Endophthalmitis Risk after Intravitreal Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Injections.

PURPOSE: Routine use of face masks for patients and physicians during intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections has increased with the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This study evaluates the impact of universal face mask use on rates and outcomes of post-injection endophthalmitis (PIE). DESIGN: Retrospective, multicenter, comparative cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: Eyes receiving intravitreal anti-VEGF injections from October 1, 2019, to July 31, 2020, at 12 centers. METHODS: Cases were divided into a "no face mask" group if no face masks were worn by the physician or patient during intravitreal injections or a "universal face mask" group if face masks were worn by the physician, ancillary staff, and patient during intravitreal injections. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rate of endophthalmitis, microbial spectrum, and visual acuity (VA). RESULTS: Of 505 968 intravitreal injections administered in 110 547 eyes, 85 of 294 514 (0.0289%; 1 in 3464 injections) cases of presumed endophthalmitis occurred in the "no face mask" group, and 45 of 211 454 (0.0213%; 1 in 4699) cases occurred in the "universal face mask" group (odds ratio [OR], 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.51-1.18; P = 0.097). In the "no face mask" group, there were 27 cases (0.0092%; 1 in 10 908 injections) of culture-positive endophthalmitis compared with 9 cases (0.004%; 1 in 23 494) in the "universal face mask" group (OR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.22-0.99; P = 0.041). Three cases of oral flora-associated endophthalmitis occurred in the "no face mask" group (0.001%; 1 in 98 171 injections) compared with 1 (0.0005%; 1 in 211 454) in the "universal face mask" group (P = 0.645). Patients presented a mean (range) 4.9 (1-30) days after the causative injection, and mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) VA at endophthalmitis presentation was 2.04 (~20/2200) for "no face mask" group compared with 1.65 (~20/900) for the "universal face mask" group (P = 0.022), although no difference was observed 3 months after treatment (P = 0.764). CONCLUSIONS: In a large, multicenter, retrospective study, physician and patient face mask use during intravitreal anti-VEGF injections did not alter the risk of presumed acute-onset bacterial endophthalmitis, but there was a reduced rate of culture-positive endophthalmitis. Three months after presentation, there was no difference in VA between the groups.