Clinician satisfaction and experience using teleconsultation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan: A cross-sectional study

Aims: During the pandemic of COVID-19, the sudden change in traditional health-care providing systems, clinicians experience some positive and negative aspects of the approach. This study evaluates the clinician's satisfaction and experience with the use of teleconsultation provided during the pandemic of novel coronavirus and their willingness to continue telehealth after the pandemic. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted online during the peak pandemic of COVID-19 in Pakistan through Google Forms questionnaire from 115 health consultants on different disciplines and recruited through social media. The questionnaire contains 15 questions regarding clinician's satisfaction, quality of treatment, and intention to continue providing telehealth services after the pandemic. Descriptive and inferential statistics were obtained by analyzing the data using SPSS software version 20, USA. Results: One hundred and fifteen consultants, 28 males and 87 females participated in the study, in which 62% were found to have an average and 34% at a high level of satisfaction. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed a significant difference among different medical specialists in the continuation of telehealth services after the pandemic of COVID-19 (P = 0.003) and its recommendation to friends and family (P = 0.02) with high mean rank in endocrinologist and dermatologist. Conclusions: A great number of participants reported a good response for the continuation in telemedicine services in their daily routine even after the pandemic situation. However, there is an urgent need to find the solution for the difficulties and drawbacks faced by health-care providers.

Evolutionary game analysis of crowding risk control strategies during the COVID-19 Pandemic

To discuss the decision-making scheme of crowding risk management during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper constructs an evolutionary game model based on the changes of pedestrian and government strategies, and simulates the strategy selection under different states. The results show that under the condition of pedestrian rationality, when the difference between the benefits and costs of the government's active response strategy is less than the benefits of inaction, the government will choose the strategy of inaction. If the benefit of rational action is less than the additional benefit of irrational action, pedestrians will choose irrational action. By establishing the replication dynamic equations of governments and pedestrians, the stability strategy of the system is analyzed. It is found that the values of R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 will affect the strategy choices of the players, and how to measure the benefits and costs under different circumstances becomes the key to the problem. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the risk control decision of human crowding during the COVID-19 epidemic. © 2023 SPIE.

Opening industry data: The private sector's role in addressing societal challenges

This commentary explores the potential of private companies to advance scientific progress and solve social challenges through opening and sharing their data. Open data can accelerate scientific discoveries, foster collaboration, and promote long-term business success. However, concerns regarding data privacy and security can hinder data sharing. Companies have options to mitigate the challenges through developing data governance mechanisms, collaborating with stakeholders, communicating the benefits, and creating incentives for data sharing, among others. Ultimately, open data has immense potential to drive positive social impact and business value, and companies can explore solutions for their specific circumstances and tailor them to their specific needs.

Design as the Mediator of New Social Health Culture. Towards a Co-benefits Model

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for change, raising questions about the current approach to health. The re-definition of the role of health and well-being towards an interdisciplinary approach is knowledge-driven and technology-enabled and the focus of innovation is shifting from the treatment of disease to prediction and prevention. The new model of the ‘co-benefit belt' through design activates a process of systemic improvement and extends beyond the digital, pursuing the logic of interaction. The role of Design as a mediator is emphasized, lending itself to emergency situations, to the design of protection devices by implementing multifunctional and shared protection dynamics, intervening in rethinking the universe of devices with Human Centered Design approaches, optimizing methods and processes. The case study presented describes the development of the research project funded by the Campania Region, "Smart&Safe”. Design for new individual protection devices”, among the initiatives to fight against Covid-19. The research proposes an update in the redesign of individual Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), to explore a new dimension of the project that highlights the transition to an Individual and Intelligent Protection System (IIPS), reflecting on the various levels of safety faced during health emergencies. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Invited discussant comments during the UCL-Penn Global COVID Study webinar 'Reflections, Resilience, and Recovery: A qualitative study of Covid-19's impact on an international adult population's mental health and priorities for support': part 2 of 3.

This discussant commentary considers the findings presented from the UCL-Penn Global COVID Study webinar 'Let's Talk! What do you need to recover from Covid-19?'. The research presented highlights a number of key issues that have affected people of all ages throughout the pandemic. Our aim with this article is to reflect on these themes and, using our own qualitative and quantitative research conducted throughout the pandemic, explore whether the people we spoke to in later life expressed challenges, concerns and frustrations with the same issues as those expressed in Dr Wong's study. As a national charity that supports people in later life, Independent Age has been incredibly concerned by the impact of the pandemic specifically on people aged 65 and over, and believe more must be done by decision-makers in the government and National Health Service (NHS) to support them to recover from the pandemic.

Edible Insects as a Novel Source of Bioactive Peptides: A Systematic Review.

The production of food and feed to meet the needs of the growing world's population will soon become a serious challenge. In search for sustainable solutions, entomophagy is being proposed as an alternative source of proteins, with economic and environmental advantages when compared to meat. Edible insects are not only a valuable source of important nutrients, but their gastrointestinal digestion also originates small peptides with important bioactive properties. The present work intends to provide an exhaustive systematic review on research articles reporting bioactive peptides identified from edible insects, as demonstrated by in silico, in vitro, and/or in vivo assays. A total of 36 studies were identified following the PRISMA methodology, gathering 211 potentially bioactive peptides with antioxidant, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, antiobesity, anti-inflammatory, hypocholesterolemia, antimicrobial, anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2), antithrombotic, and immunomodulatory properties, originated from the hydrolysates of 12 different insect species. From these candidates, the bioactive properties of 62 peptides were characterized in vitro and 3 peptides were validated in vivo. Data establishing the scientific basis of the health benefits associated with the consumption of edible insects can be a valuable contribution to overcoming the cultural issues that hinder the introduction of insects in the Western diet.

A higher frequency of physical activity is associated with reduced rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) is associated with health benefits. Previous studies have shown that regular PA decreases the incidence of viral respiratory tract infections, but data on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are unavailable. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to examine the association between PA frequency and SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted on data from 1 February 2020 to 31 December 2020, using the registry of Leumit Health Services (LHS), a national health maintenance organisation in Israel. All LHS patients aged 18 to 80 years who underwent at least one RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 during the study period were included. We examined the association between PA frequency (hours per week) and being tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. RESULTS: Of 113,075 subjects tested for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR (mean age 41.6 years, 54.4% female), 17,465 (15%) were positive. In the SARS-CoV-2-negative group, significantly more subjects were engaged with PA than in the SARS-CoV-2-positive group [crude odds ratio (OR) for any PA 0.75 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.72-0.77)]. After adjusting for possible confounders, PA frequency had a significant negative association with the likelihood of being SARS-CoV-2 positive (adjusted OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.64-0.68). Moreover, as the frequency of PA increased, the ORs of being SARS-CoV-2-positive decreased (occasional PA: OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.67-0.74; PA 1-3 times/week: OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.58-0.65 and PA > 3 times/week: OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.49 - 0.59). CONCLUSION: Our large population-based study in patients undergoing SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing showed that a higher frequency of PA is associated with a lower rate of positive test results.

Invited discussant comments during the UCL-Penn Global COVID Study webinar 'Reflections, Resilience, and Recovery: A qualitative study of Covid-19's impact on an international adult population's mental health and priorities for support': part 3 of 3.

This discussant commentary considers the findings presented from the UCL-Penn Global COVID Study webinar 'Let's Talk! What do you need to recover from Covid-19?' and published in Wong et al's article in this journal, Reflections, Resilience, and Recovery, drawing into focus the support required to recover from the changes in people's mental health, physical health and relationships brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Acknowledging the importance of not making broad generalisations about the effect of the lockdown allows us to see individuals in their own context and their own particular challenges. As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, we need to use the lessons from this study as the foundations for building resilience against future pandemics.

State-level data on TANF policy changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 mitigation measures prompted many states to revise the administration of their welfare programs. States adopted policies that varied across the U.S. to respond to the difficulties in fulfilling program requirements, as well as increased financial need. This dataset captures the changes made to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, from March 2020 through December 2020. The authors created this dataset as part of a larger study that examined the health effects of TANF policy changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. DATA DESCRIPTION: TANF is the main cash assistance program for low-income families in the U.S., but benefits are often conditional on work requirements and can be revoked if an individual is deemed noncompliant. Structural factors during the COVID-19 pandemic made meeting these criteria more difficult, so some states relaxed their rules and increased their benefits. This dataset captures 24 types of policies that state TANF programs enacted, which of the states enacted each of them, when the policies went into effect, and when applicable, when the policies ended. These data can be used to study the effects of TANF policy changes on various health and programmatic outcomes.

Invited discussant comments during the UCL-Penn Global COVID Study webinar 'How Do We Trust (Again): Paranoia and Mental Health': part 2 of 2.

Loneliness has been reported by the UCL-Penn Global COVID Study participants throughout the pandemic year, not surprisingly, although this has been an issue that has been manifesting itself even before the pandemic. In identifying loneliness in communities, the built environment industry and professionals have been looking at how good and targeted design in the public realm and master planning can help to firstly design interventions and secondly orchestrate or manage these spaces in a way that helps create opportunities to address loneliness. Furthermore, how these spaces create opportunities for people to both interact with each other but also interact with the space can help connect people together and with nature/biodiversity. In doing so this also helps to create better health outcomes for mental health and wellbeing, as well as physical health and wellbeing. Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the associated lockdown periods have caused people to reconnect with local green spaces and has focused the attention to what these spaces provide in terms of opportunities and benefits for people. As a result, the value placed on these and the expectation of how they will provide value to communities is increasing and will continue to increase in the post-Covid-19 world. Better connected, activated and well-structured public realm and green spaces will be central to the development of projects and schemes for housing, and mixed used schemes in the forthcoming years.

Fermented Beverage Benefits: A Comprehensive Review and Comparison of Kombucha and Kefir Microbiome.

Beverage fermentation is an ancient ritual that has been practised for millennia. It was slowly disappearing from households and communities due to the advancement of manufacturing technology and the marketing of soft drinks until the recent revival of the beverage fermentation culture due to an increase in the demand for health drinks amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Kombucha and kefir are two well-known fermented beverages that are renowned for their myriad of health benefits. The starter materials for making these beverages contain micro-organisms that act like microscopic factories producing beneficial nutrients that have antimicrobial and anticancer effects. The materials modulate the gut microbiota and promote positive effects on the gastrointestinal tract. Due to wide variations in the substrates and types of micro-organisms involved in the production of both kombucha and kefir, this paper compiles a compendium of the micro-organisms present and highlights their nutritional roles.

Invited discussant comments during the UCL-Penn Global COVID Study webinar 'How Do We Trust (Again): Paranoia and Mental Health': part 1 of 2.

The article provides commentary on Wong et al.'s investigation of the relationship between schizotypal traits, social mistrust and aggression, mental and physical health outcomes across three waves of data collection commencing in April 2020. The researchers aimed to consider the nature of the relationship between these variables and the stability of these relationships as coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions fluctuated over time. Their results suggested that loneliness reflects a hub which links the trait variables of schizotypal and social mistrust to aggression and mental and physical health symptoms. Their network did not vary by demographic factors nor wave of data collection, suggesting that stable individual differences were driving results. Their results propose that interventions which increase social connection could provide positive health benefits as well as decreasing aggression (via reductions in social mistrust). Their data contributes to understanding about how schizotypal traits link to outcomes under conditions of social stress.

Invited discussant comments during the UCL-Penn Global COVID Study webinar 'Reflections, Resilience, and Recovery: A qualitative study of Covid-19's impact on an international adult population's mental health and priorities for support': part 1 of 3.

This discussant commentary will consider global health before the pandemic in relation to the UCL-Penn Global COVID Study survey results on what participants need to recover from the pandemic. It explores the case for expanding access to health care, the importance of culturally sensitive interventions and the need to scale up psychologically evidence-based interventions. Reflecting on the UCL-Penn Global COVID Study 'Let's Talk! What do you need to recover from Covid-19?' webinar, the commentary highlights the recommendations from the British Psychological Society (BPS) to the government on what needs to happen for a better recovery.

Local Regulations Compliance Measures for Job Retention of Employees during Covid Crisis through Adaptability Factors on Monetary Fringe Benefits

The aftermath of COVID-19 has been increasing the rate of job losses and unemployment crises all around the globe. It has mostly affected the financial growth of a country and reduced the ability of the inhabitants to cope with the increasing rate of cost of living all around the globe. The disruptive scenario of business during the COVID pandemic has caused critical financial and operational loss for a large number of business companies in the worldwide market. The fear of exposure to the covid virus and the threat of infection of the covid has reduced performance and a large number of employees quit their jobs during the pandemic. The mental vulnerability and physical risk mostly caused a serious reduction rate in employee retention rates all around the globe. The government and the administration in various areas provide key support and monetary fringes to enhance the job retention rate of the employees within different places which helps business companies to face lesser disruption in business during a pandemic. This study aims to evaluate local regulations and compliance measures for job retention of employees during covid crisis through adaptability factors on monetary fringe benefits. Secondary qualitative data has gathered within the process while the pieces of information onward 2019 in authentic and peer-reviewed sites were taken as the inclusion category within the study.

Perspectives and practices of dietitians with regards to social/mass media use during the transitions from face-to-face to telenutrition in the time of COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey in 10 Arab countries.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, most healthcare professionals switched from face-to-face clinical encounters to telehealth. This study sought to investigate the dietitians' perceptions and practices toward the use of social/mass media platforms amid the transition from face-to-face to telenutrition in the time of COVID-19. This cross-sectional study involving a convenient sample of 2,542 dietitians (mean age = 31.7 ± 9.5; females: 88.2%) was launched in 10 Arab countries between November 2020 and January 2021. Data were collected using an online self-administrated questionnaire. Study findings showed that dietitians' reliance on telenutrition increased by 11% during the pandemic, p = 0.001. Furthermore, 63.0% of them reported adopting telenutrition to cover consultation activities. Instagram was the platform that was most frequently used by 51.7% of dietitians. Dietitians shouldered new difficulties in dispelling nutrition myths during the pandemic (58.2% reported doing so vs. 51.4% pre-pandemic, p < 0.001). Compared to the pre-pandemic period, more dietitians perceived the importance of adopting tele nutrition's clinical and non-clinical services (86.9% vs. 68.0%, p = 0.001), with 76.6% being confident in this practice. In addition, 90.0% of the participants received no support from their work facilities for social media usage. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the majority of dietitians (80.0%) observed a rise in public interest in nutrition-related topics, particularly those pertaining to healthy eating habits (p = 0.001), healthy recipes (p = 0.001), nutrition and immunity (p = 0.001), and medical nutrition therapies (p = 0.012). Time constraint was the most prevalent barrier to offering telenutrition for nutrition care (32.1%), whereas leveraging a quick and easy information exchange was the most rewarding benefit for 69.3% of the dietitians. In conclusion, to ensure a consistent provision of nutrition care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, dietitians working in Arab countries adopted alternative telenutrition approaches through social/mass media.

Integration of Internet of Things and Blockchain Technologies in Healthcare: A Bibliometric and Network Analysis

This paper has quantitatively analysed the research trends on the integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain Technology (BCT) through bibliometric and network analysis and has also expressed how this integration can be leveraged in healthcare. The research methodology consists of a comprehensive search for scholarly publications on IoT and BCT in healthcare, published during 1999-2021 in Scopus and Web of Science (WoS), leading to 325 articles, followed by bibliometric analysis using Biblioshiny and network analysis using VOSviewer. The bibliometric analysis reveals that there is a surge in research papers since 2020, largely attributed to the outbreak of COVID-19. The research in this area is dominated by India and China, followed by the USA, South Korea, and Australia. The research on the integration of IoT and BCT in healthcare is still evolving. This study adds new avenues of knowledge to the existing literature and gives guidance to future researchers exploring the usage of IoT and BCT to revamp healthcare. This is the first such paper that has done a comprehensive analysis of existing literature in this field by considering papers published in both databases: Scopus and WoS, which could act as a starting point for new researchers.

Above and Beyond: A Grounded Theory of Aotearoa/New Zealand High School Teachers' Perspectives on International Study Tours

This paper addresses the dearth of research into the roles high school teachers play in organising and leading international study tours offered by high schools in New Zealand (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic). The aim of this paper is to provide insights into the motivations and experiences of teachers involved in these tours. A grounded theory approach was used, and qualitative data were collected via face-to-face interviews with eight teachers forming the basis of the development of a theory which proposes that both navigating and negotiating learning experiences are key aspects of the teacher's role. Data revealed that the expectations and challenges placed upon the teachers had implications for their personal and professional lives. The tension between teachers' perceived obligations for the safety of the students and the adolescent's desire for freedom to explore whilst travelling proved difficult to resolve and teachers questioned the sacrifices they personally needed to make.

The influence of nature on well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: Views from New England island residents

Researchers are beginning to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on island populations, but little is known about the experiences of the residents of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard in the Northeast region of the United States. In this study, islanders (N=41) provide insight into how spending time in nature influenced their well-being, especially their mental well-being, during this unprecedented time. For the majority of participants, the influence of nature on their well-being increased during the pandemic. Additionally, participants shared benefits of island living such as isolation from the mainland, as well as challenges such as food and supply shortages. Results from this study indicate that further research is needed around the importance of nature on well-being, especially mental health, for island residents.

Rights awareness and COVID-19 tourism job losses: perspectives from Malaysia

This qualitative study applies the labour market segmentation theory to examine tourism job losses through the indirect causes of pay cuts, unpaid leave and the take-up of side hustle–accepted by the employees partly from loyalty, camaraderie and empathy. Where the prolonged hardship from these measures leads to resignations, employers gain from the avoidance of termination benefits mandated by a retrenchment exercise. The losses occasioned to the worker include the non-eligibility for state-funded wage subsidy and foregone termination benefits. Through a legal analysis of COVID-19 job losses, the study posits that tourism workers' lack of rights awareness contributed to the voluntary acceptance of these lawful but detrimental strategies. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.